João Carlos Rocha
Regional Vice President, Latin America
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“I have worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 19 years, and the work environment at Lundbeck is like no other I have previously encountered. From the start, I knew that my experience here would be unique. The primary factors that drive me to enjoy working at Lundbeck are the people, the open management style, and the constant challenges.”
João Carlos Rocha was headhunted to Lundbeck in July 2001, and it was not difficult to make the choice to come to Lundbeck.
“Lundbeck is an exciting company because it is so focused on research, unlike many other pharmaceutical companies. I work long hours and travel a lot, but the rewards are tremendous. If I should mention three things that distinguish Lundbeck from other pharmaceutical companies, it is the quality of the people, the quality of the products and the open management style. All things that contribute to creating an excellent workplace and a thriving business.”
However, success also breeds a number of challenges:
“With such talented people that continually develop, a main challenge for the future is to continue to attract and retain talented people, and keep motivating them. There are also the financial challenges. Lundbeck has experienced a rapid development in Latin America, and we want to maintain this growth. We strive to increase sales by 16% and profit by 30 % in 2007. It’s a challenging target, but not unreal at all”, says João Carlos Rocha.
“One of the secrets behind the success”, João Carlos Rocha continues”, is the management style. In Lundbeck we communicate in an open and trustful way. I take the time to interact with everyone in the organization, and every employee has access to the management. But the openness and trust also goes upwards. As an executive, I enjoy an extensive trust and support from the Danish mother company. They give me the freedom to create a motivating and profitable business in a new market, and that is really a dream for any executive ”, João Carlos Rocha ends.
João Carlos Rocha holds a degree in Biology from the Providence College, USA, and an Executive MBA from the Business School of Sao Paulo, Brazil.