Stephane Berthier (EMBA, 2006) tells how the combination of his advanced business degree from Lancaster coupled with his pharmacy has enable a career in helping to save lives.

"Pharmacy degree in hand, I began my career in pharmaceutical Research and Development. As I worked on a particular product, I was also exposed to commercial side and felt there was a huge gap. I didn’t want to remain in a “science silo.” I believed it was important to broaden my perspective and understand the “language” of business – a language I was desperate to learn. And also, I found that most of the business people did not truly understand the science (a foreign language to them) so I realised that I would have a tremendous advantage by getting a business degree and would then have the best of both worlds. So, it was off to Lancaster University to earn an executive MBA – sponsored by my employer at the time, Novartis, a tremendous perquisite!

Once I graduated from Lancaster I moved from Europe to the United States into sales, followed by marketing. I definitely had an entrepreneurial itch, which I could not indulge strictly as a scientist, so I found sales and marketing much more to my liking. Understand, I always liked science, but I found it too slow paced – the process is extremely elongated to reach an outcome. Often it could take 5-6 years for a product to come to fruition in R&D. I needed to work on something that could be tangible much sooner. And in business, you’re much closer to the customers and stakeholders. Now, I was able to marry both science with customer-facing agility in a fast-paced environment, where it was clear that my background in science set me apart from my peers This was especially important in the oncology setting, where a science degree allows you to see what’s happening now, and what may be coming in the future.

I’ve worked at two major “Big Pharma” companies, Novartis and Johnson & Johnson, and had the opportunity to lead major product launches market and several blockbuster treatments in the US and globally. In order to indulge my entrepreneurial spirit further, I left Big Pharma to head the commercial organisation of a smaller start-up oncology company that is focused on developing and commercialising treatments for blood cancers.

I hope to continue my career at small biotechs with the opportunity to look more at what I can do, as opposed to what I’ve already accomplished. Right now, especially in oncology, the sky’s the limit, and at the end of the day, it’s all about making an impact on patients with the treatments I commercialise with my team members. One cannot function in a silo – and as a leader, it’s critical to have people who will follow you to help carry out your vision and mission – they are your more important asset.

Little of this would have been possible without an advanced business degree. The science taught me the “what” and my MBA at Lancaster taught me the “how.” As a result, I am equipped to help extend and potentially save lives. It doesn’t get much better than that."