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By Lydia van der Meulen and Michael Ade, team members of the Pedersen & Partners Life Sciences & Healthcare Practice Group.

Pedersen & Partners holds regular internal symposia for its global team, featuring senior executives from the Life Sciences & Healthcare ecosystem as external guest speakers. These interactive sessions serve as a platform for industry leaders who are willing to share their insights into prevailing international market trends. By holding these periodical meetings, we aim to update the extended team of consultants across our firm on the most significant global developments within the industry domain.

During the most recent Market Pulse symposium, we had the pleasure of hosting Eduardo Lioy PhD MBA. Dr. Lioy’s presentation focused on the global efforts for Sustainable Development driven by the United Nations, as well as the evolving international regulatory framework and its relevance to the pharmaceutical industry.

Eduardo Lioy is a respected authority in the field, and has played a pivotal role in formulating and implementing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies for global organisations. Dr. Lioy has a distinguished background including a PhD in Chemistry & Biochemistry, an Executive MBA, and 20 years’ experience at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Boehringer Ingelheim. In particular, as Head of Corporate Sustainable Development at Boehringer Ingelheim Dr. Lioy established its first global Sustainable Development (ESG) Framework.

Dr. Lioy discussed the current and forthcoming regulatory changes, with a specific focus on the European Union. Notably, he highlighted the significant impact that the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (EU CSRD) will have on shaping corporate strategies, business operations, and leadership expectations. Forward-thinking leadership will be imperative in the EU pharmaceutical sector in order to effectively implement the EU CSRD and work within this framework.

Dr. Lioy illustrated his discussion with several examples of ESG best practices in this sector, including environmental examples such as GSK's commitment to achieving net zero emissions across their full value chain by 2030 and Sanofi's innovative circular blister manufacturing and recycling concept. On the social side, Pfizer's Accord for a Healthier World initiative stands out with its ambition to provide access to its full portfolio of medicines for providing effective treatments to over a billion patients in low-income countries on a non-profit base, while Genentech's Advancing Inclusive Research Alliance aims to broaden clinical trial access for underserved populations.

Finally, Dr. Lioy highlighted the adoption of ESG Scorecards, as well as financial and non-financial incentive mechanisms by prominent pharmaceutical and biotech companies to promote ethical leadership across senior and middle management.

We were delighted to have Eduardo Lioy PhD MBA as a guest, and would like to thank him for his presentation and for sharing his insights in ESG trends in the Pharmaceutical industry.

About the Authors:

Lydia van der Meulen is a Client Partner and the Global Head of Life Sciences & Healthcare Practice Group at Pedersen & Partners, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Mrs. van der Meulen has almost 25 years of global end-to-end Life Sciences Executive Search expertise. She draws on an extensive track record gained in senior-level international assignments across a broad range of leadership roles in the Pharmaceutical, Medical Technology, and Biotechnology sectors, as well as in Animal Health and AgriTech. During her career, Mrs. van der Meulen has worked for start-ups, mid-sized organisations and multinationals; publicly listed, privately held, and PE-backed firms. Prior to joining the Executive Search sector, Mrs. van der Meulen worked in Management Consulting in London and in Private Banking in the Netherlands. Between 1989-1990 Ms. Van der Meulen lived and worked in Kuwait. 

Michael Ade is a Client Partner at Pedersen & Partners and a dedicated member of the international Life Sciences and Healthcare Practice Group.

Following a 14-year international career in the Life Sciences industry, Mr. Ade has been working in Executive Search for almost 15 years, with his expertise in conducting searches for C-Suite level executive and senior management roles in R&D, commercial, and General Management functions for companies in the Biotech, MedTech, and Pharmaceutical industry. He has a strong track record of successful placements across Europe. Prior to joining Pedersen & Partners, Mr. Ade was a Senior Partner with two international search firms, specialising in Life Sciences. He previously worked in senior and international positions in Business Development and Marketing at Ingenium Pharmaceuticals GmbH and Boehringer Ingelheim.

September – 2023