UK pharmaceutical executives are the most diverse

A study performed by Heidrick & Struggles has found that country managers and European heads in the UK pharmaceutical sector are more internationally diverse than those in France or Germany.

Almost three-quarters (70%) of UK executives are non-British nationals, whereas the proportion of international executives in France was only found to be 7% and in German 33%. Additionally, the survey results demonstrated that all of the UK pharma executives had moved at least once to a foreign country.

“In a highly connected, technology-driven operating environment, pharma executives in the UK are increasingly mobile and rely on international experience to secure top positions in the field,” said Niren Thanky, partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ London office and a member of the Global Life Sciences Practice.

Moreover, the UK pharmaceutical sector was also found to be the most gender-diverse with 38% of country manager positions filled by women, compared with 15% in Germany and 14% in France. In the medtech sector, however, France was the most gender-diverse with 22% of country manager positions filled by women, whereas this proportion was just 10% in Germany and the UK.

“The pharmaceutical and medtech sectors are already in the midst of disruption. Companies in these sectors need to adapt faster to outpace their competition,” explained Thanky. While it is encouraging to see that UK firms fare better when it comes to international and female diversity as well as bringing in talent from outside the sector, more progress is needed — and fast — if the pharmaceutical and medtech sectors are to handle the accelerating pace of disruption they will face over the next few years. In general, hiring trends remain too conversative.”

Furthermore, the experience and age of executives were analysed. From those included in the survey, 71% of country managers have no experience outside the pharmaceutical sector and 74% were promoted internally after working at the same company for almost 18 years. This trend was also seen in the medtech portion of the survey.

Thanky added, “Seeking greater diversity in the form of gender, experience and thinking is essential at senior levels, given that this population of executives are the ‘feeder’ talent for regional, global and executive committee positions within traditional pharmaceutical and medical device businesses. Ultimately this will create a richer pool of candidates for CEO succession.”