Manuel Reiberg joined Daiichi Sankyo as an intern in 2004 and has worked in multiple countries across Europe and globally – he now holds the position of Global Head of Specialty Business Creation at Daiichi Sankyo in Japan.
We asked Manuel how the years as part of Daiichi Sankyo have helped him progress professionally and personally. Read on to hear more about his work across multiple countries, what challenges he has faced, how he keeps up to date with the latest industry trends, what advice he has received and what he would share with others.
It’s been great and I have loved living and working in all these different countries! Each time you move it is very exciting to explore and immerse yourself in a new environment and culture. Having said this, each country has its unique stimulus and challenges. Culturally the most exciting, and yet challenging one for me, is certainly Japan where thousands of year-old traditions are deeply rooted in the culture, daily life and where substantial language barriers still dominate daily interactions in our social and professional environment. All my previous working experiences have most definitely set the groundwork and increased my ability to adapt to new situations and different cultures. So literally, every day I learn something new about Japan.
The most significant job I was privileged to be chosen for was transforming our UK organisation when being appointed Managing Director of Daiichi Sankyo UK in 2017. The affiliate was going through some very challenging times and given I managed a similar situation during my time in Austria back in 2010, I was brought in to change the direction of our business in the UK. The way I approached it was by firstly carefully listening to all relevant stakeholders (i.e., employees, HCPs, payers, and policy makers) aiming to better understand the situation and challenges the organisation was facing. What then followed was one of the most fulfilling professional chapters in my career.
After summarising everything I heard, I organised a three-day meeting to bring all leaders together in order to provide feedback about what I understood and to understand their motivations and passions for working in our industry and at Daiichi Sankyo in particular. Given the huge levels of health inequalities in the UK at the time, we agreed on our role in contributing to the improvement of access to healthcare, striving for better patient outcomes in cardiovascular care as well as the sustainable development of the public healthcare system, which in the UK, most people ultimately rely on, regardless of their social status. By working closely together at all levels, we set out how we would realise this vision moving forward, agreed on a clear purpose for everyone in the organisation, and ways of operating as a team and business. Having seen everyone so deeply invested in this new vision, which resulted in an incredible positive force for change and success, brought a huge sense of personal fulfilment and satisfaction. Both for our colleagues at Daiichi Sankyo UK, myself and ultimately the organisation which has become a very successful midsize pharma company in the UK now.
Apart from the example above, it has been a huge privilege and opportunity for me to be offered the role in Corporate Strategy and subsequently being promoted to Global Head of Specialty Business Creation consequently becoming the first non-Japanese group leader in the company’s history in Japan.
My biggest professional aspirations are lifelong learning, making a positive impact on the sustainable development of our healthcare systems and our society thus improving as many patients lives as possible. I am very fortunate that Daiichi Sankyo is continuing to provide me with opportunities to work towards and fulfil all of them.
By working and living in Japan, I have the unique opportunity to not only better understand and actively influence the company direction from a global perspective, but to immerse myself and my family into the Japanese culture and equally contribute to a better cross-cultural understanding of our organisation in Japan. The company continuously evolves, and I can confidently say that being part of Daiichi Sankyo was, and is, always exciting.
I have faced many different challenges at different stages of my career: from not speaking sufficient levels of English when joining Daiichi Sankyo as an intern in the UK, to working through more challenging times with superiors and colleagues when I was a line manager, and even as a leader of an entire country organisation. On top of these come all the general market and competitive dynamics you are naturally facing when running a business.
I think life, in general, is a constant challenge. Rai Dalio once said, “Pain plus reflection equals progress,” so my motto is, “You grow through what you go through”. It means not only exposing yourself to these situations but having a positive mindset will ultimately help you develop and grow to become more resilient as an individual. When it comes to challenges with professional relationships, the most important thing is to be authentic and treat everyone with dignity and respect whilst clearly conveying your intentions and expectations.
Daiichi Sankyo has provided me with great opportunities to work in different roles, functions, departments, and countries where I have been able to learn something new every time. All these roles have helped me to progress my learning journey and it hasn’t stopped yet! For many different reasons, working and living in Japan has been the ultimate learning opportunity for me. I am now operating in an entirely different cultural and working environment, in a diverse and new role in corporate strategy, where I work on, and contribute to, strategically important projects globally which will ultimately shape and determine the long term future of our company and organisation.
I read management books, industry reports from various media outlets, industry websites and analyst reports. I like reading papers from scientific institutions, academia, and publications from consulting companies. Most importantly, let’s not forget the extensive network of industry colleagues and friends who I can talk to and discuss many of these topics at length to reflect on their implications for our industry or companies. Hence all of these different sources of information help me to keep up with the latest updates and industry trends.
Try to find your purpose in life as early as early as possible and don’t make any concrete plans as they will change anyway and make sure you enjoy the moments as much as you can. Also, keep challenging yourself even if may seem painful at times. Be it learning a new language when you don’t speak much of it, working in different countries and experiencing diverse cultures. It’s through all these experiences that my family and I have met wonderfully diverse people, developed a very broad and global view of the world, improved our cross-cultural understanding and have been able to progress both professionally and personally by really developing a true growth mindset, especially now learning so much more by living and working here in Japan.
User login
Enter your username and password here in order to log in on the website
Dear User,
if you want to login you accept our
cookie policy
.
LinkedIn
Mail 
