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EF: What mission did you set for yourself when appointed 6 months ago, and what are the priorities that you see for 2024 in the region?
JL: I have been at Bayer for 20 years and I am privileged to make this my 8th country as I have had the chance to lead the organization in other geographies such as Eastern Europe, North Africa, Iran, and Ukraine. There are always great challenges and commitments that relate to each geography’s society and economy. I was appointed to South Africa in a critical moment for Bayer as we are globally transforming towards a more efficient and less bureaucratic company with reduced hierarchies through what we call the Dynamic Shared Ownership (DSO) operating model, which has been designed to advance our mission “Health for All, Hunger for None”. So, it could have not been a better time for me to take on this role so that I can be a real catalyst of our mission across our divisions and businesses.
We have in Sub-Saharan Africa our three divisions: Crop Science, Consumer Health, and Pharmaceuticals. As the Senior Bayer Representative and Head of the Pharmaceutical division in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, I am committed to enabling reliable healthcare systems and access to medicine in Africa, whilst supporting governments and society in addressing the topic of hunger.
EF: Could you elaborate on the challenges and opportunities that you see in the region and how are you addressing the unmet needs?
JL: This takes me back to my first days in South Africa. Tunning on to the radio, I constantly heard about the challenges of women, especially those facing poverty, when it came to their reproductive health. Whether it was about undesired pregnancies or just having no access to basic sanitary pads to be able to go to school when on their periods. Almost immediately, I realized the strong impact that the company has across Africa as we have the capabilities to support governments in addressing these issues.
Despite Bayer being a global company, we are advancing in the creation of strategic considerations tailored specifically to the countries we work in, especially with the implementation of the DSO program. It is true that as an innovative company, we have a broad portfolio from oncology to ophthalmology, for example, and are investing heavily in cell and gene therapies to address the treatments that we will need tomorrow. However, in the demographic of the Sub-Saharan region, we are focused on bringing specific solutions to the most pressing needs, and women’s health is an issue that we need to tackle today.
Aside from that, South Africa has some of the highest levels of type 2 diabetes, which triggers other illnesses such as retinal diseases. The incidence of ophthalmology patients is very high in the region and the system is not prepared to match the number of diagnostics that are required. So, in the area of ophthalmology, we are partnering with the government, associations, and clinics to see how we can advance screening and provide the best available therapies for retinal diseases. Also, cardiology is an important area to address in general across Africa.
Within these three key areas, we have great news in terms of the global pipeline for innovation. We have a new product for ophthalmology that will be coming relatively soon to South Africa. For cardiology, we have a product that is being launched in a couple of countries to treat chronic kidney disease. We are very excited that it will be launched in South Africa and other countries in Africa in 2025. We just had a fantastic exchange with top physicians: nephrologists, cardiologists, and endocrinologists, to understand the unmet need, which is very high. Finally, for women’s health, we have a new solution coming up for menopause, a medical event that is not always talked about and it affects women psychologically and in their quality of life.
EF: How do you keep your team engaged and what is the type of leadership that you use?
JL: You need to have a flexible leadership. When you work across geographies, especially in a continent like Africa where you have multiple languages and approaches, South Africa alone has 11 national languages with various cultures and religions, as a leader you need to adapt. I am very happy to have a team that is very multicultural even within one country. It is a privilege for me to hear perspectives and ideas from very different angles. This is what makes our team probably one of the richest in terms of diversity. We need to strive to cultivate this type of environment where everyone can contribute and bring their authentic self. This is one of the elements that led us to be recognized as a Top Employer in 2023 and 2024 in South Africa and Kenya.
Within the new DSO operational model, we are shifting from a hierarchical way of doing things to a model that allows teams to self-organize and co-create solutions aimed at serving our customers better. With the new DSO model, Leaders will be working together with the teams within specified cycles through collaboration and coaching. In the DSO setup, we will work dynamically to learn from each other instead of only giving directions and instructions. This is a challenge, and one of my main commitments is to make sure that the company is upskilled and to identify all the competencies, knowledge, and skills to advance our organization.
EF: What can we expect from Bayer in the region for the upcoming years and how will the DSO program impact the company’s businesses?
JL: Bayer is a Life Science company that is present in two key industries for the better development of the world: the food chain and healthcare. Africa is one of the main players worldwide when it comes to advancing the food chain as it has a vast land where we can cultivate grain or maize, for example, which will be ultimately consumed not just in the region but globally. We have a duty and responsibility to keep developing technologies that will allow us to advance in the way we do agriculture today and tomorrow to keep feeding the world, especially when facing climate change.
We have ambitious growth targets to keep accelerating our business and impact in Africa for the long term, we have a clear vision for 2030 and we will continue to invest in Africa. For Crop Science, we are currently building a new production site in Zambia. From the healthcare side, we are building partnerships across different areas, from the private and public sectors, to make sure that we provide access to medicines in the region. For example, we have a strategic partnership with Unjani Clinics to empower black women, and with Mobile Health Clinics to provide training for nurses on patient services in South Africa.
EF: Do you have a final message?
JL: I have to say that it is very exciting for me to work at Bayer, and it’s also a privilege. While Africa has numerous opportunities, it is also faced with challenges that all of us can collectively address, for example, disease and hunger. I went to some of the healthcare centers to see how we are training nurses, and when you see that every single day you do things right and put in the effort, you can truly appreciate our mission “Health for All, Hunger for None” becoming a reality. The future of the continent is indeed very bright.
