BMK wrote:Hi all,
I have perhaps a naive question about the dual-ladders/various management roles in industry. We've seen a lot of discussion in the past weeks about business development, product development, project management and R&D management, and a bunch of associated topics. My question is how divergent/integrated these roles are in practice. For example, in company X, would each role be often handled by separate individual, or is it more common for two (or more) of these roles to fall under the duties/responsibilities of a single person?
In other words, at what "rung" in the ladder might someone start wearing multiple hats of the types we've been reading about, being involved in business development and project management? Would the same person be involved handling both the clinical trials needed to support the regulatory application needed to bring a product to market and R&D management? Would the same person often be the one expected to initiate establishing academic-industry collaboration?
Hopefully the above was clear. It's a pretty open-ended question I admit, so thanks in advance to everyone who chimes in!
Hi BMK,
You recieved some good insights and in the context of a small Company.
Where I can add in relation to your first question how intergrated/diveregent are the roles you described. I propose that you start thinking about this with a cross-functional mindset. A part this means whereas one function may drive one of these activities, for example Business Development, the elements that fuel their strategy development and tactical exectuion can involve other functions, such as Marketing and Business Analytics. How they inferface can be different, in one element, Marketing may set the over-arching strategy and platform by which Business Development may use as thier guiding Posts for future acquistions or licensing opporunities, leveraging Business Analytics function or expert to assess Commercial potential. How active each of those functions are can be related to Company size or internal Business unit size etc. IN this particular case they may Report up the same line, or diverge again related to organizational Chart and and Company set up. On the other Hand, you may have a Marketing Person have elements of Business Development, this could be in the context of Life-cycle Management - basically sizing up opporunity in very much the same way a Business Development Person does but sitting in a Marketing function. In this case R&D members can lend their Expertise and functional resources to Support these endeavors an so on.
As already noted Company size predicts Level of involvement and overlap of each fucntion.
Regarding your specific question about the Person involved in clincal Trials supporting the regulatory application - again think cross-functionally. Definatly the Regulatory Affairs activites are owned by that fucntion, but they are dependent on Expertise and resources from a Clinical Development Medical Director who, in Addition to serving as reesponsible for a clinical Trial, they are responsible for ensuring appropriate incorporation of that Trial into a Regulatory Affairs owned dossier as needed. Cross-fuctionally. Consider that the Clincail Developement Medical Director is also working with Clinical Trial Operations, Drug Safety , Drug Supply, Marketing, Business Development etc. You get the Point. In a bigger Company for examaple, some of Clinical Development activities can be served by a Medical Affairs function or in smaller companies or Business Units, it can be a Medical Affairs Person manages all those cross-fucntional Interfaces.
How deep can one function address or take ownership of another function activities can be limited by laws and reguations - epsecially in pharma. So a Marketing Person cannot do the activities of a R&D function. However does not mean the two fucnctions are not strategicaly aligned.
To touch on a small Company, I'm in one now , it can give alot of exposure to other fucntions. In my specific role I run a Governance board called a Global Brand Team, whereas I sit in a Marketing function my Job is to integrate the 9 functions that sit on my Team - in this case I wear many hats - and the glue to my Team is a dedicated Project Manager who serve as my right Hand. Any Business impacting decision that is taken on my Brand, must run through the heart of my Team. I'm not in Senior Leadership, but my Partner who works in a big pharma, tells me, thier GBTs are run by very very senior People, very high on the ladder, i.e. Functional Heads, so in this case a small Company is giving me that Level of experience at a middle-management Level. And in my Company, my GBT reports, among others GBTs, Report to the highest governance board in the Company, .that's one is all the Executive Vice Presidents. There is good and bad, small companies give alot of visability and accountablity- depending on your personality, it can be a good and bad Thing. Depends on what you want.
Feel free to ask any more questions!
DX