Novartis Panel Discussion

In business, Procurement is the act of buying the goods and services necessary to keep a company operational. While it may seem simple in theory, it’s a complex field that requires strategic and analytical thinking in conjunction with softer skills such as emotional intelligence and communication.

Rupa Banerjee delivering introductory remarks

On Thursday, November 5^th, Rutgers Business School hosted a panel discussion where executives from Novartis shared stories from their careers in Procurement. Michael Brueckner (US Head of Procurement), Michael McKenna (US Head of Corporate Services Procurement), AnnMarieMoran (US Head, Marketing and Sales Procurement), Thomas Michaels (US Head, Real Estate and Facilities Procurement), Caitlin Mosco (Sourcing Manager, Global Procurement), and Todd Bittiger (Global Supplier Performance and Innovation Manager) were all in attendance. Rupa Banerjee, Co-President of the Management Consulting Club, kicked off the event by welcoming all the panelists and attendees. Professor Eric Larson then spoke about how the RBS Supply ChainManagement program has grown, and that Rutgers is now one of the top schools in the country for students interested in Supply Chain. Next, Shakun Wattal, Co-President of the Supply Chain Student Initiative, introduced each of the panelists and gave a brief description of their role at Novartis.

Novartis Panel Discussion

The panel then kicked off with a video where the Novartis CEO, Joseph Jimenez, talks about the mission of Novartis and the patients they serve. It was very clear that all of the work Novartis does is centered on allowing patients to overcome their respective diseases and live a normal life. Mr. Jimenez  explained, “I have arrived at a very simple concept: normal is extraordinary. There is nothing more extraordinary than a normal life." Mike Koskulics, Co-President of the Pharmaceutical Management Club, served as the panel moderator and segued into the discussion by asking the panelists what inspired them to get to the point in their careers they are at today. All of the panelists came from different backgrounds, but it was clear they all have a passion for Procurement and the effect it can have on an organization like Novartis. Mr. Brueckner talked about how he wanted to work in Procurement because it gives you a broad view of the company and the business. Mr. McKenna comes from an academic background and described how the world of academia shaped his professional career in Procurement. Mr. Michaels noted that Procurement is all about saving money and at Novartis, every dollar he is able to save can go developing new drugs or helping patients pay for their medication. Mr. Bittiger explained how procurement also affects the top line in a business and that is what inspires him. If he is able to do his job well and form strategic partnerships with top suppliers, he can make Novartis their client of choice and this ensures that Novartis’s products are brought to market in the most efficient and successful way possible.

The next topic of discussion focused on how students can be successful in Novartis without a strong Pharmaceutical background. Ms. Moran assured students that it’s OK to come to Novartis without a Pharmaceutical background. Instead of having broad knowledge about the industry, having skills essential to the function of Procurement is more important. Ms. Mosco elaborated by saying skills like being able to develop relationships and effectively communicate are the most important to her career.

Mike then opened up the panel to a general Q&A and the panelists covered topics such as innovation and the changing landscape of Procurement.  The event concluded with closing remarks from the Chair of the Supply Chain Management Program, Professor Rosa Oppenheim. It was an informative and engaging event that the students benefited from and enjoyed. Thank you to Rupa, Shakun, Michael and the countless other people involved who made this event such a success! And a special thanks to the panelists for taking time out of their busy schedules to come to RBS. We hope you’ll return again soon!

Summer Internship Series: Vanessa, Joseph and Swathi

CPG, IT, Pharma - we've got it all this week! Thank you Vanessa Duvert, Joseph Jao and Swathi Rangan for sharing your internship experiences with us! 

Vanessa, concentrating in Marketing and Marketing Research Insights & Analytics, is working at Campbell Soup Company this summer...

"I was super excited to find out that I was assigned to the Chunky Soup brand this summer. It's a beloved brand that has a unique position in the enterprise. As an Associate Brand Manager Intern, it's a particularly exciting time to be on board. This year, the marketing internship program was revamped to provide a more robust experience. During the first two weeks of the internship we were spilt into two groups of five. One group worked on a recommendation plan to advise the company on corporate transparency efforts. My group worked on advising the company on how to capture millennial consumers. After presenting to the marketing leadership team We each moved on to our brand assignments. My project is to develop a marketing strategy for Chunky to create value and differentiation in the market. To do this I'm considering positioning and promotional tactics to drive demand. It's been a great experience and I look forward to presenting in the next 2 weeks. 

Although the office is in Camden, I've been living in Philadelphia. There's been so many fun activities planned for the intern class like Phillies games, consumer test kitchens, and bowling downtown. What I've enjoyed most are the weekly coffee chats with senior leaders including our president, CMO and several VPs. The level of exposure is outstanding and it's made for a great summer."

Joseph is a Supply Chain Management student spending his summer working in Boise, ID...

"This summer I am interning at Micron Technology, which is the last and only memory chip maker in the US. Micron provides comprehensive memory solutions in four major applications which are PC, mobile device, enterprise storage, and automotive. The company, founded in 1978, is based in Boise, ID and has global operations with manufacturing sites in the US and Asia.

I am working in the mobile business unit, which is the fastest growing segment in the company, as a Product Line Management Intern. One month before starting my internship, my supervisor took on a new role called Program Manager, and is responsible for executing and facilitating cross-functional team efforts to ensure smooth delivery of projects through a product life cycle. It is a new function area in the new organization. The selected projects are critical to the company’s growth and security of market share. So far, I have been working with my manager to get the alignment with all the stakeholders that are responsible for different function areas like marketing, R&D, manufacturing, supply chain management, etc. My job requires me to hold strong product knowledge, process familiarity and good communication skills to succeed. Since Micron has been expanding its operations through acquisition, we need to work with different geographical locations like Asia and Europe. I find it challenging, but very exciting to participate in the process as the program manager plays a key role in the success of the projects. The work culture in the company is good, I feel very comfortable working with my team. People in the company do not treat you differently because you are just an intern. People are so respectful of each other, and this is what the company appreciates and I like it very much.

Micron recruits most of the interns in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science from schools on the West Coast and in the Midwest. As a MBA student from New Jersey, I feel like I am a rare species in the intern groups. But it is very nice to hang out with those engineers after work hours and on the weekends, discovering Boise and its proximity. I am close to some interns who are living in the same complex with me and we have done some fun outdoor activities like mountain hiking and river rafting together in Boise. I still have six weeks to finish my internship and have been enjoying everything here so far. I think Boise is an underrated city in the US and I would love to come back for work!"   

Swathi is pursuing dual concentrations in Pharmaceutical Management and Marketing, as well as an MS in Biomedical Sciences...

"This summer I've been fortunate enough to intern with the US Marketing group at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, a (insert surprised reaction here) diagnostics firm based out of Raritan, New Jersey.  Ortho Clinical was initially a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, but mid-last year was acquired by The Carlyle Group- a private equity firm.  This divestiture has actually resulted in immense growth for the company, as it now functions as a stand-alone global firm that is able to specialize on certain product lines.

One of the greatest advantages I've had during this experience was in essence taking over a marketing role rather than an internship- while I do have one major 'intern project' within our clinical chemistry line, I get placed on other tasks as they rise in importance.  I've learned about pricing promotions, marketing communications, developing customer facing content and a vast majority of other marketing functions.  This has been accomplished all while interacting with sales teams, executives, engineers, and scientists proving to be a truly cross functional role.  Another huge benefit is that I've been able to travel to multiple locations- my internship actually started with a week in LA for a product launch within our transfusion medicine line.  I'm currently in Rochester this week for a series of meetings, and next week I will be off to Atlanta for the annual AACC conference (American Association of Clinical Chemistry), which is one of our most important events for the year. 

Since I'm still in New Jersey, I've been able to see some of our Rutgers MBA folk on occasion, and have been heading out to NYC on the weekends.  Next weekend I will actually be traveling out to Chicago for some fun (and I'll be able to meet up with some business school people as well)!  While it will be nice to get out of Jersey for a weekend, my internship has been (and I am certain, will continue to be) a great experience over the three month duration, and I'm excited to see the long term results of my direct work."

That's all for now! I know the summer is almost coming to a close and many people are finishing up the last few weeks of their internships, but have no fear! We'll be back next week to hear from more members of the Class of 2016!

Summer Internship Series: Susan, Laavanya and Jaclyn

And we're back! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend! I know a lot of people have reached or passed the halfway point, I can't believe it! This week we've got Susan Smith, Laavanya Shriram and Jaclyn Kirna talking about their internships...

Susan, concentrating in Finance and Supply Chain Management, writes from Iselin, NJ...

"Greetings from the distant land of Iselin, NJ, where I am interning in global financial planning and analysis at Ansell. Ansell makes personal protective equipment, such as gloves, suits, and condoms. They are a truly global company with operations in each of four regions: North America (NA), Latin America & Caribbean (LAC), Asia Pacific (APAC), and Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA).

So far, I have worked on some small tasks – collecting information on the manufacturing sector in different countries and on general economic conditions globally in order to predict and analyze the effect of global conditions on sales and creating bridge graphs for a presentation. I am also working to model sales forecasts and analyze growth with the complicating factor of acquisitions and the seasonal nature of the business. Remember Dr. Lei’s seasonal forecasting models? Well, I have been putting them to use! Most recently I have been collecting information on recent sales growth of competitors and distributors in order to see if the movement in manufacturing affects them in similar ways. 

It has been nice to meet interns from other schools, although there is a big Rutgers contingent. Go RU. Another plus is the lunch and learns that HR has set up for us. We met the Chief Human Resource Officer who gave us an overview of the company. We also met a brand manager and learned about a new product, both how it was developed and how a market is being created for it. The Director of IT gave us a view of how the IT department interacts with and supports the rest of the business. We will also be lunching and learning with a NA head of sales as well as the CEO."

Laavanya is concentrating in Supply Chain Management and Strategy and is working in Northvale, NJ...

"This summer, I am working for RAB Lighting, based out of Northvale, NJ. In little over a month, I have had 2 dinner parties, 7-9 cakes, and above all hands-on experience in various aspects of supply chain - procurement, inventory management, demand planning, new product development and logistics.

RAB is a third generation family owned U.S. company and the fastest growing company in New Jersey too. The company manufacturers and distributes commercial LED lighting. A year ago, the company began forming it's Supply Chain department and has been a growing team since. As a Supply Chain Intern, I am mainly focussing on demand forecasting & inventory management. I feel really lucky to have found this position as I am able to rotate in each team within the SC department, helping enhance/apply all that I have learnt via RBS. Also, the coolest thing, as the entire company located in one building, I literally walk through each process or department and see how they function. 

Be it working in excel to report KPI trends or applying OB concepts enabling change management during Lean events, I find learning is everywhere and summer is too short to fully absorb it. I hope to gather as much as I can here and hopefully define my career path. This is also my first experience working for a small company (well when compared to MNC's I earlier worked for) with strong culture. Today I can vouch that there is a thing named work culture fit. Though my colleagues are diverse and unique, because we all have similar ideologies it makes working together fun and easy. I feel much more confident in voicing my opinions or ideas. The entire company has a family kind of vibe, anyone can walk into any space (yep even CEO's office) without feeling awkward and have an open conversation about anything. 

On a personal front, thanks to a 30 mile commute, I finally bought a car and have been making the most of it. Our classmate, Meghana Talasila, also on the same team as me, is in the same boat. So we hangout a lot and cherish our Rutgers roots. We have been exploring some hidden hiking gems in the Tristate area. Anyone interested?"

Jaclyn is a Finance and Strategy student spending her summer working in NYC…

"This summer, I am interning in Commercial Finance at Pfizer Inc.’s World Headquarters located in midtown Manhattan.  During the 10-week internship, I am working on two teams: Global Commercial Operations and Accounts Receivable – Working Capital Initiatives. On Pfizer’s GCO team, I have been collaborating with leadership team members and Op. Plan leads to help prepare Pfizer’s 2016 Operating Plan and build a compensation model for GCO spend.  I am also assisting GCO leadership team members with reevaluating their monthly reporting, forecasting, and budgeting processes based on regional needs.  On the Accounts Receivable team, I assist with DSO (days sales outstanding) trending, reporting, and analysis and I help the team prepare and validate AR reporting packages.  During my time on both teams, I am working to improve the efficiency of Pfizer’s reporting processes.

I just finished week 6 of my internship and it’s hard to believe how fast it is flying by!  Pfizer’s internship program has given me a lot of exposure to senior executives through the various lunch & learns planned for the MBA summer associates.  This past Tuesday, we had a summer speaker session with Chairman of the Board & CEO, Ian Read.  He shared his career path as well as his perspective on transformational leadership and it was exciting that the interns had the opportunity to ask him questions at the end of the session. At Pfizer, the MBA interns also work on a live case study throughout the summer.  My team is comprised of 2 finance interns and a procurement intern.  In early August, we will be presenting our recommendation to our managers and senior executives in the company. Earlier this summer, Pfizer colleagues volunteered at Camp Sebago (a camp located outside of NYC for inner city children).  I spent the day cleaning up the campsite with colleagues from different Pfizer locations and it was fun to watch a dance routine that the children performed for us that afternoon.  We lucked out with good weather and the lake up there was beautiful!

It’s hard to believe that just a year ago, I was teaching 22 super energetic third graders.  It’s been a challenging yet exciting career change into the corporate world, but I’m really enjoying the experience.  The best part is that I’m working with people who love what they do and I’m learning something new every day!

After the internship, I have plans to travel to Houston, Texas for a wedding and then to Austin, Texas to visit some friends (and any of the Dell folks who will still be down there!).  As a Jersey native who loves the beach, the summer wouldn’t be complete without spending some time at the Jersey Shore!"

Thanks for checking in and keep reading each week! 

Summer Internship Series: Mike, James and Anuj

This week we have the privilege of hearing from Mike Koskulics, James Ma and Anuj Jain. Read on to hear about their internship experiences so far.

Mike studies Pharmaceutical Management and Marketing and is working in Whippany, NJ...

"This summer I’m interning at Bayer Healthcare in Whippany, NJ where I’m working on the Essure 2016 brand plan. Essure is a non-surgical, permanent birth control device that Bayer purchased for over $1 billion a couple of years ago from a company called Conceptus. 

So far, my experience at Bayer has been great. Working on the brand plan, I’ve gotten the chance to dive into every facet of pharmaceutical marketing—from advertising to sales training to pricing. While I’ve learned a lot, my favorite part of the experience has been seeing how marketing in the pharmaceutical industry actually works. Often times, the media portrays pharmaceutical companies as cold, money-hungry corporations that care more about the bottom line than the patients. My experience couldn’t be more different than this. On a daily basis, I witness far more discussions about the patient experience and physician support than profits. While getting hands-on experience in my chosen field has been amazing, the best part of my internship has been getting to be a part of an organization filled with people that truly care about helping people and doing the right thing. 

At this point in my internship, I have one month left before my presentation to the Executive Committee, a group composed of the heads of each business unit along with the CEO. I know these few weeks will continue to get more intense, as I race to learn everything I can and package it all together into what I hope will be a great presentation. Fortunately, I won’t be working non-stop the entire time. This coming weekend, my fellow Bayer interns and I are going to have a fun, work-free weekend in Atlantic City!"

James is a Finance and Pharmaceutical Management student spending his summer in Somerville, NJ...

"This summer I am lucky enough to be working in Somerville, NJ at Ethicon, part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies and one of the world’s largest medical device manufacturers. Ethicon specializes in surgical care, and the Somerville site focuses specifically on R&D and manufacturing of wound closure and hemostasis products.

 

As an MBA intern in finance, one of several Leadership Development Programs at J&J, I support Ethicon’s Global Strategic Marketing department. My main project has been developing a process to evaluate and decompose the performance of our financial forecasting for new product launches, in order to gain insights for and improve future models. Because of the nature of medical device new-product development, capital investment and allocation decisions must be made years before the product reaches the market, so the accuracy of these early-stage financial models is critically important.

 

The program has been excellent at providing training and connecting me to others across the J&J organization, which is vast, but decentralized enough to stay nimble in a given sector. My greatest challenges have been learning the various acronyms and tracking down the right person to ask sometimes-stupid questions. As an NJ native, I am also eternally grateful for my 10-minute commute from within the suburbs, and the relative density of J&J offices in the area has made it easier to connect to MBA interns in other programs."

Anuj is concentrating in Supply Chain Management and Strategy & Leadership...

"Hello everyone, I’m Anuj Jain, specializing in Supply Chain Management, and interning at Ferrero. Yes, I make sure that Tic Tacs, Ferrero Chocolates and Nutella spreads are available when you go shopping.

I am working in the supply chain department as a Supply Chain Advisor/Analyst. It has been a great journey so far. The supply chain of Ferrero is very complex as the products have a very short shelf life. The products are imported from other countries, as we do not produce in US. The biggest challenge is that the business is customer driven, which is a nightmare for a Supply Chain. The forecasts are never accurate. So, even with a short involvement of 3 weeks, I have seen numerous challenges faced by my department. Since beginning my internship, I have been working on analytics based on historical data available to us, and preparing tools that can help the Supply Chain team to become more effective and accurate in their forecasting. Yesterday, I participated in a daylong consensus meeting with the Marketing, Forecasting and Sales teams. In this meeting all the departments decide on one final target number for the upcoming months and it was a great learning experience for me. The greatest one, by any means, so far. The agreements and disagreements between the departments, the challenges and questions posed at each other, and the agreement on a final number gave me an opportunity to understand the different perspectives of Sales, Marketing and Supply Chain. I was super tired, but I was really happy to have had such an opportunity. I was helping my manager with the intelligence based out of historical data using the tools that I had prepared. The most important lesson that I learned in this meeting is that communication is the most essential factor for an efficient Supply Chain.

I do not have any plans as such for the summer due to work commitments, as the next 3 months are super super super busy at Ferrero. 75% of our business of the year happens between September and December!

Okay, now I’ll leave everything aside and talk about the serious stuff. Yes, we can eat as many chocolates as we want. So, if you don’t recognize me in the fall when school re-opens, don’t blame me. I am the victim here."

That's all for this week! We will take a week hiatus as next week is 4th of July weekend!! But be sure to check back in 2 weeks to learn more about what the Class of 2016 is doing this summer.