Michele Manto recently joined the Galapagos team. He is responsible for the Commercial Operations department; the next step in the evolution of Galapagos towards a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company.’
Starting from scratch
‘Developing Commercial Operations in an organization rooted in excellent R&D is an inspiring challenge, and one that offers great opportunities. We don’t have baggage from the past to constrain us. It’s like we’re building a house on an empty plot of land, with no need to work around existing pillars or structures. We have the freedom to create the company we envision. We are able to work the way we want to work.’
An evolution
‘Commercial Operations has also evolved from the concept of it being Sales & Marketing. There are several functions and capabilities needed to succeed nowadays, like market access, medical affairs, engagement with patient organisations. There are some functions that fall directly under my responsibility, and others in completely different areas. It’s like an orchestra and my role is to ensure these different functions and capabilities work smoothly together with all the different stakeholders to successfully bring our innovative medicines to patients and society.’
Talents
‘In a fast-growing company, there are a lot of opportunities for personal development. What I’ve seen so far is that Galapagos encourages people to take on new tasks as different talents become necessary. There’s so much potential at Galapagos! When hiring, we look for candidate profiles with growth potential, expert knowledge and leadership skills, the right attitude to work in a biotech environment and experience in working with other departments. We want people with the ability and the hunger to develop further, people committed to moving forward. I see a brilliant future of opportunities for Galapagos and its employees!’
26 September 2017