Nordic Life Science 1
96 Linn Mandahl joined AbbVie in 2017, as CEO of
AbbVie Sweden. She began as a pharmacist and has experience from different executive roles within the pharmaceutical industry, for example as sales, marketing and business area manager. Before AbbVie she was the CEO of Takeda Sweden. As a CEO, I asked her about the challenges she experienced in leading this change of creating a common Scandinavian culture. “Culture is perishable and it is a challenge to really keep the culture vibrant, relevant and engaging at all times. For example, I need to communicate openly and clearly and keep our recipe for culture boiling by listening to and addressing new needs and challenges that occur. A vibrant culture is very much about involvement and commitment and this requires constant focus and efforts around all of our seven ingredients,” she says. andahl also says that the last two years, which have involved the formation of the Scandinavian organization and also the ongoing integration with Allergan that AbbVie is in the middle of (the 63 billion USD acquisition was completed in May 2020), have required extra large demands on having vibrant and qualitative cultural work. “But having a strong culture as a platform during these times of major changes is also the key to being able to succeed in a good way.” Recently, Linn Mandahl became a member of the Danish-Swedish life science cluster Medicon Valley Alliance’s Board, contributing to the bridge-building between the two countries. “To join forces and collaborate across borders is natural and important in order to create conditions for our citizens to get access to the latest medical innovations, increase the region’s competitiveness within industry, healthcare and academia, and to create job opportunities. Globally within AbbVie we are happy to position the region as an exciting and dynamic region for new potential partnerships and business opportunities,” she says. AbbVie is a relatively young company; it was formed in 2013 when Abbott was restructured and its biopharmaceutical arm became a separate company (Abb stands for its long history from Abbott and Vie for improving lives). The company is focusing on four main areas; immunology, neurology, oncology and virology. For example, it is developing treatments for inflammatory skin, joint and gastrointestinal diseases, Alzheimers disease, multiple myeloma, glioblastoma, and hepatitis C. Globally AbbVie has around 47 000 employees, including researchers, scientists, communicators, manufacturing specialists and regulatory experts, located in over 70 countries. Just as in the Scandinavian organization, the company has also globally received several awards and recognition for its human resources work, including more than 40 top employer great places to work ratings. Other recognitions include Science Magazines’s Top Employers, Fortune’s100 Best Companies to Work for and Working Mother’s 100 Best Companies. Similarly to most companies, AbbVie has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but Mandahl emphasizes that she has never been as proud to be working at the company as she is now. Early on she and her colleagues set a clear focus as an organization, she says, “To proactively contribute to solving this global health challenge.” The company’s efforts have a foremost focus on health and safety for its employees, healthcare staff and patients, but also on society. “For example we are supporting and collaborating with selected global health authorities and institutions around clinical trials and research related to COVID-19. We have made great efforts to secure production and delivery of our pharmaceuticals and we have also been able to speed up our manufacturing within areas where there is an increased need.” Apart from donating medicines in demand to countries in need and to new studies, the company has donated 35 million USD to support caregivers, patients and societies severely affected from COVID-19. In Scandinavia the company has also made targeted donations to organizations in extra need right now. “For example in Sweden we have chosen to donate money to BRIS, Children’s Rights in Society, because the pressure on them is extra high right now and many children are experiencing domestic violence, as well as severe loneliness when isolation is the new norm. We hope that our contribution can make it possible for more children to come into contact with and to get support from a counselor,” concludes Mandahl. NLS