Francesca Moro is Global Procurement Delivery Lead for Marketing and Sales at Roche group, working in their Basel headquarters.
She is experienced in multi categories, and plays an active role in PharmaSource’s Women in Pharma Procurement community mentoring other women.
In this rapid-fire interview she talks about her career and what drives her.
What was your first job?
My first role was a KPMG Audit, just after the university degree in Finance. I spent 3 years there and was a very good gym to analyse 360 degree various companies and their processes.
What pushed you to pursue a career in this field?
I first entered Roche in Business Controlling, which was valuable in understanding the pharma business, deep diving into cost analysis and also in the strategic decisions making process. I understood that to make the difference in Finance, you need to ‘speak business’: deeply understand the business and its dynamics.
I chose to work in procurement as it’s exposed to the international environment and collaboration; moreover, procurement offers the opportunity to connect both internally – with business representatives and colleagues – and externally with suppliers, market experts and associations.
Procurement touches the entire company and it’s strictly connected to our business.
What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date ?
My greatest achievements regards people and transformation: I had the opportunity to work on a transformative projects, aiming to change our approach to the market and internal stakeholders while changing our procurement structure and focus.
What are your aspirations for the future of your work?
I’m working to build an environment where we are all leaders, where we lead from every seat as we all contribute to the success of our company and ultimately of our patients
How do you find suitable suppliers who can help accelerate your work?
Sometimes the point is not to find new suppliers, but to establish strong partnerships with our existing suppliers, to grow together. In this, SRM is very important. If going external is the only option, then scouting, benchmarking tools and market analysis can help.
What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve ever been given?
Not to exclude myself from opportunities!
Sometimes women exclude themselves as they think not to know enough, not to have enough experience or not to have enough time. No-one is perfect.. and by the way perfection is rarely good: it takes too much time!
It’s more important to think about what I can add to a role rather than what I miss.
How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
I find a lot of motivation by myself, in doing things that add value to the total picture. Every person has a different element that helps them to express their passion the most. For some is to be in the front line, for some is to be at the back. For some is to have guardrails, for others to be extremely creative.
The point is to look at every single individual, finding ‘the’ element and making them contribute and excel for that. We are all different and diversity brings value.
How do you handle adversity ?
There are situations that bring me awake at night or that don’t necessarily go how they should. The thing that works for me is to think ‘Tomorrow is another day’ (Rossella O’Hara). I stop to think and I distract myself with a different topic.
Normally the day after, during the shower or the morning routine with the kids, I find a solution or an idea that helps to solve the situation. There have been times when I could not solve an adverse event, and it’s ok: it’s human and we can not prevent any situation. I have learned that failing is also a good learning opportunity.
Finally, how do you relax?
I love painting, abstract subjects. It opens my mind and relaxes me. And now my second child Emma has become my partner in crime for this… and it’s even more funny!
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