Embedding Quality Excellence at UCB: Liesbeth Foesters on Leadership in External Manufacturing

“I believe that if a quality culture is really embedded, the quality organisation starts reducing, because the more quality is embedded in the organisation, the less you need quality to help you think.” – Liesbeth Foesters

Liesbeth Foesters, Vice President and Head of External and Clinical Supply Quality at UCB, leads a multinational team of over 130 quality professionals who collaborate across various functions including CMC, supply chain, external manufacturing, and more. With a background in biochemical engineering and extensive experience across multiple quality roles, she brings a unique perspective to quality leadership.

In a recent PharmaSource podcast, Liesbeth shared invaluable insights on embedding quality excellence across external manufacturing operations, building effective partnerships with over 100 contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs), and developing leadership approaches that drive engagement and performance.

Being at the Table When Decisions Are Made

Quality professionals often struggle to have their voice heard in strategic discussions. Liesbeth emphasises the importance of being present when key decisions are made – and not just forcing yourself into meetings but being actively invited.

“The first thing that is important is to be around the table when decisions are made or when topics are discussed. Preferably being asked around the table, because if you’re asked, they see the value you can bring. They know that if you’re there, the chances of success are higher. This is how you can convince the business.”

She believes quality leaders must build strong relationships with business counterparts by being business-oriented while maintaining compliance. “Compliance is key in quality, of course, but with a mindset of efficiency and understanding what my business needs are. If you build a strong relationship, they want you there.”

This proactive involvement pays dividends when issues arise: “Because we are proactively aware of what’s going to happen, or when we are in a reactive mode because an issue happens, we’re around the table to find solutions from the start. This is where quality can bring the most value. If you’re more at the end, and they decide everything, and then by the way, can you please make it compliant – this is very inefficient.”

Speaking Business Language, Not Quality Language

One of Liesbeth’s most powerful insights is how quality professionals should communicate with other functions. Her approach focuses on translating quality requirements into business value.

“I would say, understand your business, understand your stakeholders, focus more on what they need, and then show the value you can bring to help them. If you’re forcing your own quality agenda, it will not work. They need to see the value you bring to them. You need to speak their language, not a quality language.”

Her practical advice is refreshingly direct: “Never quote regulations or procedures. Because from the moment I say ‘in the procedure’, I see my business colleagues disconnecting. I’m always explaining the value, why it’s needed, why it makes sense, what’s in it for them. I would never say ‘the regulation says’ or ‘the procedure says’ – and I see a lot of quality people still going there.”

Instead, Liesbeth recommends listening carefully to understand the challenges of other functions and framing quality approaches in their language: “That’s when they start to really listen and think, ‘Ah, they’re helping me, they’re not just blocking as quality.'”

Key Insights on Managing External Manufacturing Quality

Liesbeth’s comprehensive approach to managing quality across UCB’s network of over 100 external manufacturing partners offers valuable lessons for quality professionals:

• Clear selection process with quality at the table: Quality has a formal seat in make-or-buy decisions and is “completely part of the decision-making process” from the beginning.
• Multi-factor vendor assessment: Selection considers quality performance alongside financial, sustainability, and HSE factors, with quality having veto power. “If I would say this is not acceptable from a quality perspective, it would not pass.”
• Risk-based due diligence: Initial site visits by cross-functional teams help identify quality risks early, with options to escalate concerns:
  • For clear quality gaps: “This is a no-go. The gap is so big between what we’re expecting and what they are going to deliver.”
  • For borderline cases: “If we’re doubting, we are putting the quality audit earlier… It’s a risk-based approach.”
  • For serious concerns: “We can ask our global compliance team to go there and do a proper three or four days audit on site.”
• Dedicated vendor management teams: Each CMO partnership is managed by a focused team with representatives from quality, supply chain, and manufacturing, with procurement supporting the relationship.
• Formal agreements with performance metrics: Business contracts are interlinked with quality agreements that establish clear expectations and KPIs, which are “monitored on a monthly basis with the vendor.”
• Tiered risk monitoring: “We do risk scoring every six months. If we see the risk is low, we have less oversight. If we see the risk is high, we go in for extra oversight.”
• Tailored engagement levels: Leadership engages in periodic business reviews, while operational teams maintain “day-to-day contact with the quality team on site at the vendor.”
• Strategic systems integration: UCB uses SAP for batch release and is exploring SAP HANA for enhanced vendor interfaces.
• Pragmatic digital collaboration:
  • For major partners: “We have vendors that can sign in our system, but only the biggest vendors.”
  • For smaller vendors: “We have protected collaboration sites where documents from both sides are being posted.”
• Clear data ownership principles: “We are very clear on who owns the data. We can put copies in our system, but it’s clear it’s a copy and the original one is at the vendor.”
• Balanced approach to systems access: With larger partners who can invest in technology, UCB sometimes has protected visibility into their systems, though she acknowledges “in the perfect world, we would all be in the same system, and we could see each other’s live data.”

This structured approach demonstrates how quality oversight can be effective even across diverse systems and partners, balancing rigorous standards with practical collaboration methods.

Building a Quality Culture That Scales

Liesbeth shares her perspective on measuring quality culture: the sign of success is when you need fewer quality professionals, not more.

“We are still growing enormously in the quality organisation. Part is due to increasing capacity – we’re selling more products. But there’s another part because we need to check more, we need to be present more. I strongly believe that if a quality culture is really embedded, the quality organisation starts reducing, because the more quality is embedded in the organisation, the less you need quality to help you think.”

She explains this counter-intuitive measure: “Today we see investigations we’re challenging or making comments on – that’s a lot of waste. If it would be right first time all the time, there would be less work for quality and less work for operations. My big KPI would be that we start reducing the quality organisation instead of increasing it, unless it’s really due to capacity.”

When asked if this means less need for a dedicated quality team, she clarifies: “There will always be some parts we have to do. We release a batch, we have a number to release the batch, or we need to sign off on deviations. But imagine if every deviation comes to you and it’s already perfect, and you’re just reading and think, ‘Indeed, exactly right root cause,’ and you just sign it off. The enormous amount of efficiency you gain there is amazing.”

Leading with Authenticity and Care

Liesbeth describes her leadership style as different from the stereotypical quality professional – more energetic, business-oriented, and demanding, while also being deeply caring.

“Being different is both a blessing and a curse. I’m a younger female leader. In many meetings, I’m either the youngest or the only female around the table. I’m very caring, so people are really close to me, while many leaders are more distant. But I’m also very energetic and very demanding, both on myself and my colleagues.”

This combination drives results: “They know if I bite into something, I will make sure it’s delivered. Feedback is just my nature. If I see something that can be better, I will tell them; if I’m proud of something they’ve done, I will tell them.”

Her leadership approach includes several innovative practices to maintain connection with her large, geographically dispersed team:

“I connect with every individual once a year minimum, to make sure I still understand what’s happening in their life. It’s 20 minutes – it’s their meeting. I’m there to listen, to help, to understand their struggles. The beauty is that I still know when a baby is born, or a move happens, but I also know what keeps them up at night. I think it’s my accountability to make sure that I help.”

She also creates team cohesion through creative approaches: “At the end of the year, I ask them to send me minimum one professional – or it could be personal – big achievement of the year. I get emails from all of them, and I make a quiz out of it. We do a two-hour quiz that’s so funny every year.”

These personal connections translate into a stronger team culture: “With these little moments – one-on-ones with me, the quiz with emails, and a face-to-face event – you can build a lot of connection and bring the cultures into one. Because the cultures are different, I’m always respecting the differences, but they really feel as one team.”

Liesbeth will be speaking at CDMO Live 2025 alongside quality leaders at Johnson & Johnson and MSD about Quality as a Catalyst: Accelerating CDMO Success Through Quality Management.

Download the full agenda here