Meeting the Challenges of 2004: An Interview with Silvia Bonaccorso

To start off the new year, Dr. Silvia Bonaccorso, Vice President of Marketing and Medical Services, discusses the future plans for the department and offers her thoughts on how the Marketing Portal will play an integral role in improving the communication and efficiencies in 2004. She also shares some interesting stories about her personal life and reveals her passion for her family, soccer, Formula 1 and Ferrari, cooking, her two dogs, Prince and Frankie, and the Swedish musical group Abba.

What challenges do you see for Marketing and Medical Services in 2004?

2004 is going to be a year of opportunities. Basically, we need to evaluate all of our practices and decide which ones we should continue doing because they add value. Also, we need to determine which ones we should no longer do because they are not absolutely critical to the future success of the company. We'll also be identifying practices that we're not doing right now but should be and those that we should continue not doing. We need to be ruthless when looking at all of our responsibilities. In this environment, everything is important.

For the practices that add value, we need to find ways to perform them as efficiently as possible. Marketing and Medical Services should have no trouble with that. This department has been known for making miracles in terms of generating efficiencies and finding alternative ways of doing the work faster and with fewer resources. There's so much brain power that exists in this department, and the opportunities of improving the functions and making them much more efficient - more streamlined - are enormous.

How do you see the Marketing Portal fitting into the plan for 2004?

The Marketing Portal will be an absolutely critical part of the plan for 2004. Since one of the biggest challenges for this year is to be more efficient, the Marketing Portal is a formidable tool to help us meet this goal. One of the comments made by one of our Marketing Portal testers was "Wow! I didn't realize that Merck had all of these resources!" Knowing what is available and how to best utilize it is the first step toward efficiency. Before putting the time, resources, and effort into developing something from scratch, each person can now use the Marketing Portal to find out if something is available somewhere in the organization. It is a one-stop shop for everything we do in Marketing. Eventually, the Marketing Portal will become integrated into everyday work practices, and this will be fabulous.

How has Marketing and Medical Services evolved since you've been a part of this department?

I joined WHHM in 1991 when the department was still called Corporate Human Health Marketing (CHHM). First of all, what I see different today is the clarity with respect to our responsibilities, roles, and accountability. When I first joined the department, there was very little interaction between WHHM and MRL, and many of the interactions were somewhat confrontational in nature. This is much different than the collaboration that exists today where Marketing provides feedback and input from the very beginning of product development. And that input is sought out by MRL. Through the establishment of Global Marketing Teams, which didn't exist in 1991, there's much greater involvement of the different regions in the decision- making process. Additionally, centralizing all the partner areas that support Marketing Planning and the countries has made the operation much more efficient. When I joined the department, the functions that now reside in Marketing and Medical Services were spread out over four different areas of the company. The cross fertilization, communication, and alliances that exist today have made us into an efficient organization, which did not exist 12 years ago.

Would you provide us with a brief overview of your career at Merck?

I joined Merck in 1976 as the Director of Professional Relations in MSD Argentina. For 3 1/2 years, I was in charge of Opinion Leaders relations, medical training of the sales force, development and approval of promotion, professional events, and local post-marketing clinical trials. At the end of 1979, I left the company and went back into the practice of medicine. When my husband was transferred to the United States in 1986, I was offered the position to lead the International Medical and Scientific Events team (now known as International Professional Events [IPE]) in what was at the time MEDSA (Medical and Scientific Affairs). After two years in that position, I became Senior Medical Director and two years later Executive Director of Marketing Communications, which included Country Communications and Services, Publications, University Programs, exhibits (the seed of our current Worldwide Internet and Multimedia group), trademarks, promotion, a small financial group, and a very tiny production department. We didn't have graphic design at the time. It was just Glenn Mireau and Audrey Lewis - just two people doing all the production! After four years, I was promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Medical Communications, and all the functions that used to be in Medical and Scientific Affairs, like CDSP, Medical Review of Promotion, IPE, and Medical Communications, joined Marketing Communications. At the end of 1998, the rest of the functions in WHHM that were not under Marketing Planning, such as Outcomes Research, Sales and Marketing Training, Market Research, etc., were added to the department, which was renamed Marketing and Medical Services.

What first attracted you to Merck?

Pure chance! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be working for a pharmaceutical company. I just got an offer that I couldn't refuse.

What did you do prior to working at Merck?

When I was in the school of medicine, I needed to work because of the economic situation in my family. Therefore, I entered a two-year program in the school of communications to become an anchor person in radio and television. Soon after graduation I began working on a radio program and did television ads. About six months before I graduated from the school of medicine, I was given my first television news job on the early morning news - a program similar to Good Morning, America. I did that for a year and a half and then I moved to prime time television as an anchor woman on the evening news. I did that for seven years while working in the University Hospital in Buenos Aires and later running my own clinic of nephrology and hemodialysis in one of the private clinics in Buenos Aires. It was fun. I tried hard not to mix the two personas. The most difficult part was trying to keep my patients focused after they recognized me from television. Being recognized helped sometimes, because the patients would behave better with me than they did with the other doctors. I used to threaten them - like the way I fire people now. I'd tell them that I would mention their names on television if they didn't follow my instructions. I think I had the highest level of compliance around!

About six months after joining Merck, I left the TV news and the practice of medicine. The latter was a very tough decision to make. At that time, I needed to experience something different, but they say once a doctor always a doctor. When I left Merck at the end of 1979, I thought that I needed to go back to medical practice. In the end, I missed the work at Merck more than I missed medicine. Therefore, when I had the opportunity to join Merck again, I did.

Where did you earn your degrees?

I earned my medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Do you belong to any professional organizations?

I am a member of the International Society of Nephrology, and I'm on the Editorial Board of the British Medical Journal.

What do you find the most rewarding about working at Merck?

Although I am proud of being a part of a company that is involved in helping patients, the aspect that I find the most rewarding is the people. I have lots of fun working here. The day that I do not have fun, I will leave. The only way to have fun is to like and enjoy the people with whom you work. If you are comfortable with the people, it will get you through the good and bad times. As you probably know, I have the most unruly group of direct reports, and I love them. They are a big part of the fun!

Of all the Merck products, which one is your favorite?

From a personal perspective, my favorite product is FOSAMAX™. My mother started having vertebral fractures in her early sixties. Because we have a family history of breast cancer, I did not want to put her on hormone replacement therapy. I started her on FOSAMAX the minute we launched that drug in Italy, and she never had a fracture after that. All of a sudden, that drove home the importance of medicines and how we touch the lives of people.

From a branding perspective, I love SINGULAIR™. The number 1 in the logo and the illustrative style capture the essence of what we want to achieve with the patients - the emotions behind liberating an asthma patient from the attacks and giving children alternatives to dealing with the hassles of inhalers. It's a very emotional product and we capture those emotions very well in the branding.

Where do you currently reside?

I have a house in Whitehouse Station - right across the street from Merck - and I have a house in Stuart, Florida, which is 30 miles north of West Palm Beach. The minute the cold weather arrives in Whitehouse Station, my husband leaves for Florida. So, for six months of the year, I travel to Florida every weekend.

Would you tell us a little bit about your family?

I have a 30-year-old daughter named Candela who lives in Washington, DC. She's pursuing her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at George Washington University. I also have a 27-year-old son named Mariano who lives in New York City. He's a pilot for American Eagle airlines. I also have four stepdaughters. The oldest one (Nina) lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband and is a Senior Specialist Representative at Merck. The second one (Nancy) is also married and is a lawyer in Los Angeles; the third one (Lisa) is a cinematographer also in Los Angeles. The youngest one (Kim) is pursuing her doctorate in Clinical Psychology in Virginia, but she lives in Maryland.

My husband is retired from the position of Executive Director of Latin America at Merck. He now plays golf and drives his ARCOXIA™-red car! My mother lives with us in Florida, and I have a brother, sister-in-law, and nephew in Buenos Aires.

Do you have any pets?

I have a nine-year-old Great Dane named Prince and a six-year-old Norwegian Buhund (sort of Norwegian version of a German Shepherd) named Frankie. They live for six months of the year with my husband in Florida and then the other six months of the year in Whitehouse Station with both of us. Prince was really Candela's dog, but when she went for her Master's degree she didn't have much time to take care of him; so he came to live with us. Frankie was a stray dog found by my son Mariano when he lived in Bahrain in the Middle East. He was flying planes for DHL at the time. When Mariano returned to the United States, Frankie wound up with us. He left Bahrain on a British Airways flight to London and then flew from London to Miami. Candela picked him up in Miami and drove him to our house in Stuart, and then I drove him with Prince to New Jersey. The poor dog was completely confused for several days!

We've always been dog people. We used to have two Great Danes in Argentina, and when we came here, we had a Siberian Husky and then an American Eskimo. And now we have Prince and Frankie. We have no grandchildren but two grand-dogs!

Where were you born and raised?

I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

What is your fondest memory of your childhood?

I had a great childhood and have a million fond memories. It's impossible to identify just one.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I decided I wanted to be doctor when I was six years old and never changed my mind.

When you're not working, how do you like to spend your free time?

I like to travel a lot. I like soccer and Formula 1 racing. (I am the most ardent fan of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher and have big discussions with Glenn Mireau, who is a fan of Williams and Juan Pablo Montoya.) My husband and I go to the soccer World Cup, the European Championship, and some Formula 1 races. We watch a lot of sports on television. I like to cook and I love to read - business books, novels, philosophy, everything.

What kind of music do you like?

I love Abba! I've seen Mamma Mia six times - four times in London, one time in Miami, and one time on Broadway. I also like classical music, jazz, romantic music from Latin America, Brazilian music, and singers like Ricky Martin. But I love Abba!

Who is your favorite author?

I love Ayn Rand, who writes fiction based on a special philosophy of hers called objectivism, and Jorge Amado, who writes all fiction. I also like Tom Clancy, Frederick Forsythe, and David Baldacci (especially when I travel).

What is the most fascinating place you've ever visited?

My favorite place in the whole world is Provence. My husband and I spent 17 days in Le Baux de Provence and we loved it. The food is superb, the people are adorable, and the cities and little towns are out of this world. The culture is amazing; they have the biggest Roman ruins outside of Italy. One of my favorite places is Le Pont du Garde, which is a 2000-year-old aqueduct that was built to bring water to the city of Nimes. It's still standing and it even works!

If you could tell us one thing about yourself that would surprise everyone, what would it be?

There are two things that will surprise everybody. The first is that I like roller blading. I've been doing it for years - probably since my kids were little. I roller blade mostly in Florida where no one here can see me. My husband can't do anything that requires an extreme sense of equilibrium; therefore, I roller blade by myself, and sometimes he rides next to me in his golf cart!

The second one is that I was, for a very short period, a Pan Am flight attendant in 1970. When I think of the training program I went through, how much focus they put on customer service, and the high standards they had, it makes me sad, because so many airlines these days have basically forgotten the fact that many of the things that make a flight unforgettable are free - like a genuine welcoming smile.

FOSAMAX (alendronate) and SINGULAIR (montelukast) are trademarks of Merck and Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA

 

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