Marathons, Medicines, and Mastery: Elisabeth Stampa’s Blueprint for Leadership

Elisabeth Stampa is a seasoned leader in the pharmaceutical industry, with a background in Pharmacy and an MBA. She has held various roles at Medichem, a family-owned pharmaceutical business, where she played a pivotal role in transforming it into a profitable, vertically integrated company. Now serving as Chairwoman of the Board, Elisabeth’s leadership has driven innovation and growth. Beyond her professional success, she is an avid marathon runner and Ironman participant, balancing her personal passions with her career, exemplifying resilience and discipline.

Pharma Now: Your accomplishments in running marathons, half Ironman races, and leading a successful professional career are truly inspiring! How do you manage to balance your personal life, professional responsibilities, and your passion for physical challenges?

Ms. Elisabeth: I love challenges, and when turning 40, I found that marathons were the perfect challenge for me. They combine structured training, fixed goals, and often a trip to an interesting city where the race takes place. Competing against my own marks was then and continues to be the real challenge. Races allow me to set goals and oblige me to train. The training, while sometimes stressful, is time for me and time to think. This thinking provides perspectives which are very useful to solve professional situations. And combining professional obligations with personal life and sports gains you a master’s degree in logistics.

Pharma Now: Could you take us back to the start of your journey? What initially sparked your interest in the pharmaceutical industry, and how did you navigate from there to leading such a prestigious company?

Ms. Elisabeth: I chose to study Pharmacy because my family encouraged me to pursue an extra degree alongside my desired Sports degree (which I finally didn’t take). It turned out to be a fantastic combination of medicinal physiology, chemistry, physics, operations, and legal aspects. After earning my MBA, I started working at a local Spanish company, and some years later, I moved to our family-owned business. There I’ve developed different roles to finish as CEO until recently. I am currently chairing the Board of Directors, which is again a different role than being the CEO, but not less challenging.

Pharma Now: What has been one of the most challenging moments in your career, and how did you find the strength and resilience to push through it?

Ms. Elisabeth: The biggest challenge was taking over a company that was losing money and turning it into a profitable one, while also transforming the business into a strong and growing vertically integrated player that develops both active ingredients and finished products for the pharma industry.

Pharma Now: With your vast experience and accomplishments, what are some goals or ambitions that you still wish to pursue in both your personal and professional life?

Ms. Elisabeth: Professionally, I aim to join other Boards of Directors or Advisory teams where I can contribute and provide guidance to management teams. On a personal level, my goal is to help our girls develop into good people while pursuing their professional ambitions. I would also like to continue practicing sports (without getting injured).

Pharma Now: Having worked across different aspects of the pharma industry, what’s been the most fulfilling part of leading within such a dynamic and ever-changing field?

Ms. Elisabeth: The most rewarding part of leadership is managing a team of people. This involves challenging them to perform at their best, building strong teamwork, and combining your strengths with those of others.

Pharma Now: What advice would you give to young professionals looking to break into the pharma industry? What skills or mindset should they focus on developing?

Ms. Elisabeth: I would say the technical knowledge is relevant, as it helps to understand the basics, combined with being very curious, courageous, hard-working, and monitoring what happens in this ever-changing market.

Pharma Now: How have you maintained your drive and motivation throughout your career, and how can aspiring leaders cultivate the same energy?

Ms. Elisabeth: In my case, sports and reading are my way of recharging energy. My love for challenges makes the rest, as I always find some new goal worth pursuing and thrive for.

Pharma Now: For young women aspiring to leadership roles in pharma, what advice would you give based on your own journey? How can they break through barriers and thrive in this industry?

Ms. Elisabeth: Having a clear goal in mind, working hard, and being authentic. Passion for what you do and appreciation and recognition for the people around you are also key. And being aware that pharma doesn’t allow shortcuts: quality is a must in this industry.

Pharma Now: What do you think has been the most significant evolution in leadership within the pharma industry over the past decade, and how have you adapted to these changes?

Ms. Elisabeth: I would say leadership style has evolved from a more “tell & command” style into a more open, cooperative, and teamwork style. In our industry and every other industry.

Pharma Now: As CEO, how do you approach balancing high-level strategic decision-making with the operational demands of running a successful company?

Ms. Elisabeth: Balancing the long and the day-to-day operations is the single most difficult task: for the CEO and for his/her team. Some discipline is required to devote time to strategy when your customer has an issue, or your closest team member just told you he/she is quitting…

Pharma Now: What methods do you use to inspire and motivate your teams, especially during challenging times or high-pressure situations?

Ms. Elisabeth: Avoid making emotional decisions and think about the short and long-term impact of the decision and solution. The 10/10/10 rule, which considers the impact in 10 hours, 10 months, and 10 years, is very helpful in establishing a working framework for difficult situations.

Pharma Now: Looking back, what would you say is the most important legacy you hope to leave as a leader in the pharmaceutical world?

Ms. Elisabeth: Having helped to develop people and provided affordable medicines to patients. We very often forget this overarching but wonderful purpose of our industry.

Pharma Now: With your extensive background in pharmaceutical innovation, how do you see the future of drug development evolving, particularly in the context of personalized medicine and new therapeutic areas?

Ms. Elisabeth: Personalized medicine is extremely interesting and promising. However, it may face some challenges since it will be more costly than higher-volume medicines. At the same time, it allows for better targeting of specific illnesses, particularly those caused by genetic diseases, increasing therapeutic response and often reducing secondary effects. Another significant change will come from further digitalization and the expansion of AI in areas such as drug discovery, simulations, scale-ups, manufacturing, and equipment maintenance. There is much more to come in this area, which we cannot even imagine yet.

Pharma Now: How does your company stay at the forefront of scientific innovation, and what role does research and development play in maintaining that edge?

Ms. Elisabeth: Being active in the generic pharma sector, our company strives to do incremental innovation while using, in most cases, better technologies and quality systems than the ones used when the drug was discovered many years ago. Using digital tools and robotics allows us to free tasks and use the team’s brains to have time to think, analyze, and create. For R&D, most of the new molecules or therapies are now coming from start-ups who have the initial idea, which is then developed, financed, and delivered to market by bigger innovative companies. This symbiotic cooperation model will continue in the future as it is proving to be quite successful.

Pharma Now: What are your thoughts on how regulatory frameworks should evolve to keep pace with the rapidly changing landscape of pharmaceutical research and development?

Ms. Elisabeth: One of the biggest challenges is keeping regulatory and compliance systems in step with the technological and digital revolution. However, good collaboration between industry and health authorities will certainly make alignment possible, as advances in this area will benefit both parties and ultimately help get new drug products to patients.