Eli Lilly and Ross Alumni Lunch

Philippe Prufer (MBA '88) remembers the many ups and downs of life as a Ross MBA. From group work to cases and interviewing, Prufer recalls his time at Ross as hectic yet rewarding. Prufer spoke to a room full of students at an Eli Lilly Lunch & Learn seminar last week about his time at Ross and the lessons he learned that helped him climb the corporate ladder at pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. Prufer's talk was candid and entertaining and provided students a glimpse into Prufer's rise at Eli Lilly from a post-MBA job in marketing to his current position as Area Director of European Mid Size Countries.

Prufer's story began with a description of his pre-MBA life. Prufer related that despite being born into a family of physicians, medicine never attracted him. Instead, after college, Prufer took up positions with a Belgian brewery and then with L'Oreal. Through these entry-level positions, Prufer realized his interest in general management, which compelled him to come to Michigan and earn his MBA to jumpstart his career. Prufer spoke throughout his presentation of the importance of his MBA, the experience he gained from it, and the ability an MBA has to jumpstart a career. Though Prufer came to Michigan with a strong interest in consumer goods, he interviewed with consulting and pharmaceutical companies as well. Ultimately, Prufer accepted an offer from Eli Lilly to work in Brazil, and he has not looked back since.

Prufer described his various roles at Eli Lilly to the audience and stressed how a diversity of perspectives has helped him. In positions ranging from sales to turning around companies, Prufer accumulated over 20 positions of experience that he feels allowed him to gain the perspectives of having 20 different jobs. After starting at Eli Lilly Brazil in marketing and strategic planning, Prufer worked for a while as a sales representative. Prufer felt the experience was invaluable and provided him with a unique perspective at Eli Lilly's sales function later on when he entered management roles. A major point of Prufer's talk about general management was the importance of being able to alternate between knowing when to 'get your hands dirty with your troops' and when to step back and manage from above (hence the 'helicopter' approach to management that Prufer advocates).

After his success in sales, Prufer assumed his first management role as a District Sales Manager. Prufer joked about his parents' dismay at having paid for his expensive schooling only to have him work in district sales. As a newcomer to management, Prufer benefited from learning from his elders and also from knowing when to recognize talent amongst younger workers. Through his success, Prufer was eventually named marketing manager for Eli Lilly Brazil. The next rung on the corporate ladder was an appointment as global marketing manager for Prozac, then Eli Lilly's most popular drug with over $1 billion in sales.

As head of marketing for Prozac, Prufer recalls his excitement at the opportunity to market a blockbuster drug and the benefits of this experience. This opportunity proved to be Prufer's first general management assignment as he oversaw a variety of functions including marketing and sales for the Prozac label. When Eli Lilly saw they were having problems with their diabetes business, the called on Prufer to return to Brazil to become head of business development for Eli Lilly's diabetes drugs group. In the function, Prufer gained exposure to the variety of duties higher level management encompasses. To create the diabetes division, Prufer had to deal with finance, human resources, government regulations, and a host of other issues. This experience served Prufer well in future South American appointments.

Prufer was eventually appointed as general manager of part of Eli Lilly's South American Cone and then head of Eli Lilly Brazil. Eli Lilly Brazil was experiencing a downturn in business and called on Prufer to head its turnaround. Prufer recalls his ambitious plans for Eli Lilly Brazil and how he did not expect management to support him. However, management put their faith in Prufer's ambitious plans, and his turnaround of Eli Lilly Brazil was a success.

The most recent stop of Prufer's career path following Eli Lilly Brazil was as the Area Director of Europe. Despite inheriting a stagnating division with growth of only around 3%, Prufer knew business could be better. Prufer instructed his subordinates to read the book From Good to Great and called for change in the organization. Through a series of operations and management reforms, Prufer helped the division to increase its sales by 12-15% annually.

Throughout his talk, Prufer provided useful advice for business school students. He stressed the importance of soft skills like communication and persuasion. When working for Eli Lilly's diabetes business, Prufer had to communicate with regulatory agencies and persuade governments to change its health care policies to guarantee sales. Prufer also stressed the importance of adjusting to your surroundings to gain the confidence of your colleagues. Prufer recalls wearing an Argentinean soccer jersey to work at one of his meetings in Argentina (despite being a Brazilian) just to 'break the ice' and create a fun atmosphere. As a more senior manager, Prufer has learned that as a leader you must challenge yourself to learn, listen, and network effectively. Prufer stressed the importance of these skills in helping not only business growth but personal growth as well.

Ultimately, as a well-traveled individual who has held a variety of positions, Prufer's take away message to the audience was: "[It is] very important that you are always open to new things and never think that tricks of the past will allow you to succeed in the future." Prufer remarked that Eli Lilly and the pharmaceutical industry as a whole are seeing a host of changes coming in the next 3-5 years, and Prufer stressed the importance of recognizing and adapting to change for not only the audience but for himself as well.