PME: What was your professional journey to your current position?
Ioana Parsons (IP): My career is a story of two halves. The first was in consulting, initially in Romania and then in London. I worked with clients around the world, but mainly in Europe. In 2016, I moved into industry on the client side and worked for a big US biotech, originally in London, then in Switzerland and later in Italy. It was more of a transition role from consulting to industry. It was called head of strategic planning and it covered all of Europe, as well as all product and therapeutic areas.
My aspiration had always been to try my hand at P&L and when I got the opportunity I was sent on a talent rotation for a year in Rome, which was a brilliant place to be. I was a sales manager working in oncology and I split my time between Rome and Palermo. After a year in the field, I was promoted to lead the business unit of oncology and haematology across Italy.
Almost three years ago, I moved to Poland with Ipsen. The opportunity to be a general manager came up and, after a short stint in the global team for my previous company, I thought I was better suited in-country, so we moved to Warsaw and I ran the Polish affiliate and the team there. Ipsen also gave me the opportunity to do a couple of above-country projects, which really helped me understand the company better. During the summer, I had a global assignment where I did four months of interning in a global asset lead role for one of our oncology products. This was a different environment and came with a different set of challenges, but it was very interesting. Then, just before the end of the year, we had another international project on cross-border flows, which involved collaborating with other countries and global colleagues.
I’ve enjoyed both consulting and industry. I think I still bring that curiosity to industry and I’ve liked the above- and in-market part of pharma.
PME: How do you feel the work that you did on the consultancy side has benefited you in your current role?
IP: I used to say that consulting is the best school after business school. It gives you variety and a fast pace. I’m not a scientist by background, but I quickly gravitated towards pharma as London was a big hub at McKinsey for the pharma and medical products practice. Consulting gives you that skill set, the bigger picture and the strategic approach. It helps you structure your thinking, even if you’re not naturally the most structured person and it gives you analytical rigour. That has really benefited me as a professional.
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