“I've been fortunate enough to be part of a dynamic company which most people in the industry recognize as being a great place to work,” says Lorena Di Carlo, Vice President, Marketing, Lundbeck Canada. Being part of the Lundbeck world for over 12 years has been exciting, says the 15-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry, who made her industry debut in the early ‘90s at Burroughs Wellcome.

Di Carlo got her first taste of pharma life right out of university as a customer service rep at BW. After one year, she would find herself in the role of a medical rep in downtown Montreal, where she earned a Representative of the Year award for her work managing a territory generating over $1 million in annual sales of antiviral medications.

Just three years later she was recruited by the start-up Canadian subsidiary of the Danish-based pharma company Lundbeck to become the “first Lundbeck representative in North America.” Having worked for Lundbeck “pretty much from day one,” Di Carlo credits the company with allowing her tremendous latitude. Only six months after she was groomed as a specialty hospital rep, Lundbeck, a company that specializes in treatments for CNS disorders, would recognize her efforts by promoting her to product management and entrusting her with the launch of its flagship antidepressant, Celexa.

The launch, says Di Carlo, was one of the most successful in Canada, reaching peak sales of $150 million and helping countless patients overcome their symptoms of depression.

In 2000, Di Carlo was appointed to Marketing Manager, Psychiatry and a year later rose to the challenge of Marketing Director, a test of her leadership skills as she guided her team through the launch of Lundbeck’s newest antidepressant, Cipralex, and Ebixa, a novel treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. The experience set the stage for Di Carlo’s promotion to Vice President, Marketing in 2005.

These days, Di Carlo’s time is devoted to her executive duties in the Canadian subsidiary, but she also actively contributes to the company’s global brand strategies as a member of the Global Brand Board in Denmark. “I speak four languages and I love learning about new cultures. What I appreciate about Lundbeck is that I get the opportunity to meet people from around the world and be exposed to a host of international projects.” In fact, Di Carlo recently lived in Copenhagen for six months working on an assignment with the company’s global Strategic Marketing team.

It’s just one more thing that Di Carlo loves about her job—and there are many more that have made her marketing career at Lundbeck special. For one, the company credo— Imaginative, passionate, responsible—are values that she says “resonate most with me.” She also applauds her team of “really good, competent, and dedicated” people. “We work in an environment where respect is highly regarded. We can challenge each other but there’s always a respect for the individual,” she says.

“Treating suppliers like true partners, involving them in our company, and integrating them into our strategic planning process makes them an extension of our team. Our philosophy is to treat partners like our own employees—this is a common understanding throughout my team and throughout the organization. I think our partners appreciate this and it makes them committed to helping us achieve our objectives.”

En français