What’s the way forward under extreme uncertainty? And how might the way be different for Asian companies? Christophe Weber, the CEO of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, has been solving for the tectonic changes brought on by COVID-19 by centering on his company’s nearly 240-year-old value system, and on connecting outward—across borders, regions, and continents. Indeed, Weber, who is from France and joined Takeda in 2014 after more than 20 years at British competitor GlaxoSmithKline, defines his role and Takeda’s mission in global, not Asian, terms.Takeda is one of the ten largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and the largest in Asia. Following its $62 billion acquisition, in 2019, of the biopharmaceutical company Shire, based in Ireland—a deal Weber championed—Takeda had a larger footprint than ever before; it now has operations in some 80 countries. That global reach, and the fact that diseases, particularly COVID-19, don’t recognize borders, enforces a global approach. It also presents global challenges: stresses to supply chains, operating models, and geopolitical relations begin to tell.

Weber recently took time with McKinsey’s Kenneth Bonheure and David Schwartz to reflect on his “CEO moment” and discuss these and other challenges—and how Takeda is preparing to meet them.

The Quarterly: What’s the difference between being the CEO of a global company and being the CEO of an Asian company?

Christophe Weber: I don’t know what an “Asian company” means. I can tell you about Takeda. We are a global company from Japan. We have 50,000 employees across the world—about 18,000 of them in the United States, which is where we have our highest number of employees by far. I also have more members of my executive team in the United States and Europe than in Japan. So in that regard, we are not truly an Asian company; we are truly a global company. But defined perhaps differently. On the other hand, the way we are global is quite unique in Japan.

The Quarterly: It feels like “global” is taking a hit these days.

Christophe Weber: Globalization was defined on the belief that the movement of goods is fluid. But, as everybody is seeing, that’s not the case when a crisis happens. And countries don’t want to be in this situation anymore, where they are depending on another country for a critical supply of materials. That’s especially the case in regard to health, but it could apply to other sectors, like defense. Suddenly, you realize that another country is not necessarily a friendly country, that they are leveraging their position in ways that are not the right ways. I think the way people look at a global supply chain will change—a lot.

Republished on 26th March 2023 in Public Awareness Interest from https://www.mckinsey.com/