Publications
Publications
- October 2021 (Revised January 2022)
- HBS Case Collection
Michael Ku and Global Clinical Supply at Pfizer Inc.: Bringing Hope to Patients (C)
By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards
Abstract
This case is the third installment in a series about the 10-year cultural and digital transformation of Pfizer’s Global Clinical Supply organization. In 2011, Michael Ku became Pfizer’s Vice President of Global Clinical Supply (GCS) after the company had undergone three large-scale mergers and acquisitions. Ku and his new leadership team set out to build a proactive, end-to-end, digital and physical clinical supply chain. It took three years to get the cultural foundation in place, another three to overhaul GCS's legacy systems and develop its digital capabilities, and another three to instill a culture of innovation.
By 2020, GCS had made significant progress toward becoming the agile, innovative organization necessary to support Pfizer’s new strategy to focus exclusively on developing innovative medicines and vaccines. GCS was just beginning to pilot a 24-hour, 5 day a week workforce model with a new team in Manila when COVID-19 struck. The organization found itself on the front lines having to supply Pfizer’s vaccine candidate and investigational antiviral studies, while also ensuring continuity of clinical supply to hundreds of other trials across the globe. Because of the 10 years GCS had spent on their cultural and digital transformation, they were ready to rise to the challenge and help Pfizer deliver a COVID-19 vaccine in record time. In August 2021, Ku and his leadership team are preparing to make a number of major changes to GCS in preparation for a new era of scale, agility, and innovation.
By 2020, GCS had made significant progress toward becoming the agile, innovative organization necessary to support Pfizer’s new strategy to focus exclusively on developing innovative medicines and vaccines. GCS was just beginning to pilot a 24-hour, 5 day a week workforce model with a new team in Manila when COVID-19 struck. The organization found itself on the front lines having to supply Pfizer’s vaccine candidate and investigational antiviral studies, while also ensuring continuity of clinical supply to hundreds of other trials across the globe. Because of the 10 years GCS had spent on their cultural and digital transformation, they were ready to rise to the challenge and help Pfizer deliver a COVID-19 vaccine in record time. In August 2021, Ku and his leadership team are preparing to make a number of major changes to GCS in preparation for a new era of scale, agility, and innovation.
Keywords
Clinical Supply Chain; COVID-19; Vaccine; Agile; Innovation and Invention; Change Management; Organizational Culture; Transformation; Leadership; Corporate Strategy; Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; Mission and Purpose; Health Care and Treatment; Supply Chain Management; Digital Transformation
Citation
Hill, Linda A., and Emily Tedards. "Michael Ku and Global Clinical Supply at Pfizer Inc.: Bringing Hope to Patients (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 422-041, October 2021. (Revised January 2022.)