Our strategy adopters: One product, One patient.
Ramy Ayad: SVP, Biopharma & Provider Solutions
Resilience and Adaptation are key word for success
Mr. Ramy Ayad has graduated from the pharmacy school in Egypt and he lived and worked in multiple countries namely Egypt, Kuwait, Dubai, France and Canada. He worked in the pharmaceutical industry with top notch multinational companies like Janssen, Sanofi and Servier. He is currently the Senior Vice President of McKesson Canada, a pharmaceutical company. Ramy is seen by people around him as a role model who believe that good things can happen provided, they work hard and have confidence in themselves. When we look at his resume, we cannot be but very impressed.
Thanks to his hard work and perseverance, he managed to share his skills and knowledge with pharmaceutical companies in the above-mentioned countries. He also learned a lot from their experiences. He kindly accepted to give us the following interview.
About his professional experience Ramy Ayad added:
The professional path was not easy, as I faced many difficulties and obstacles, but with strength and a lot of patience and persistence, learning, and studying, I gained experiences through every experience, and in every country I worked in for many years, which made me learn a lot and stand on examining cultures and rituals, Various customs and traditions, through which I was able to associate with people closely, regardless of their genders and jobs, and stood on their interactions daily and professional dealings in all circumstances.
I concluded that every society differs from the other in many ways and on all fronts, I was impressed with the unique talent I met in every country I lived or worked in, hence my strong belief in what diversity could bring and how important is to embrace different background to the betterment of the collective group together
How do you see McKesson Canada in next coming years?
–I am very confident in the future of McKesson as we have a very clear strategy playbook that we keep referring to before making any move to ensure we are aligned on the agreed upon framework. McKesson has been successful for decades, in fact the last 5 years McKesson was able to diversify to a global healthcare services company with very strong impact on patients lives everyday. Our company implements a strategy based on the principle” one product-one patient”. This strategy allows us to improve the service we provide and bring new products that will help healthcare partners to evolve. Over the years, our company has proven it can be trusted as we put patients in the center of our strategy. Our priority is to support patients suffering from debilitating diseases, through our expert professionals, services and the advanced technology and data that uniquely position us, this is an addition of being the largest to distribute medicines in North America.
How would you rank McKesson in the Canadian market?
McKesson Canada is very well positioned in the Canadian market, with the diversified portfolio of products and services be it in Pharmaceutical Distribution, Retail Pharmacies, Specialty Pharmaceutical services, and e-Commerce business. McKesson is known with its strong heritage as the services we provide date back 1830 in the United States and 1905 in Canada. We have a vision and a strategy aimed at doing our utmost to meet our customers’ expectation around the clock.
Our people make a huge difference in lives of patients, day in and day out. The role each individual played during COVID was highly recognized by different stakeholders and we are very proud of our teams and their impact on patients’ lives everyday.
Being a woman, and very engaged in gender equality, how the parity in this matter is respected? Don’t get me wrong, the merit dimension is considered my question… So, how does the system work?
I am glad you asked this question. I am a strong believer vin gender equality and the role that everyone can play regardless of gender, background, ethnicity, color, etc. We pride ourselves of how we employ people based on their skills and how can they contribute to achieving our purpose that is to advance health outcomes for all. I give you an example of the Specialty division where our workforce is 75% of women and almost 60% of the leadership roles and led by women. They hail from different walks of life and cultures. So, the diversity is a source of richness and empowerment.
What would be the secret that helped you to become successful Entrepreneur?
To me, a clear purpose is my north star, and my purpose was always focused on how can I leverage my pharmaceutical background, expertise and skills to support and help patients. Believing in people working with me to advance in this purpose has always been a key to our success together as a team. Resilience in the face of obstacles, failing fast and failing forward were key elements to be successful. But success is above all a teamwork.
What advice would you give, if you may, to newly arrived Arabs in Canada?
Resilience and Adaptation are key word. It might take time, effort, sacrifices to get there but you will eventually achieve what you are looking for. Canada is a great country to live in, raise kids and has a ton of opportunities if you are determined and believe in your capabilities. People coming to Canada may need to learn from others who were through the same, and be willing to integrate into the Canadian society, they need to anticipate things might not be as expected, I admit this is not easy but keep going and you will get to where you want to be. A personal example is my wife’s career change, she is a pharmacist and she had to go through pharmacy exams in every country we lived in, she got four certificated diplomas in different countries. She was always determined to practice the profession she loves, and saw this as an opportunity to learn more of how process might be different from a country to the other but the core is the same, in her case – providing care to patients.
