Stuart Hill, previously Business Unit Director for Oncology at Merck, was recently promoted to Medical Director for the UK and Ireland. Here, he talks to Pf about his career transition.
How did you begin your career in the pharmaceutical industry?
I joined the industry straight after graduating from my Ph.D. in a field sales role working for Servier. I had decided I wanted to get into the industry as I was fascinated by some of the medicinal chemistry modules I had taken in my degree, as well as some of the research that was going on in the chemistry department in Nottingham at the time. I was also motivated on a personal level to give something back to an industry that had contributed to my own health, after I had been successfully treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma during my undergraduate studies.
What prompted your recent career change?
I have spent 20 years (12 of them with Merck) working on the commercial side of the business in sales, marketing and leadership roles. Throughout this time I have always been passionate about science and research, and I have always been driven by doing the right things to improve patient health and wellbeing. These are not only important to me on a personal level, but they are also at the very core of what the medical team brings to the business. So, for me, it was an easy decision and a logical career step, but I realise it is not one that many people take after so long in the commercial business. I know I’m fortunate to work for a progressive company like Merck, which encourages its employees to broaden their experience and stretch their comfort zones.
“When lockdown first hit, I don’t mind admitting that I struggled at times”
What does a typical day look like for you?
As Medical Director, no two days are ever the same, which to me is one of the most exciting things about the job. Every day is a learning opportunity, with a chance to experience something new. I enjoy a challenge and whether it is new science, customer meetings, managing a large team of people or – as I’m doing right now – learning a lot of internal processes and meeting new colleagues. I love to listen, to understand and learn.
What is the best piece of career advice you have received?
Don’t try and copy others – be authentic, be yourself. As a leader, you can’t make people follow you, but you can show them who you are, what you stand for and why. If you are real and your authenticity resonates with others, people listen and take note.
What advice would you give to a young person thinking about entering the pharmaceutical industry?
I think it is a great place to be and probably one of the most exciting times to be joining the industry. Looking at the challenge that the pandemic has posed and how industry has responded by working with governments, hospitals, researchers, regulators, production and distribution companies to develop, manufacture and deliver the vaccines that seem to offer the way out of the situation is just astounding. It shows that when we all pull in an aligned direction, we can achieve amazing things. Never has the industry’s reputation been so high and we can be rightly proud of what we have delivered.
How do you manage a work/life balance?
It’s a good question and one that I have seriously struggled with at points in my career. Sometimes I tend to get drawn into certain projects too much and I find it difficult to switch off. When lockdown first hit, I don’t mind admitting that I struggled at times. I was already deeply entrenched in some difficult and complex commercial negotiations and it was made worse by the fact that my work had moved into my home – something I had always tried to avoid. I try to delineate between home and work by allowing space in my diary for downtime. When I’m working from home, I like to get out for a walk every day as the fresh air and exercise keep me in a good frame of mind. I also find that taking some of my work calls when I am out walking helps me gain a fresh perspective and mixes the day up – particularly during some of the more challenging times of the pandemic.
“As Medical Director, no two days are ever the same, which to me is one of the most exciting things about the job”
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I can’t tell you what job I will be in, but I can tell you it will involve putting science and patients at the centre of everything I do. I think if we all have the philosophy of being led by science to improve patients’ lives then we can all continue to make a huge contribution to society.
