The pharmaceutical industry is constantly evolving andthe COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated it. To stay at the top in this always changing industry one must be willing to learn and further develop constantly. And to be an inspiring leader one has to be passionate about the everyday job. Marianne Späne joined Siegfried with this same zeal and dedication to continually learn and grow. “I felt that passion for the job and the people you are working with is what makes the real difference,” asserts Marianne.

Marianne Späne has been in the industry for over two decades with leading positions in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. She is equipped with a profound understanding and extensive knowledge of the chemical and pharmaceutical market along the whole value chain including P&L and financial experience. This is based on a solid academic background: Marianne holds a diploma in finance, economics, and marketing from the Kaufmännische Führungsschule KFS in Basel and the Marketing & Business School MBSZ, Zurich.

In her long professional journey, Marianne started working as the Logistics, Business Development, and Site Manager in Boucheron's Cosmetics Division. She then moved into the pharmaceutical industry as Head of Sales and Marketing of the Pharma Division at Schweizerhall and at the American Aceto, where she developed expansion strategies for Europe. Marianne joined Siegfried Group in 2004 and with responsibility for the Classical Generics Business Unit between 2004 and 2008. Coming from a different background and having worked in different niches of industries, companies, and countries, Marianne was especially passionate about the opportunities her job offered and wanted to expand her knowledge. Since 2010, she is a Member Executive Committee Siegfried and currently holds the position of Chief Business Development Officer. 

 

Long-standing Heritage of Excellence

 

Marianne joined Siegfried for a reason: Established in 1873, the Siegfried Group has a long-standing pharma and chemical heritage and offers services as an integrated partner so that its customers can benefit from more synergy, expertise, and value. Siegfried customers can take advantage of the company`s extensive know-how in both Drug Substance and Drug Products.  Siegfried has a wide range of custom development services, drug substance & drug product manufacturing, and packaging capabilities together with its existing product portfolio.

For Marianne this meant  a wide range of possibilities covering the entire lifecycle of a product from the development phase to commercial supply, alongside also sourcing raw materials, quality, and regulatory services for the customers` products. And Siegfried`s constant growth in the last years continues: Siegfried`s Drug Product network was recently expanded with the two Spanish Sites El Masnou and Barberà del Vallès now offering an even broader range of services. One thing Marianne never fails to mention: All   Drug Product sites are approved by national and international authorities and are focused on the highest cGMP standards. 

Another advantage for Siegfried`s customers: Siegfried’s Drug Substance offers a unique combination of experience and proficiency in both chemical and pharma segments. Its chemical expertise oversees the development and production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, thus making Siegfried the ideal partner for both cGMP and non-cGMP active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates.

 

Exemplary Offerings & Expertise

 

Siegfried’s Drug Products offer a broad range of services that are specifically designed to meet business needs based on its expertise in Drug Product development and manufacturing. Siegfried provides products and tailor-made services that integrate seamlessly into a customer’s value chain. It takes care of the entire product cycle from clinical formulation to scale-up, registration, market launch, and commercial supply. Siegfried’s Drug Products are cost-efficient due to its in-house manufacturing and fill & finish network for highly secured supply on a global scale. 

“We are very good with our compliance having an impeccable track record, which today is not a given,” said Marianne about the strong record Siegfried is holding in this decisive area.

Siegfried is the combination of fully-fledged integrated service for developing both Drug Substance and drug products as solids and injectable(s) with 11 sites worldwide, this is quite exemplary of a CDMO. The company was established on the pillars of expertise and technical know-how and is proud to work with specialists in all fields. 

 

Essential elements of Success

 

Marianne considers herself lucky as she works with a very enthusiastic and skilled team. Her leadership philosophy is to emphasize authenticity, trust, and hard work. In this sense, she respects the individual needs of the team members and works with them accordingly. There might be one team member who needs direct feedback while another thrives when working more independently. Being the leader means you must be able to identify the respective type. Moreover, Marianne never fails to demonstrate how valuable each team members’ contribution is. She adds, “In my perspective, I can only be a good leader when I know what I stand for and how I want to work.”

Marianne highlights that perseverance and hard work are key to success. Giving up on things too early might lead to missed-out opportunities and can undermine a success. On the contrary, if one strives relentlessly—even if you fail, there is always a lesson to learn from it. Marianne states that the only way to not make a mistake is to not do anything. Making mistakes is inevitable, so instead of not doing something due to fear of making a mistake, we can prepare for the situation and avoid being taken too much aback by it. “The most valuable lessons are learned from situations when something did not go right. In this situation it is decisive to have the will not to play the blame game and then continue to do the same thing over and over again and fail again. Instead, get the team together, discuss and really dig in to find out what happened and why. And then change it and move on to do it successfully the next time,” adds Marianne. 

 

Exploring new Opportunities

 

Marianne and her team strive for the best results for their customers. The priority is that customers obtain their product on time and in the desired quality. Siegfried’s offerings lower the complexity for the customers, eliminating concerns for production and logistics. This awareness is catching on increasingly. “Today, outsourcing is no longer an option in the event of an emergency, but a generally accepted and recognized business model from which we as an CDMO profit extensively,” explains Marianne. 

Siegfried's expansion continues with the two new sites in Barcelona and the company will complement the range of services in the Drug Product field. Marianne is also proud to work for a company in which the patient's health is in the centre of activity and that actively contributes to the fight against the pandemic by filling up the vaccine while also expanding this field of business. This year will be dedicated to exploring new opportunities. Marianne concludes with advice, “I have always been open to changes and this gave me a broad range of knowledge and contacts that I would not have gathered had I stayed in the lane of just doing business as usual. In times like this with transformation on all levels, this gives me as a leader the chance to see opportunities and anticipate new developments so that I can initiate further growth to make my team resp. the company more successful. This is only possible because Siegfried as a company gives me and my team not only the space to do this but even encourages us to seize opportunities when they arise. I see our culture at Siegfried as the basis for our successful future, especially when it comes to attracting the best talents for our network."

 

Optimistic perspective:

 

“It might sound old-fashioned but hard work pays out and being passionate about what you do every day is key to staying motivated in your daily work. In leadership seminars, you hear the buzzword ‘authenticity’ a lot, but at its core it is true. To be successful, whatever that means for yourself, you have to play the long game. And this means to be persistent and not give up when things get tough. But motivation is only there on a consistent basis if you feel rewarded internally by what you do.”

 

Quote:

 

“With mastery of science and technology, we take the precious innovations of our pharmaceutical customers to industrial scale and manufacture safe drugs for patients worldwide.”

 

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