REYKJAVIK, Iceland, April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Actavis Group, the international generic pharmaceuticals company, today announced that Harvard Business School has published a case study on the Company and its President and CEO. The study, entitled "Robert Wessman and Actavis' 'Winning formula'" was presented in an MBA class in international entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School. The case will be made available to business schools around the world.
Dr. Daniel Isenberg, Senior lecturer of Business administration at Harvard Business School, expressed interest in creating a case study of how what started as a relatively small Icelandic pharmaceutical company has today gone on to become one of the most important players in the generic pharmaceutical business internationally, lead by its 39 year-old CEO Robert Wessman.
Robert Wessman participated in extensive interviews with Dr. Isenberg to develop the study, providing financial data and historical information, as well as engaging in in-depth personal interviews. The case study also features quotations from interviews with senior management, including the Deputy to the CEO, the Vice president of Human Resources and Organisational Development and the Director of Corporate Branding.
Robert Wessman also joined Dr. Isenberg as a class guest for the case debut at Harvard Business School on 22 April and answered numerous questions from the students, who asked about a variety of topics, including the Actavis way of doing business and the CEO's leadership style. Commenting, he said: "I really enjoyed the experience. We are delighted that Harvard Business School is interested in Actavis' growth story and our Winning formula. It's a great honour for Actavis and for me personally to be part of the Harvard Business School curriculum."
The case takes a look at the company culture and the CEO's management style. It details the Actavis story from 1999, when the company had about a hundred employees, all located in Iceland, to the end of 2007 when the employees of the very successful global company numbered more than 11,000 in 40 countries. During this period Robert Wessman led the company through 26 acquisitions and extensive integration of the acquired companies.
Daniel Isenberg is Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit, where he teaches classes on International Entrepreneurship and The Entrepreneurial Manager: "Actavis has grown from a small domestic player to one of the world leaders within 7 years, an accomplishment which is very unusual, to say the least, especially given the extremely competitive nature of the generics industry. The fact that Actavis has simultaneously globalized its supply chain, its markets, its research and development, and, to a lesser extent, its management, is an achievement which speaks for itself."
The case study method forms the basis of learning at Harvard Business School, with more than 80% of classes built on the method. It is also used at many other universities around the world. Case discussions introduce students to the reality of decision making in business situations, including time constraints, conflicting goals and incomplete information.
About Actavis Group
Actavis is one of the world's leading generic pharmaceutical companies specializing in the development, manufacture and sale of generic pharmaceuticals. Based in Iceland, the company has operations in 40 countries, with more than 11,000 employees.
For more information on Actavis, please visit the group website: www.actavis.com
Any statements contained in this press release that refer to Actavis' estimated or anticipated future results or future activities are forward-looking statements which reflect the Company's current analysis of existing trends, information and plans. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially depending on factors such as the availability of resources, the timing and effect of regulatory actions, the success of new products, the strength of competition, the success of research and development issues, unexpected contract breaches or terminations, exposure to product liability and other lawsuits, the effect of currency fluctuations and other factors.
SOURCE Actavis Group
