#48 - Why avoiding risk is the biggest threat to your pharma career

What if the biggest risk in pharma wasn’t bold innovation — but staying exactly where we are?

This conversation with Marc Gailhardou challenged the way I see leadership, growth, and purpose in a world that never stops shifting.

Marc is the President of MSD’s EEMEA region and board member of the digital-health startup Resilience. With a career built on bold transitions between global headquarters and local markets, Marc brings a unique mix of strategic depth, operational clarity, and genuine human insight.

Together, we explore how he navigates one of the most complex regions in global health, what emerging markets can teach mature systems, how purpose guides career decisions, and why clarity, courage, and connection matter more than ever.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

◾️ What it really means to lead 25% of the world’s population

◾️ The mindset shift that changes everything in so-called “emerging” markets

◾️ Why distance helped him see Europe more clearly

◾️ The hidden tension between global vision and local reality

◾️ A radically different way to think about career risk

◾️ The one leadership question that has guided him for 20 years

◾️ What stepping into a startup taught him

◾️ Why trust in pharma requires more nuance than strength or vulnerability alone

I invited Marc because of his remarkable ability to listen, his humility, his eagerness to learn from others, and his entire set of talents needed to thrive in a transforming world. This is a leader you need to hear — urgently.

Tune in and let Marc shift the way you think about leadership in pharma.

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Find Marc Gailhardou:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-gailhardou-aa51811/?originalSubdomain=ch

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Resources mentioned in the episode:

📌 MSD https://www.msd.com/
📌 The startup Resilience Care https://www.resilience.care/fr

📌 Delphine Horvilleur
📌 The podcast mentioned by Marc about risk and purpose (in French) : https://podcast.ausha.co/une-philosophie-le-podcast-de-charles-pepin/jusqu-ou-aimer-le-risque

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🎧 New here? To get a quick overview of the episodes, download “25 Tips for Purposeful Leadership”, a guide inspired by the best advice shared by my guests.

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