Grooming future leaders

Published on 11/03/2022

The do-it attitude of Paola Castillo Fuentes hasn’t gone unnoticed within the talent network of Novartis. In just under two years, she moved from a position as a People & Organization intern in Mexico to the Environmental Sustainability Office in Basel.

One of the catalysts for her swift development was her participation in the One Young World (OYW) summit, an annual event organized by the UK-based non-profit of the same name, which brings together aspiring young leaders from around the globe to discuss and address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, including climate change.

Castillo, who describes herself as someone “who has many questions and is constantly looking for new ways,” joined Novartis in 2018, first serving in human resources, before moving to the company’s Real Estate Service unit. Just a few months into her new job, she began raising awareness for climate change and environmental pollution affecting her community. “In Mexico, environmental issues are not considered a priority,” Castillo explained. “So you have to do something, take matters into your own hands, be ‘unbossed’ and leave your comfort zone.”

Within a few months, she built a group of around 40 like-minded people and together they set up the Green Team Mexico initiative, whose goal is to analyze company procedures and identify areas for potential improvement in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

Talent fest

When Castillo heard about the possibility to join the OYW summit, where she would have the chance to showcase her experience at a major event in London, she was immediately fired up.

The only hurdle: She needed to compete against hundreds of internal candidates. Novartis was only sending 40 delegates to the event, which overall assembles some 2000 young leaders from around the globe alongside top-flight speakers every year.

Castillo, however, did not shy away from the challenge and was looking forward to mix with some of the world’s most respected leaders in business, culture and politics.

During the 2019 summit in London – the last physical event before the pandemic – for which she applied, speakers included Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and best-selling author J.K. Rowling, among others, inspiring the participants to reflect and take action toward a better, healthier and fairer planet.

On top of that, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan talked to the guests, reflecting on the importance of leadership as well as its impact: “The most powerful thing we have to improve in the world is leadership, by far the most precious resource we have. And if all of you embrace the journey of self-inquiry and leadership, we can make extraordinary things happen,” Narasimhan said.

To be part of the OYW summit is almost a once-in-a-lifetime experience, like getting invited to the World Economic Forum or being a panelist at a United Nations event in Geneva or New York. But to get in is far from easy, says Bettina Baechtold, who is part of the Global Leadership Development team at Novartis and runs leadership trainings across the organization, usually for more senior leaders.

“The prospect of taking part in the summit is a great motivator for our young associates – it allows them to exchange views with peers and meet some of the great global leaders, be it from corporate, politics or philanthropy,” Baechtold said.

“For our company, this unique initiative enables us to discover talents from across the world who are exercising leadership in different ways, are inherently driven by purpose and ready to deliver on their goals in socially responsible ways.”

To find the right associates is an uphill struggle, Baechtold admitted. The selection of the 40 young delegates who represented Novartis at the 2019 summit had been a daunting task. “Generally, all associates aged 18 to 30 were eligible and there are no upfront restrictions,” Baechtold said. “We received around 750 applications. Even at the very first step, applicants had to articulate why attending the summit was of importance to them personally or professionally, and how they have shown leadership as well as active engagement in initiatives oriented toward social change – whether inside or outside our organization.”

About 120 associates passed this initial screening and qualified for a leadership assessment. Of those with the strongest results, around 70 were interviewed and needed to submit a self-produced video. Based on the overall results across all four steps, the final 40 delegates were selected. Among them, Castillo.

But this was not only a tough process on the candidates. Also, Baechtold and her team had a hard time picking the right talent. “Novartis has one of the strongest talent bases in the industry, and it makes it extremely difficult to pick the right ones for the annual summit. So many of them are truly impressive in their activities and have the potential to develop into strong, inspiring leaders,” Baechtold summarized the task.

But her team envisioned a clear leadership profile. “What we are looking for are young leaders with a deep purpose who are willing to learn for themselves, but are also able to bring back new perspectives into their everyday work and lives as well as continue their strong engagement even beyond the summit – both for the organization and beyond.”

A lasting experience

Two years after the event, Castillo still remembers the summit as one of the most important events in her professional life so far. Besides boosting her commitment to the environmental cause, mixing with peers in London helped her realize that she is not alone in the fight for a better, climate-friendly future.

“Having had the chance to be with like-minded people really helped me grow my commitment to the environmental cause and confirmed my belief that I am on the right track,” Castillo said, adding that the speech of Vas Narasimhan gave her added impetus to pursue her direct, no-nonsense style and go for impact.

A quote from Narasimhan that still rings with her is: “To achieve great things, one must be deeply curious and question oneself and one’s point of view over and over again. One has to listen carefully to others and embrace alternative opinions, weighing the pros and cons.”

This leadership quality is also inspiring Alexandra Rupp, who was part of the OYW summit in both 2018 and 2019 and is now regularly helping to groom other prospective talents.

In early 2021, she helped organize a virtual caucus with nearly 900 people, including senior managers and young talents. “The idea was to talk about potential projects that can help Novartis become more sustainable,” Rupp said, who has since left the company. “While our idea was to present some of the top projects we are working on within the company, we also wanted to launch a discussion and initiate action around grassroots projects of our associates that could be leveraged across our entire organization.”

More than two dozen small-scale projects were presented during the two-day event, Rupp explained, adding that the vibe at the meeting was not only positive, but really impact-driven. “One key message we tried to bring across was that even if projects are not picked for a global rollout as part of this initiative, associates should continue to work on them and find internal sponsors to expand them.”

For Rupp, the message is clear: “This is a real leadership opportunity for all to follow their passion and make a difference. At the end of the day, it’s down to ourselves to change something.”

Nowhere is this statement truer than in the area of environmental protection. While Novartis has bold goals to reach full carbon, plastic and water neutrality by 2030, it can only succeed if all associates and partners work together.

If we have leaders who act on their promises and follow their strong purpose in the area of environmental sustainability, not only Novartis but the world will stand a chance of averting a climate crisis that could easily dwarf the calamities experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.