CEO Insights Magazine

The pharmaceutical industry faces critical challenges, including maintaining quality standards, meeting patient needs, and driving innovation. Effective leadership is crucial for overcoming these hurdles, fostering growth, and ensuring global healthcare advancements. Strong leaders inspire teams, implement robust strategies, and create impactful solutions to address ever-evolving challenges and opportunities.

Parag Swadia, CEO & Executive Director of Otsuka Pharmaceutical India Private Limited (OPI), stands out as a visionary leader. With over 25 years of experience in functions like Finance, Corporate Affairs, Supply Chain, HR, International Sales, and Business Strategy, Parag exemplifies transformative leadership. At Otsuka, his mission is clear, which is expanding healthcare solutions, making a meaningful difference in patient’s lives, and driving sustainable growth while staying true to core values and quality excellence.

In this interview, Parag shares insights into his career journey and advises young entrepreneurs.

Can you give a brief overview of your career?

My career journey spans over 25 years, starting as a cost accountant in chartered accountancy firms. This role gave me valuable exposure to a range of industries, including government, semi-government, and private sector, through internal auditing and costing assignments. It laid a solid foundation for my understanding of internal controls across different sectors in India.

I transitioned into the finance and accounts domain, gradually working across all sub-functions of the department before joining Otsuka as Head of Finance. Over time, OPI provided me the opportunity to expand my responsibilities beyond Finance, overseeing Corporate Planning, HR, IT, International Business, Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, Corporate Affairs, Legal, and Secretarial Functions. Six years ago, I became a board member, and about a year ago, I was honored to step into the CEO role.

Throughout my career, I have encountered numerous challenges, including setbacks in academics and being thrust into unfamiliar domains. These experiences taught me resilience and helped me overcome the fear of failure. I realized that success often comes with persistence, learning from failures, adapting to new environments, and most importantly, by being true to your values and upholding your beliefs with conviction.

Could you elaborate on your role in achieving world-class standards & a quality-driven culture manufacturing healthcare products?

Otsuka is a highly experienced group with over seven decades of expertise in this therapy area and a legacy of more than 100 years as a group. This rich history underscores our commitment to excellence. Our corporate philosophy, "Otsuka—people creating new products for better health worldwide", emphasizes the importance of people and new products. This philosophy drives us to uphold exceptional manufacturing practices and uncompromising quality standards.

As a Japanese organization, quality is non-negotiable. Everyone in the organization understands this, especially given the nature of our products, like intravenous fluids, which are directly administered into patients' bloodstreams, even a minor quality lapse could lead to severe and potentially fatal consequences in healthcare settings. The healthcare industry relies on our IV fluids to deliver critical medications for treating chronic and life-threatening diseases.

My role at the helm is to steer a culture of quality, safety, and growth by empowering and investing in people, processes, and proper compliance.

To ensure the highest quality, we have implemented, what we call "Emotional Pharmacopoeia". This concept asks employees to consider whether they would confidently administer the product, they have manufactured, to their own loved ones, be it their mother, spouse, or sibling. If the answer is a wholehearted “YES”, the product passes this internal test.

While traditional pharmacopoeia like the Indian or European standards guide technical quality, "Emotional Pharmacopoeia" fosters an additional deeper sense of responsibility and awareness amongst employees. This approach helps us build a robust manufacturing process, ensuring that our products meet the highest quality standards and deliver safe and effective results to the patients.

Would you consider this an example of your unique leadership style in guiding your team?

Typically, I don’t guide my team in a conventional sense. Reflecting on my journey over the past six years, first as a board member and now as CEO, my approach has been shaped by the values I have embraced. During my time working under a Japanese CEO, I earned the nickname “Chief Emotional Officer” because of my ability to foster emotional connections and instill corporate values amongst the colleagues.

Now, I’m fondly referred to as the “Chief Empowerment Officer”. I believe empowering people leads to better outcomes. Micromanaging, excessive bossism, or adopting a purely top-down approach may work temporarily, but is not sustainable in the long run.

In our organization, we emphasize both processes and results. While innovative shortcuts can sometimes deliver quick outcomes, relying on them consistently is not conducive to long-term success. Hence, we focus on adhering to sound processes that align with our corporate philosophy and ethos.

What are your aspirations for the future of your journey, & what advice would you give to upcoming leaders?

At Otsuka, we follow a medium-term plan spanning four to five years, which aligns with the Japanese approach of long-term growth. My primary focus is on contributing to the growth of our business in India, enhancing healthcare outcomes, and improving the overall well-being of people.

On our path ahead, I aim to expand the range of therapies we offer in India while continuing to export our products to over 70 countries. By introducing a broader portfolio, including treatments for chronic conditions like cancer and schizophrenia, we hope to address many unmet patient needs. Expanding Otsuka's presence and impact in India is a significant goal, but I remain open to taking on new roles or responsibilities if the parent company envisions a different portfolio for me. I don't limit myself to any specific position or location.

Upcoming leaders carry the immense responsibility of shaping the future of the world. My advice is simple: to avoid shortcuts that may compromise your principles. Live by the values and ethics instilled by your parents, teachers, and environment. When you remain true to these principles and avoid cutting corners, success will follow naturally. Patience and integrity are the keys to building a meaningful and enduring legacy.

Parag Swadia, CEO & Executive Director, Otsuka Pharmaceutical India

With 25+ years of overall experience, including a decade-long journey at Otsuka, Parag, a believer of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (One Earth. One World. One Future), is fondly referred by his colleagues as 'Chief Empowerment Officer' for being a strong advocate of fostering a culture of integrity, honesty, growth, quality, compassion, and compliance to achieve sustainable growth.