William Kerilla, MBA, EMTM'06

IT Leadership for Pharmaceuticals

Since he joined Aventis Pharmaceuticals (now known as sanofi-aventis) five years ago, William has advanced from supporting the regulatory production systems to leading a team overseeing the organization's North and South American R&D production systems and help-desk units. While an MBA and several years of accounting and resource management experience were a good foundation, he found that working with the company's European facilities was a challenge. "It's amazing how much you think you know until you have to test it. I realized that I needed more education, particularly a program that could teach me to operate at a global level in today's economy."

Why EMTM?

William wanted his next degree to be more specifically focused on technology management, which he felt would serve him better in a competitive career marketplace and bring him closer to his ultimate goal of becoming a CIO. "I wanted to broaden my understanding of information systems while continuing to advance my business knowledge. EMTM is uniquely positioned to do both." He also knew that already having an MBA and a business orientation would not be a shortcut at EMTM. "I wanted to be nudged out of my comfort zone, and this program's pedigree is bar none," says William. "You have the opportunity to work with colleagues at various stages of their careers and professors who are actually writing the books on these subjects."

Career Impact

While sanofi-aventis has supported his participating in EMTM on a full-time basis, William is self-sponsored financially — an investment he believes is paying back in dividends. "I feel like Moses coming off the mountain. I've gotten the commandments and I see the world in a different way."

In Strategic Management, William studied game theory statistical models. "At work I've been able to make important decisions based on these probability tools. I absorbed a new team and new systems when sanofi-aventis merged, and I found that decision tree models from the course were useful in examining issues related to hiring new personnel and assuming new hardware and systems. While these discussions were in their early stages, the benefit for me was exposing my IT colleagues to another method of identifying alternatives, instead of simply relying on personal opinions about vendor reputation, maintenance cost, and hardware reliability."

William has taken electives across various tracks, gathering a wide range of skills to interact with clients across numerous pharmaceutical disciplines. "One of the more dynamic communities I encounter are the scientists who perform drug discovery, using genomics and combinatorial chemistry to identify possible candidate molecules. The EMTM Drug Discovery course allowed me to familiarize myself with this technology, the present and future challenges the field faces, and the industry's overall strategic direction."

He has also been able to take advantage of IT and Telecommunications electives, studying concepts like the lifecycle of systems and usability, both of which are important at sanofi-aventis. "For my team, one of the biggest business concerns is organizing the Herculean amount of data you need for a drug submission. Systems must be designed to reduce clients' stress performing these tasks to improve the overall process."

As he'd hoped, he is now more cognizant of technological and managerial trends here and abroad. "Talking to colleagues who work globally I was able to learn about some pitfalls and risks of outsourcing I'd never thought of. Often they have faced equivalent situations at their job, or have cultural or local experience with similar issues."

After he started EMTM, William was promoted and went from managing a local group of four to an international group of 20. "Management saw the value of this program in my development, and I believe its reputation and potential to impact my work were key factors in making that determination."

Top of Page