“ROCHE Supply chain is investing in talent for the future. Our relationship with the MIT Zaragoza program is now almost 10 years old and hopefully more to come”

Andreu Torregrosa, a keen sportsman and previous ZLOGGER, is not only enjoying a good time at Roche professionally, but also personally. He built a strong friendship for life with his mates Roger, Abhi and Steve and, also, it was where he first set eyes on his girlfriend to be Ioanna, a fellow ZLOGGER. 8 years later, they are married with a beautiful little boy and pregnant again!

Right after the completion of the ZLOG program in May 2009 you joined the pharmaceutical company ROCHE, a multinational company which creates innovative medicines and diagnostic tests that help millions of patients globally. Since then, you’ve been constantly climbing the corporate ladder, going though different positions. What have you gained from this career path?

Since joining Roche in 2009 I had three major different roles. First I was a planner in Global Supply Chain for 3 years, balancing Global Demand & supply for specific Pharmaceutical Products. Then, I joined the Strategy Group of one of the Manufacturing Operating Units and, finally in December 2013 I moved to the Product Management Group as a Technical Product Leader.

My most significant learning, in regards to my career path it is that it is crucial to think about lateral moves. Not only in terms of positions but also in terms of projects. The more we (zloggers) move to roles that enlarge our scope of gaining knowledge, the more we will be able to apply the concepts learned in Zaragoza. Supply Chain is all about the End-2-End view and for that, we need to spend time outside of Supply Chain functions in order to make a difference that matters and delivers value for the company as a whole.

As Technical Product Leader, what specific project have been both innovative and revolutionary for the company?

One of the most favorable aspects of my current role is that for specific products, we are the link between Global Technical Operations, Global Product Strategy, Roche Partnering and even Technical Development. For the last two years there has been a project that has evaluated the portfolio strategy of the Established Products. Thanks to a thesis with Zaragoza students, we were able to illustrate the complexity of these products in a very simple and objective way. We are now in implementation to reduce the product portfolio presentations by 40%. This is a major success that will reduce the complexity of our supply chains by significantly reducing the number of SKUs in the portfolio.

Your hiring set a precedent and now there are 15 alumni working for ROCHE. Are ZLOGgers really helping the company drive optimization through the Roche supply chain of Roche?  If so, how?

Yes of course, Roche Supply Chain is investing in talent for the future! Our future success is dependent on the right quality & quantity of influx and development of talent in our organization. External partnerships, hiring from top schools and developing talent internally allows us to have access to a broad talent pool and best industry practices. Our relationship with the MIT/ZLOG program is now almost 10 years old, with hopefully a lot more to come!

The Swiss city of Basel is, without doubt, the top destination among ZLOGgers. More than 20 alumni are working for the pharma and chemical industry. What is the reason? Is the quality of life much better than any other country?

Without doubt quality of life in Switzerland is very high, especially for the highly educated and global workforce. In your day-to-day life everything runs smoothly, public transport, short commuting times, efficient government, etc. This fact combined with the flexible working guidelines that most companies usually have directly translates into more free time and a well-balanced working life. Biking to work takes less than 15 minutes for most of us.

Switzerland is in the center of Europe, so it offers many weekend escapes abroad by either by train or with a low cost airline airport in the city. And most importantly, the country itself has so much to offer. If you enjoy outdoor activities (like myself!) the possibilities are endless and the countryside is really beautiful. There are all kinds of summer activities, such as hiking and sleeping in one of the 1000+ mountain huts, river rafting, paragliding, or winter sports, such as ski touring and even ice climbing. We could not ask for more… well maybe, just the Mediterranean sea is missing.

And the weather. Switzerland is famous for being very cold… Well even this is not the case. In Basel you can experience all 4 seasons in full! Cold winters true, but beautiful springs with amazing countryside, picturesque autumns and warm summers (wouldn’t mind a bit longer though…).