In 2018, Novartis set the ambition to become a leading medicines company powered by data and digital technologies. To realize this goal, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Vasant Narasimhan, set Data and Digital Leadership as one of Novartis’ five strategic priorities. As part of the new digital strategy, Bertrand Bodson, known for turning Argos from a traditional catalogue retailer to one of the third largest online retailers in the UK, was hired as its new Chief Digital Officer (CDO). Bodson arrived on the pharmaceuticals scene in the midst of exciting but also challenging times: science, technology and data were converging, progressing by leap and bounds and presenting new breakthrough opportunities. At the same time, the pharmaceutical industry was evolving, and both competitors and other players in the ecosystem were getting more sophisticated. Bodson needed to act quickly. Pharma was being disrupted and he needed to align the organization and capture the new opportunities. How could he get Novartis digitally ready?
