Teresa Bitetti of the Global Oncology Business Unit of Take: Why Rejecting Traditional Executive Norms And Embracing Bright Colors Drives Better Business Results

As a part of our interview series called “Women Of The C-Suite” , we had the pleasure of interviewing Teresa Bitetti.

Teresa Bitetti is President of the Global Oncology Business Unit of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. She joined the company in April 2019 and is responsible for oncology business activities around the world, overseeing a global portfolio consisting of therapies in hematological malignancies and lung cancer.

Prior to joining Takeda, Ms. Bitetti spent more than 20 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), where she held several leadership roles, including Senior Vice President, Head of Worldwide Oncology Commercialization. During her tenure, she oversaw the launch of Opdivo in the U.S. market and significantly enhanced the long-term strategic direction of the immuno-oncology portfolio.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I’ve always been fascinated by business and science. The pharmaceutical industry gave me the opportunity to marry these interests, and the ultimate outcome of enhancing and extending human lives is incredibly inspiring.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

It wasn’t when I was first starting, but I do remember early on in our virtual working environment, kicking off a global town hall with the mute button on. It reminded me to have a sense of humor and give ourselves grace in these times — we’re all human.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There really have been so many people along the way — people that believed in me and had confidence in me. I had one manager who impacted my career at an early stage. I started in Finance, but my long-term interest was a transition into marketing. This manager sponsored me for a stretch assignment because he believed in me and recognized that I had potential to develop and to do more. It was a powerful example on the importance of sponsorship. And as I have often shared with folks, it is important to be clear, focused and passionate about what you want. Then it makes it easier for leaders to help you and sponsor you.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

I have always found that laughter is the best stress relief! I think of laughter as the universal medicine. For physical stress relief, I have come to enjoy the Peloton bike. In addition to providing a tough workout, the instructors bring positive energy and a sense of community. As a result, I always feel better when I’m done with a workout.

As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

Different cultures, backgrounds, interests, and experiences result in different perspectives. I don’t want a team just like me. I want a team that pushes and challenges so we can get to the best answer, not just a right answer. Diversity is going to drive you to better decisions. However, it is important to remember that you must be open to new ideas and perspectives to truly embrace diversity and reap its benefits.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

There is a long-standing norm of the attributes of a true executive. But given history, many of those attributes are fashioned after men. I think it is important to embrace a leadership style that reflects accurately who you are as a person. For example, I don’t wear dark colors… I wear bright colors. I don’t always assume a serious demeanor… I like to laugh and have fun. But that doesn’t mean I am any less serious about my job or any less challenging to my teams, or any less driven to succeed. It is important to be your own person in how you drive the business.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

In many ways Takeda has met my expectations. Takeda is unique in its long history, its long-term perspective, and in the way that social equity and patient focus is overt and present in all business decisions.

What advice would you give to other leaders to help their team to thrive?

My advice to leaders is to surround yourself with smart people who treat others well and who are also willing to hire other smart people. If you feel like you’re the smartest person in the room for every conversation, you need to re-evaluate your team.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

What I love about my job is that we facilitate the development of science to bring meaningful treatments to patients.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I wouldn’t use the word “project,” but we are working hard to develop a stronger capability in data and digital. We have so much data and the more that we can find a way to tap into and leverage that data for greater insights — and to do it fast — the faster and better we will be at providing transformative treatments to patients around the globe.

What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Treat people the way you want to be treated.

2. If you make a mistake, fix it fast.

3. Never lose sight of the big picture.

4. Get down in the details when you sense a problem.

5. Communicate often, frequently and transparently.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

The quote I think of often is “It is good to take your work seriously… but don’t start taking yourself too seriously.” It is critical to remember that what we do is important but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun doing what we do!

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Barack Obama. From a leadership perspective, he has strong intellect, a wonderful sense of humor, and an ability to manage stress and pressure with grace.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.