16 CEO MONTHLY / GLOBAL CEO EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2021 CEO MONTHLY / GLOBAL CEO EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2021 17 , , May21744 Environmental Engineering CEO of the Year (Canada): Raminder Grewal Environmental engineering is a key part of our lives, with new and innovative approaches needed to ensure the security of our natural world. The teamat Keystone Environmental, under the leadership of Raminder Grewal, does this with aplomb. We take a closer look at how the growth of his own career has matched the growth of the firmhe now leads following his tremendous success in CEOMonthly’s Global CEO Excellence Awards. Since becoming President of Keystone Environmental in 2013, Raminder Grewal has overseen a transformation of the company at large. Working his way steadily through the ranks, he understands the firm better than anybody else. Having acted as project manager, client manager and department head before making it to the post of President and CEO in 2013, there is very little he has not seen. At the heart of what Keystone Environmental offers is a need to focus on what clients want. The team’s commitment is to provide innovative environmental solutions designed to make their clients more successful in every respect. This is done through the provision of prompt, personal and high-quality service. Throughout the years, the team at Keystone Environmental have tailored their services to meet the individual needs of the client, whether they are environmental managers, property developers, plant managers, government agencies or professionals. Since the firm first opened its doors thirty-three years ago, it has grown into a full-service environmental consultancy May21635 Leading Specialist Healthcare CEO of the Year: Maurizio Mioli – Italy Company CEO of VMLY&Rx INTERNATIONAL Milan, Maurizio Mioli has over 30 years’ experience in marketing and communication behind him, having begun his career within the pharmaceutical industry covering both commercial/ sales and marketing roles. He then moved into the pharma marketing and healthcare communications industry and has now been with VMLY&Rx for 25 years, having started as head of the Italian Domestic division and, for the past 15 years, held the role of overall CEO in Milan. During this time, VMLY&Rx INTERNATIONAL opened another office in Zurich and took charge of international operations in Paris. Early on in 2021, it also opened a new office in the USA, in Cambridge, Massachusetts (the rapidly growing Pharma Biotech valley). VMLY&Rx INTERNATIONAL Team is mainly focused on global or regional (e.g. European) client teams. It is culturally diverse (with 25 countries represented within its team) and has strong expertise in Rx marketing and comms, offering pharma clients a partnership that can provide an unsurpassed customer VMLY&Rx (formerly known as Sudler &Hennessey) is one of the leading global networks amongmarketing and communication agencies which specialise in the healthcare sector. It is part of the VMLY&R family, as well asWPP (financial holding). The ‘Rx’ in the name (which indicates prescription drugs in pharmaceutical lexicon) highlights the fact that, within the healthcare business, it specifically addresses the specialty pharma sector, where scientific knowledge and expertise are keys to success. of over a hundred staff. The challenge for Raminder, therefore, is to keep this positive trajectory going. He has done this through investing not only in staff, but in continually pushing the ambitions of the company’s overall sustainability goals and business development. Through establishing high standards for all involved, he has managed to continue to growth of the company to ever-greater heights. Nowhere is this clearly than in his impressive leadership during 2020. Raminder’s ability to remain agile during a highly disruptive period ensured that every employee could be retained during the pandemic, offering clients the essential services they have needed without a break. In fact, the incredible success of the last year saw the firm expand not only in terms of revenue, but in the job market two. Twenty new employees have been taken on since the pandemic started, in stark contrast to many competitors. While Keystone has always taken the initiative when it comes to technology and innovation, the pandemic forced an enormously quick change to the operation’s timeline. Everyone had to move rapidly to a working-from-home model, with Raminder ensuring that this was possible with the firm’s IT resources. Needless to say, this use of technology and automation has streamlined many systems, resulting in increased productivity and a resultant revenue growth. Despite the challenges of working from home, Raminder has managed to maintain cohesion and consistency between the various departments under his control. Communication is one of his most valued tools, and he meets bi-weekly with the Department Heads to review progress toward departmental goals, project pipeline, labour forecasts and discuss topics such as Health and Safety, Project Status, Business Development, and employee engagement. Following his own impressive success, the business has championed a “promote from within” philosophy with the goal of one day only hiring entry level employees and filling more senior positions with existing staff. This gives the team a sense of progression and ambition throughout their time at Keystone Environmental. The growth of Keystone Environmental was not assured, and has required a great deal of work from Raminder in his current position. Thankfully, his hard work has paid off, creating a space where people feel empowered and encouraged to achieve great things. The effect can be seen throughout the business, in the positive relationships the team has developed and in the success of every project. It’s an approach that comes from the top, down and is a sure sign of incredible leadership. Company: Keystone Environmental Ltd. Name: Raminder Grewal Email: rgrewal@ keystoneenvironmental.ca Web Address: http://keystoneenvironmental.ca/ experience for their stakeholders which include healthcare professionals, patients and the broader healthcare ecosystem. Ultimately, VMLY&Rx combines brand-building experience with deep scientific knowledge, through a seamless omnichannel execution (BX+CX+Rx = Connected Health). It’s thanks to its client teams that VMLY&Rx offers 15+ years of expertise in international pharma project management. With its creative teams, it is constantly challenging the status quo with bold creativity and innovative ideas, and its scientific teams are able to translate complex science into value for its clients’ customers. Last, but not least, the company’s young and agile digital team is constantly on the forefront of the “new virtual” (and maybe also hybrid in the near future) ways of communicating and engaging with customers. The pandemic has dramatically accelerated the already ongoing digital transformation within the pharma industry, creating a great opportunity for new or consolidated partnerships with agencies such as VMLY&Rx INTERNATIONAL. It has been able to face this challenge using the most advanced approaches, delivering complex science thanks to the innovative omnichannel approach, while bearing in mind the already established (in the consumer world) paradigm of getting permission from customers, with valuable contents and multiple experiences with Rx brands. Regarding his role of CEO of the company, we asked Maurizio to share his leadership style with us. “I would say it combines a mix of candid and open interaction with some assertive behaviour when necessary. My leadership focus is equally divided between a strong business development drive, with a constant search for innovation (my maverick component) and an obsession for bringing on new people and growing talent (the companion side). This is particularly true for our younger generation who bring with them an incredible amount of untapped potential and a very demanding approach in terms of work-life balance, which has increased even more so during the pandemic.” He’s now focused on the company’s future, maintaining continuous attention on delivering results in line with WPP expectations, alongside establishing the new operations in Cambridge, MA. The COVID-19 pandemic did not help the launch of the new presence in the US, which should deliver a significant advantage in networking with the important biotech community over there. Up to this point, however, all networking has been purely virtual, but Maurizio is confident that the team will soon be able to make a return to office life and start holding in-person meetings again. Company: VMLY&Rx INTERNATIONAL Milan SRL Contact: Maurizio Mioli Email:
[email protected] Website: www.vmlyrx.com