Dear Joe, Sorry to hijack the Novartis board, but I did read once that you sometimes browse cafepharma. Do you ever take a look at the Alcon board? Please do. Something needs to change before the entire division implodes on itself. JG may be great for pharma, but he's in over his head with surgical. Things are even worse than they appear. Thanks, A concerned long time Alcon employee
Dear Alcon Employee, Thank you for your input. I will be looking at the Alcon board later this week. We will be making changes soon, so stay tuned! Best regards, Joe
Dear Joe, It is sometimes argued that rising CEO compensation is a symbolic issue with no consequences for the vast majority. However, the escalation of CEO compensation and executive compensation more generally has fueled the growth of top 1 percent incomes. We have argued above that high CEO pay reflects rents, concessions CEOs can draw from the economy not by virtue of their contribution to economic output but by virtue of their position. Consequently, CEO pay could be reduced and the economy would not suffer any loss of output. Another implication of rising executive pay is that it reflects income that otherwise would have accrued to others: what the executives earned was not available for broader-based wage growth for other workers. There are policy options for curtailing escalating executive pay and broadening wage growth. Some involve taxes. Implementing higher marginal income tax rates at the very top would limit rent-seeking behavior and reduce the incentives for executives to push for such high pay. Legislation has also been proposed that would remove the tax break for executive performance pay that was established early in the Clinton administration; by allowing the deductibility of performance pay, this tax change helped fuel the growth of stock options and other forms of such compensation. Another option is to set corporate tax rates higher for firms that have higher ratios of CEO-to-worker compensation. If you want to read more, please visit www.epi.org/publication/top-ceos-make-300-times-more-than-workers-pay-growth-surpasses-market-gains-and-the-rest-of-the-0-1-percent/ Best Regards, a concerned Novartis employee
Dear concerned Novartis employee, Thanks you for your input. It may be better if we talk face-to-face in the future, so if you leave me your name and telephone number, that would be great. Please contact my secretary in Switzerland at +41 61 324 11 11. You may think that CEOs are overcompensated, but trust me, they are not! With respect to myself, I am compensated below average for a CEO. I often say that I am surprised that CEOs are not paid even MORE because of the hard work they do- much harder than other employees. More taxes is not the answer. Just look at the untenable position in the financial sector that taxes has led too. The answer is in free trade, lower taxes, and less regulation. I am working hard every day to that end. I hope that you will too. Best Regards, Joe
Alcon's travails began with the NVS takeover, not simply with the "reign" of JG. Alcon used to consistently rank among the nation's top 100 employers. However, it plummeted/dropped off the list after the acquisition thanks to a triumvirate of mismanagement, micromanagement, and misdirection. No longer respected, no longer a leader in the field. Very sad.
Dear Novartis Associates, Please see my latest McKinsey interview: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/leading_in_the_21st_century/Novartis_on_digitizing_medicine_in_an_aging_world Best Regards, Joe
Dear Joe - One of the nation’s top cancer hospitals is challenging the pharmaceutical industry to adopt a more rational approach to drug pricing. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York has created an interactive calculator that compares the cost of more than 50 cancer drugs with what the prices would be if they were tied to factors such as the side effects the drugs produce, and the amount of extra life they give patients. In many cases, the website calculates a price that is lower than the drug’s market price. The project, led by Peter Bach, a physician and director of the hospital’s Center for Health Policy and Outcomes, is the latest salvo from doctors and others against the escalating costs of cancer drugs, which increasingly carry price tags of $100,000 or more per patient for a year or a course of treatment. A colleague of Dr. Bach’s at Memorial Sloan Kettering recently blasted cancer drug prices as excessive in a speech before thousands of cancer doctors at a meeting in Chicago. In an interview, Dr. Bach said prices for many new cancer drugs don’t reflect their value to doctors and patients. “Right now, manufacturers have total price control, and total control of prices has led to irrational pricing behaviors,” he said. To model what he calls “value based” pricing, Dr. Bach created the “DrugAbacus” research tool, which he hopes will get drug makers, insurers, doctors and patients talking about the factors that should determine price. http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-much-should-cancer-drugs-cost-1434640914 Sincerely yours, Concerned Novartis Associate
Dear Concerned, Thank you again for your input. I still have not received your contact information. As you probably know, we are in business to maximize shareholder value. Our products are very carefully priced to achieve that maximum. Doing anything else would be unethical, and the company would be attacked by financial lawsuits brought on behalf of the shareholders. Patients who need our lifesaving medicines should fare well in the healthcare climate we see now under the Affordable Care Act. Sincerely, Joe
Dear Mr Jimenez, I do not question your pay level relative to other CEO's in the industry nor do I question the work load and requirments of the job that you do. It is not a position that I ever would have the fortitude to accept. With that said lets talk about certain items that you have made decisions on that apply specifically to the direction of Novartis US. As once was said by a president of the U.S.A. ... The buck stops here. And you sir, are the Chef in the kitchen. Be it that there are a number of great opportunities for Novartis under you leadership. And rightfully so. Congratulations. And cudos to a job well done. Respectfully speaking , actions speak louder than words and your actions speak more to your leadership than nice prep landed interviews ect... In the U.S. A dermatology division was created with 90% outside people who, when you had qualified people in the organization, were not even given a chance to interview. What may you get. Yes, people with dermatology experience but potentially not performance .... I.e. That why are to change jobs. Ect... ? Reap what you sow. In Alcon, you are starting to have a complete collapse of moral and performance. Maybe disregarding current associates with experience, loyalty to the company ect that are layed to waste. In NeuroPsych, you directed the lay off of highly skilled, long term employees that were promoted from primary care entry level positions because of there performance. When they have the skills and loyalty to perform in other positions. A waste of dedicated Novartis employees. In MS division. You have a highly qualified and successful group of associates... That unfortunately will also be the waste of Novartis sooner than later due to a lay off. Vaccine, Oncology ect... On and on. In interviewing, your competitor companies say" oh. Another Novartis Lay off" Respectfully Sir, You have decimated the most important, qualified, loyal associates to the company that I could never have imagined... To then fill them in with replacements that as well may be extremely qualified but have no loyalty to their previous company or to Novartis. Other firms may do this but not to the degree of Novartis. Mr Jimenez, you are known in the industry as " machete joe" not something to overly proud of. The short term gain of increasing stock value for the stockholders will not be sustained by the loss of soo many loyal, dedicated employees that your directives have thrown away. Yes, I understand that you get up in the morning, take a shower, brush your teeth and put on a suit. But you might consider the actions that you take will have lasting implications to how the industry and employees feel about the company they work for and therefore performance. Currently, a high loss of high quality, dedicated, loyal employees lost forever to a servitude of transient associates with no dedication or loyalty to the company. At your level , you should recognize this. Other companies do. Regards,
Dear Concerned, Yes we are in a business to care and cure, and we must maximize shareholder value in that pursuit. Without our massive investments into Research and Development we could not find the cures and care you mention. Best regards, Joe
Dear Joe, You could however find cure without the highly paid Basel senior beaurocrats who offshore all jobs except their own!
Dear Idiots; More than 50% of the spending on Healthcare in the U.S. is paid for by by the U.S. Federal Govt and the rest of the spending paid for by insurance in the "private sector" where employer provided health care is subsidized by tax breaks by the Federal Govt to employers. If you don't believe that just ask your me what I would do if the U.S. Federal Govt didn't subsidize your employer supplied Health Insurnace (PS - We are on the record as saying that we would instantly and automatically raise stop paying the ~ 80 % of the insurance premiums that we currently pay for you). Also, by definition, 100% of all regulated drugs in the U.S. regulated by the FDA and by law 100% of all pharmacists and Drs must be state licensed. It is a fact that the U.S. Federal Govt controlled portion of the U.S. Healthcare system is larger than the U.S.'s military budget. So, since the average citizen in the U.S. lives a shorter, less healthy life and since we spend much more than any other industrialized nation on Earth, that makes you the highest paid, least productive Govt worker in the world. Catch a clue, morons. Your Sugar Daddy; Joe
I think you have a tough job and need to juggle many priorities....Not too many people are "up for it". Each to their own. As such, I won't enter into the compensation debate, but rather the much hyped "Core Values" platform which definitely underpins great / sustainable businesses and employee loyalty. This is what counts in building a robust business, long term opportunities, talent retention, loyalty and all round appreciation. It is simple: good people with solid values, make great leaders. Seek out these people and prize them. Novartis has many great, good and wholly dysfunctional leaders (like any "community"). Aside from steering the ship, you really need to be weeding out those dysfunctional types quickly so that the ship doesn't become the Titanic, lisping from side to side.....with you running around "moving the deck chairs" to keep the ship afloat. A great example is Roy Acosta & Jim West from Alcon Asia, who should have gone a very long time ago. They left a huge mess in their wake, had a history of "red cards", manufactured astonishing double "growth" in difficult markets and in the process destroyed may good people who questioned their behaviour. There are others who are responsible for supporting their mismanagement and reprehensible actions over time. Why didn't Novartis and yourself take action sooner? On the flipside, there are many terrific leaders in Pharma who do actually believe that "patients come first". It is a "novel" concept for some business executives to swallow, but it really does define what we all do. There should be a high value placed on those leaders who actually demonstrate a commitment to patient care and public health welfare, rather than being obsessed with short term financial gains. Stakeholders take notice of these "aspirations" and examine closely the demonstrated efforts of Life Sciences companies to deliver on their "platitudes and promises". So, be content that some of us believe that with high reward comes high expectations as to how you sail the great ship and who you put in charge of the valuable "cargo" (patients, employees, partners, etc). Sincerely, An Observer
Dear Joe, The Affordable Care Act has made modest improvements in American health care since it took effect. Twenty million Americans have gained insurance under the law, including young people who can stay on their parents' policies and others who may no longer be denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions. The law also has expanded access to primary care to some 4 million more Americans through community health centers that also provide dental care, low-cost prescription drugs and mental health counseling. But the United States remains, shamefully, the only major country on Earth that does not guarantee health care to all its people as a right. And because of the profiteering of the pharmaceutical industry and private insurance companies, the United States spends almost twice as much per capita on health care as any other nation, while our life expectancy, infant mortality and preventable deaths are higher than most other countries. If our goal is to provide high-quality health care for all Americans in a cost-effective way, we must move toward a single-payer system. With best regards, Bernie Sanders
Just a few factual problems here. More than 4 million Amercians have purchased on the enhanges, the same health Insurnace from the same companies that your employer pays to cover you. And like you, these individuals receive subsidies from the U.S. govt. and like you, they part of thier own premiums and all of thier own out of pocket expenses. This factual gap shows that you are. Faux Knews moron.
