Iroko is Starting to Quickly Crumble

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anonymous said:
Company burns through cash, yet wastes money on frivolous sales meetings (see thread on Monterey meeting). Since SVP of sales started sales are declining to flat. Just gave raises and title changes to entire sales force - reps and managers to buy loyalty. Provides no communication/direction and doesn't go in the field to observe business first-hand. No leadership and zero accountability. Has 'everyone gets a trophy' mentality. Replace with smart, seasoned, no frills, no nonsense, but fair leadership who pays for performance the company has a shot.
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CEO was not in Pharma for 20 years before he took over the company. Word is he has a major investment in the company. Since the day he started he operates in panic mode. He hired the SVP of sales and won't acknowledge that she was a bad hire. Doesn't understand today's managed care landscape, which has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. He constantly changes his mind (calls them epiphanies) and expects immediate changes in response to his change in direction. Spends on market research, but ignores what the consistent results say and instead goes with his instincts, which to date have been consistently wrong.

Had 2 massive layoffs including firing 33 home office people without having a plan who will do the work once these people were gone. Has given SVP autonomy and defends her. She is the primary problem as mentioned above. She never did the job, no leadership, no communication, no collaboration and doesn't allow anybody see what she is doing. She doesn't have a strategy or able to execute tactics. Sales force has zero accountability. Just hired the contract sales force and made them company employees. Thinks by making them employees and increasing pay and changing their titles will make them loyal to her. Loves having unproductive and expensive meetings and focuses more on planning her meeting then planning and executing a winning strategy. Works 1/2 days and doesn't spend any time in the field. Always has an excuse why her team isn't performing.

Think you have enough info what the problems are. Hire smart and competent CEO and sales leadership and you have your solution.
 






anonymous said:
CEO was not in Pharma for 20 years before he took over the company. Word is he has a major investment in the company. Since the day he started he operates in panic mode. He hired the SVP of sales and won't acknowledge that she was a bad hire. Doesn't understand today's managed care landscape, which has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. He constantly changes his mind (calls them epiphanies) and expects immediate changes in response to his change in direction. Spends on market research, but ignores what the consistent results say and instead goes with his instincts, which to date have been consistently wrong.

Had 2 massive layoffs including firing 33 home office people without having a plan who will do the work once these people were gone. Has given SVP autonomy and defends her. She is the primary problem as mentioned above. She never did the job, no leadership, no communication, no collaboration and doesn't allow anybody see what she is doing. She doesn't have a strategy or able to execute tactics. Sales force has zero accountability. Just hired the contract sales force and made them company employees. Thinks by making them employees and increasing pay and changing their titles will make them loyal to her. Loves having unproductive and expensive meetings and focuses more on planning her meeting then planning and executing a winning strategy. Works 1/2 days and doesn't spend any time in the field. Always has an excuse why her team isn't performing.

Think you have enough info what the problems are. Hire smart and competent CEO and sales leadership and you have your solution.
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The Chairman is also part of the problem. See the attached link how he hires people. Once you read this article you will see why this company is having a major problem. There is no question that it will continue to fail with the current sales leadership http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20160925_Osagie_Imasogie.html
 


















anonymous said:
CEO was not in Pharma for 20 years before he took over the company. Word is he has a major investment in the company. Since the day he started he operates in panic mode. He hired the SVP of sales and won't acknowledge that she was a bad hire. Doesn't understand today's managed care landscape, which has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. He constantly changes his mind (calls them epiphanies) and expects immediate changes in response to his change in direction. Spends on market research, but ignores what the consistent results say and instead goes with his instincts, which to date have been consistently wrong.

Had 2 massive layoffs including firing 33 home office people without having a plan who will do the work once these people were gone. Has given SVP autonomy and defends her. She is the primary problem as mentioned above. She never did the job, no leadership, no communication, no collaboration and doesn't allow anybody see what she is doing. She doesn't have a strategy or able to execute tactics. Sales force has zero accountability. Just hired the contract sales force and made them company employees. Thinks by making them employees and increasing pay and changing their titles will make them loyal to her. Loves having unproductive and expensive meetings and focuses more on planning her meeting then planning and executing a winning strategy. Works 1/2 days and doesn't spend any time in the field. Always has an excuse why her team isn't performing.

Think you have enough info what the problems are. Hire smart and competent CEO and sales leadership and you have your solution.
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Probably the only Pharma company in the US that doesn't require reps to make a minimum number of calls per day. Failing company will falling sales and reps are not given guidance how many calls per day? On top of that managers and reps got significant increase in base pay and change in title - reps are now managers and their manages are now directors. This is for a company that never hit a forecast.
 






anonymous said:
I don't work at Iroko, but I have a vested interest in their success. I've tried to stave off unverified rumblings of further decline in business and profitability. I stumbled upon this website and thread by accident. Reading about executive and board member resignations (which board member?), general discontent from employees, and a complete lack of confidence in leadership... is all very disappointing. Is it really just a matter of time, or can this be turned around? Thx for any insight.
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Iroko is like a ship without a compass.
 






























anonymous said:
We know who are. We suggest that you stop your comments or your manager will be contacted.
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my little squirrel like manager is a sweetie pie-he don't car a slippery wick- so sell silly elsewhere gelbish-this southern boy will follow english andrew thru the wooden gates of demon gate-if it will sell any crappy over hyped pill
 






Word is investors are not happy how things are going. LV has been here 1 1/2 years and CES 1 year and they have not been successful despite promising to turn company around. Batten down the hatches. A major storm may be blowing through Iroko and leaves may be falling....
 






anonymous said:
Word is investors are not happy how things are going. LV has been here 1 1/2 years and CES 1 year and they have not been successful despite promising to turn company around. Batten down the hatches. A major storm may be blowing through Iroko and leaves may be falling....
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place is a joke if u haven't left yet,what are you waiting for?
 












anonymous said:
i don't get why the home office people are getting incentive bonuses if the stay through December. Something must be up. Anybody hear anything thing?
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This happened to me once before. I bet they are going to merge us with another company. They just did the sales force realignment to put us in the right positions. At my old company reps got fired if there was overlap. That's why last week the guy wrote on this thread that he has a vested interest in the company. He also wanted to know why the jobs were not posted if a rep left the company. They need to have all the positions filled. I bet it is also the reason they gave us a bump in salary and why we don't have a minimum number of calls. I bet to get a payout they have to have a minimum number of reps. All starting to make sense. We are being used as pawns.
 












You have to ask yourself; in the 18 months since LV became president of Iroko is the company better off? Iroko is having its 4th anniversary since it started marketing drugs. At the launch of the commercial organization there were 450 employees, about 350 reps and managers and 100 who worked in the home office. The leadership was very solid with a long and successful track record. But LV was on the board and things weren’t happening fast enough for him to get his investment back and he began to insert himself in the strategy. The former president resigned and within 24 hours he was running the company.

In the 1½ years since LV took over as president, the company is less than half the size with only 150 in the field and about 60 people who work in the home office. He is responsible for terminating over 200 employees. These are people with families to feed and mortgages to pay and he gave them 1 month severance out of the kindness of his heart. Employees who worked with LV actually quit even though they did not have another job. They thought despite not having an income, they would be better off than working with him.

Iroko was supposed to be a $1 billion company. LV cannot create a strategy and stick with it as he constantly changes his mind through his “epiphanies”. Like a ship without a compass in the middle of a storm, there is no direction to this company, which once had great potential. You have to ask yourself, is it time to jump ship to save your career or do you want to go down with the captain and his sinking ship?
 






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