Bienvenido a Hamburgo, Salvador! The career path from Mexico to the headquarters

In 2013, Salvador Juárez started to work at Beiersdorf in Mexico. Six years later it was time for new challenges. When he got the chance to get a position in the Global Team, he didn’t have to think twice. He took the opportunity and moved his work to the headquarters in Hamburg. Since the first of August, he has been working for Eucerin as Senior Medical Manager Health Care Professional Multichannel Communication. A title that is as impressive as his career. In this interview he talks about his professional development, his passion for the job and the importance of diversity in a team.

Salvador Juárez: Well, leaving Mexico was a big step. I left my home, my tradition and my family behind. But if life offers you an opportunity like this, you have to take it! And besides the jetlag I had a great start. I have to adapt to new ways of working but my team welcomed me in the best way. The people you are working with are one of the most important things at work. This is something that I have learned a long time ago. I can call myself lucky to be part of such a great team full of open minded and professional people. Also, the Medical Team is multicultural which is awesome. The richest thing in a team is diversity.

Salvador Juárez: At the Headquarters’ Medical Team we are responsible for the global strategy. However, Beiersdorf is basically one big team – just spread across the globe. That is why we need to help each other. For our team that means to enable the markets to contribute to the overall success. In order to do so you need to understand the various needs of different markets. Different people, with different perspectives and a different cultural background can help you to do so. Me, for example: I know how it is to work in a market. I know what kind of input I need from the global team. But above it all: I know the characterization of the Latin American market. Insights like this are very valuable. In the end of the day your job means to provide your knowledge and your background. A multicultural team is able to combine various backgrounds and that’s something very fruitful.

Salvador Juárez: That is one of the reasons, yes. But there is more: Six years ago I used to be a Medical Manager in the Mexican market. After being able to contribute a lot to our success I even took over the responsibility for the region on the Northern Cone of Latin America. But this wasn’t easy at all: The Latin-American market for Dermocosmetics is very dynamic. There have been new surprises every day. Even though we have been a very small team we were responsible for many various tasks. But we managed these challenging circumstances and expanded our business as well as our team. We did that by being very passionate about our work. Above that we have been creative and courageous. Some of our cases have been so successful, they became an inspiration for other markets. Some have been implemented globally. And this really got me hooked! Working in the Global Team at the Beiersdorf headquarters means to be part of the global strategy – to inspire other markets. That feels great!

Salvador Juárez: Yes, of course but let me start from here: Our most important stakeholders are the dermatologists. In the end they decide about what to recommend to their patients. Thus it is very important to build strong relationships with them. We want them to know about our expertise. At the same time we want to learn from them about their patient needs. In order to support a fruitful relationship, Latin America has been the first market to organize a trip for dermatologists to visit our Research and Development Department. The feedback has been impressive. We managed to have a very positive impact on the dermatologist’s mindset regarding Eucerin. We made them understand that it is not only a strong dermocosmetical brand, but also that Eucerin really cares about the needs of dermatologists as well as the patient’s quality of life. This best business practice inspired other markets and became part of the Medical Management strategy, which has been implemented globally. Achievements like this are giving me the chance to contribute to something very important.

Salvador Juárez: I really love what I am doing because of the cause of the brand I am working for. In case of Eucerin this is something huge: by working together we are helping people to deal with different skin conditions. In the end that means to give them the chance of having a higher quality of life on an everyday basis – and it means to give them freedom. That’s a great objective. And this is important to me. Because having a very good job, means two things for me: First of all you are good in what you are doing and second to do something that improves people’s lives. I found both in my job and I am very happy about that!

Carolin is responsible for our Pharmacy and Selective Brands within the Corporate Communications team. In this way she takes care of international communication projects of brands like Eucerin, Hansaplast and La Prairie.