What It Means To Take On A Prominent Leadership Position Following A Mass Acquisition During Uncertain Times

Tracey Ramsay – Vice-President and General Manager of AbbVie Canada

On January 4, 2021, Tracey Ramsay was appointed VicePresident and General Manager of AbbVie Canada. Previously, Tracey held the roles of Vice President and Country Manager Canada at Allergan and most recently, held the position of Allergan Specialty Portfolio Country Manager since joining AbbVie in May 2020. Tracey has held a variety of leadership roles spanning general management, commercial operations, and business development across consumer health, pharmaceutical and biotech industries having worked in Europe, Canada, and the United States.

Prior to Allergan, Tracey joined Sanofi in 2014 where she was General Manager, General Medicine, Established Products and Consumer Healthcare Canada and the Head of the General Medicines & Established Products Business Unit for North America based in the United States.

Prior to Sanofi, Tracey held leadership positions at a number of commercial start-up organizations including Optimer Pharmaceuticals (Merck), Afexa Life Science (Valeant Consumer Health) and Takeda, as well as, had the opportunity to lead through a diversity of positions during a 10-year career at Johnson & Johnson, including roles within their biologics division as General Manager, Ortho Biotech Canada, and as European Director, Oncology, Ortho Biotech based in the United Kingdom. Tracey holds a Master of Business Administration from Dalhousie University in Halifax and an Honors Bachelor of Science from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada.

You were recently appointed Vice-President and General Manager of AbbVie Canada. How have your previous leadership roles prepared you for your current position at one of the nation’s, and the world’s, largest pharmaceutical companies? What does this new opportunity mean to you?

I’ve spent my entire career in healthcare.  My parents were healthcare professionals and from an early age I had an innate curiosity, always asking questions, wanting to understand the “why” surrounding science and health.  I also discovered I have a passion for working with teams, especially if that team is tasked to solve complex problems, ideally through innovative solutions.  This led me to a career spanning the biotech, pharmaceutical, and consumer health sectors.

Prior to AbbVie, I led Allergan as Vice President and Country Manager Canada.  In May 2020, AbbVie acquired Allergan enhancing its product portfolio with leadership positions across immunology, oncology, medical aesthetics, neuroscience, women’s health, eye care, and virology.

Just a month into my new role, I am eager and excited to collaborate with every member of this dedicated team and be a part of AbbVie’s incredible journey.

What are some of the changes and procedures you’re hoping to implement within your new role?

Our future is very bright, our objectives are clear, and we have what it takes to make a remarkable impact on patients lives – an outstanding pipeline, an incredible culture, a commitment to innovation and science, the ability to deliver exceptional patient and health care professional experiences with a diverse, committed and high performing team.

• We are launching 21 new medications by 2023
• We rank in the top 50 Great Places to Work in Canada
• We invest US$5 Billion annually in research and development.

AbbVie is addressing some of the most difficult health challenges.  I am both proud and honored to be part of the AbbVie Canada team and I am confident in our collective ability to remain focused on bringing value to customers, ensuring continuity of care for patients, and executing with excellence.

AbbVie completed the acquisition of Allergan during the summer, and most importantly, during a global pandemic. In your expert opinion, how do you believe this new acquisition will benefit AbbVie?

AbbVie’s acquisition of Allergan enhances our ability to continue to make a remarkable impact on people’s lives. With our enhanced growth platform to fuel long-term industry-leading performance, this transaction allows us to diversify AbbVie’s business while sustaining our focus on innovative science and the advancement of our robust pipeline well into the future.

We are strengthening our market leadership, expanding our portfolios, developing and building new capabilities while delivering defined and measurable value to patients, healthcare professionals, and our healthcare system.

What do you hope to achieve in the long term in your role at AbbVie? 

We believe in the power of partnerships to advance standards of care and build a better, more sustainable healthcare system. And as such are committed to working with governments, patient associations, and other stakeholders to explore new collaborative models to make medicines more accessible. ​

CanadianSME

With an aim to contribute to the development of Canada’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s), Cmarketing Inc is a potential marketing agency and a boutique business management company progressing rapidly in its scope. By acknowledging a firm reliance of the Canadian economy over its SMEs, the agency has resolved to launch a magazine, the pure focus of which will be the furtherance of Canadian SMEs, and to assist their progress with the scheduled token of enlightenment via the magazine’s pertinent content.

See Full Bio