Mr. Milorad Dragojlović started his career at Hemofarm, in the export sector. This was followed by work in several different pharmaceutical companies. Today, he works at Innventa Pharm, which, he says, is the highlight of his career so far.
Given that he is an economist, it took time to, as he says, “become infected” with pharmacy, but eventually everything fell into its place.
Dragojlović stated that it’s very important that a young man at the beginning of his career does not skip steps, but patiently and diligently works on necessary knowledge that will help him to advance in his career.
“Of course, it is very important that at the beginning of the process there is someone who will be a mentor. I was lucky enough that my first boss, is also my partner in Innventa today, with whom I have been working for more than 20 years.”
Goran Orlić (General Manager) and Milorad Dragojlović (Commercial Director)
1. How would you compare working in large corporations to working in a private company?
Working in large corporations helps you gain great experience and learn a lot about the work itself, teamwork, corporate culture and values. It is usually a place where a person is learning to work and deal with different situations and problems.
Corporations provide the opportunity for a young man to acquire knowledge and become a professional who will know exactly the rules of the game of the position he holds.
On the other hand, private companies are more flexible and faster in decision making and adapting to market conditions, which is very important today.
2. How challenging was it to leave the corporate world and start your own business?
The challenge of starting your own business is very ambitious decision. To make such a decision, and to be successful, you need to have experience and knowledge in all segments of the work you do, a team with a winning mentality and a clear vision of where you want to be in the next 5-10 years.
While working in a corporation brings predictability in a certain degree and the feeling that you are protected from external shocks, working in the private sector is much more specific. There is constant pressure that everything is up to you to make the company function successfully, from the financing of the entire business to the the organization of employees, work process and achieving sales goals.
From today’s perspective, I would say that working in a corporation allowed me to implement good things in a private business, which, I think, is the best combination you can get in your career.
3. How would you describe Innventa in one sentence?
Innventa is a dynamic pharmaceutical company that brings innventive pharmaceutical solutions.
4. What are the challenges you face as a Commercial Director nowadays?
Nowadays, it is especially important to be ready to make a balance between selling prices and the prices of inputs, raw materials, packaging and finished products. In today’s business, when procurement prices are rising dramatically, it is necessary to adjust sales prices to a certain extent in order not to disrupt the normal business of the company and to ensure that the products are still affordable for our patients.
A lot of changes are happening in the pharmacy segment. Larger chains are becoming dominant players on the pharmaceutical market, so a timely and well-designed commercial politics are extremely important as a basis for sales growth.
5. How important is a good team for good planning, development and implementation of commercial strategies?
A good team is crucial for the success of the company, and for a good commercial strategy as well. Colleagues who are in charge of working with wholesalers and pharmacies are the most deserving of being present in the supply chain to a sufficient extent to ensure that our products are available in pharmacies and hospitals.
The team is extremely important for the creation of price politics, rebates, promotional actions, positioning in pharmacies and other marketing activities where we try to be competitive in relation to other companies from the pharmaceutical sector.
We make sure to stick to the ethical principles and business code which we have adopted as one of the postulates in our work.
6. Innventa Pharm has been the fastest growing company on the Serbian pharmaceutical market for several years in a row. What generates this success?
Exactly. In the period of 5 years, Innventa made it to the top 35 pharmaceutical companies in Serbia, in terms of turnover, which is a great success that we are extremely proud of.
The key factors of this result are: a winning team, a good selection of products, and a presence in several markets in the region where we gained trust and support from our partners.
Just like the most things in life need to happen at the right time, a successful business story needs a good momentum.
Innventa is definitely on the road to success, and we will do our best to stay on the track.
