Why did
Merck & Co. Inc.'s marketing wunderkind, Peter Loescher, leave after barely a year on the job and a quick ascent to the No. 2 heir-apparent slot? And what will it mean for the "cultural revolution" he was supposedly was leading at Mother Merck? Merck
announced his pending resignation late Sunday. (He is going to Siemens AG, which certainly needs his help. See
WSJ story here). The marketing chief
told The Inquirer late last year that one of his toughest jobs at Merck had been dealing with ingrained attitudes and traditions at the company. "Culture eats strategy for lunch," he said then. His departure makes him a particularly short short-timer at a company that, more than many drug companies, is a cushy refuge for lifers (CEO Richard Clark has spent his entire career there.) For Merck, the bigger question is what will happen now? In the least, expect even more reshuffling at its U.S. marketing and sales headquarters in West Point and global base in Whitehouse Station, N.J. Much of Merck's old-guard marketing leadership was swept out or pushed aside by Loescher,
notes Pharmalot blogger Ed Silverman. And Clark will have to find a new No. 2. Unfortunate timing for CFO Judy Lewent. She has already announced she's leaving, having been eclipsed by Loescher for the No. 2 spot. -
Thomas Ginsberg
