Word: ciba
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...provoked dark mutterings of nepotism, especially in light of his rapid rise. But that was unfair, says SG Cowen analyst Peter Laing. "To anyone who followed the company at the time, Dan was the live wire. He had the most international outlook, and there really wasn't anyone at Ciba to challenge...
Vasella came up with the name Novartis, from novae artis, Latin for "new skills." But he found it much harder to forge a dynamic culture for the merged company. Ciba's approach was almost academic and plagued by indecision. Sandoz had a command-and-control ethos that Vasella felt discouraged initiative. And there was the matter of strategic focus. Both companies were old chemical manufacturers that had sprouted pharmaceutical arms. Vasella knew his company's future was in pharmaceuticals. Sandoz had already divested most of its chemicals business; Ciba would be required to do the same...
...laid off; an $80 million venture fund helped ex-employees with good ideas start businesses. He got the unions to accept performance-based compensation, a concept new to Swiss industry at the time. "Ex-Sandoz people say there is more freedom," says Novartis' elected employee representative Kathrin Amacker. "Ex-Ciba people say there is more drive and deadline consciousness...
Novartis has since fashioned itself as a health-care company, but its core business, which generated 63% of group sales last year, is branded pharmaceuticals, led by brands such as Diovan and Sandimmun. Vasella leaves the other units--including generic drugs, animal health, Gerber, the eye-care unit CIBA Vision and over-the-counter medicines--in the hands of trusted lieutenants. Novartis announced earlier this year that it will divest the unit that makes foods such as Ovaltine. Some analysts say Novartis could pick up its growth if it got rid of more of its noncore businesses. But Vasella argues...
...been a long day on the 11th floor of the Swiss Center on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Novartis' board of directors has listened to presentations on CIBA Vision's competitive challenges, purchasing and Gerber. Vasella slumps back comfortably in his chair, asking crisp questions. He's the picture of Swiss cool--until he learns that a New York City attorney is "assessing the claims of 300 to 400 possible plaintiffs" who say Novartis' athlete's-foot medicine Lamisil caused them injury. "This is outrageous!" he cries. "It has absolutely nothing to do with right or wrong, just with...