There is news that is especially striking. Especially when you use gender glassesyou are interested in the world of company and you dream of possible social transformations. Therefore, when in September 2020 I learned that the German group Merck appointed Belén Garijo Global CEOI understood that we were facing a real milestone.

That of a woman and that of a Spanish woman, the first to lead a company in the German DAX 30equivalent to our IBEX 35. That of the most influential woman and I repeat, the most influential in that country, because the person who overshadowed her is no longer in power: Angela Merkel. From that day on I wanted to meet with her for this talk.

It must be explained that this doctor, who began her career at the La Paz hospital in Madrid, has lived in Germany for more than a decade and that she already joined the Merck division. Healthcare in 2011 as operational manager, becoming its president and CEO. Since 2015 and before being elected CEO was a member of the executive board and was said to be the highest paid DAX executive.

Counselor of BBVA and of The realhis journey through different multinationals has also led him to live in the United States, France and Switzerland.

How do you get so high?

With a lot of work, a lot of effort, sacrifices, with determination, with passion, with the conviction that what you do has an impact not only on a company or a position, but also on society: that is very important in the times we are in. living.

Are you in favor of quotas?

I prefer to move by objectives. At Merck we have publicly communicated that we will achieve gender parity by 2030 in our senior leadership positions, not in the rest of the company, which we already have. Quotas have helped a lot to incorporate women into Boards of Directors. I can not deny it. But it cannot be applied to executive positions. It would be bread for today and hunger for tomorrow. Because the first time you make a mistake, the quotas are over.

Furthermore, I believe that the freedom of decision that private entities should have requires an objective selection process and that the woman arrives as competent. What bothered me about the initial information about my appointment is that they only said female CEO. Nobody cared to know what my credentials were, of course they included my resume, but they were really much more interested in my female status than in the skills and effort that could have allowed me to get there. This is what we have to avoid.

Let’s see how we evolve…

In critical situations you have to do them. And above all, I would like to have many more colleagues with decision-making power, promoting gender parity, because this is what in some way helps you integrate. First, with a talent policy that is not discriminatory. Second, with development plans that are not discriminatory. And third, with succession plans that are not succession plans either. We in Spain have a joint management committee. 75% of the positions that report to me are women. But not by installments. Because they have earned it. Because they have been the best.

Would the same thing happen if you were not a woman?

We do not know. But I consider part of my responsibility to leave that legacy.

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