Cameron Durrant, J&J

Cameron Durrant

WW VP, Global Strategic Marketing, Virology, J&J

YOU DIDN'T KNOW: While working as a physician, he opened a men's clothing company

Declaring a weakness is actually a strength." "You acquire more power by giving it up." Paradoxes like these are Cameron Durrant's stock-in-trade—visionary thinking about new leadership in pharma. "Tradition can be torn up," he says. "We can reinvent how we deliver value."

Cameron Durrant

Durrant's background is anything but traditional. "I grew up in pretty deprived circumstances," he recalls. "The school I went to—no one had gone to medical school before. 'It's just not possible,' I was told at 13." He took this as a challenge—and ultimately become an MD. "I see adversity as an opportunity to be resilient."

This preparation is perfect training to lead an industry facing unprecedented adversity. Currently running J&J's global strategic marketing for its virology portfolio (including HIV, hep C, and TB), Durrant is keen on creating "new healthcare partnerships, philanthropic models, ways of bringing information to customers."

He added business brains to his own portfolio by starting a medical devices company and heading strategic development at Pharmacia, among other jobs. This range has given Durrant a unique view on the industry's pitfalls and potentials. The only constant, he says, is change. The way forward is "servant leadership, greater transparency, [plus everything from] safe environments for employees to exquisite levels of service solutions for customers."