Carlos Alonso, CEO Baxter Latin America.

We can say that eagle is the right symbol for Carlos Alonso, an energetic Brazilian national who was recently awarded by The National Eagle Leadership Institute® (NELI) in Chicago.

Alonso joined Baxter in August 1996 as a business unit director in Spain. During his 13 years at Baxter, Alonso has managed through many challenging assignments and has continued to expand Baxter’s presence in Latin America.
Baxter is headquartered in downtown Ft. Lauderdale and its Latin America division represents 8% of total Baxter sales. There are about 70 employees in that office.

“I think my success is a result of a combination of luck, preparation and courage” said a candid Alonso when asked the key of his success.

MDUSA: What do you believe are the keys to succeed for a company in the present economic environment?

Carlos Alonso: Above everything else, a company needs to remain sustainable and extremely agile. 
Its business model must bear, and even leverage, the ever changing pressures of a rapidly evolving environment.  Its value proposition must remain relevant to its customers-- which, in turn, require that the company stay very close to them and their concerns.  These are all hallmarks of sustainable models.

Companies must also remain agile in their capacity to foresee change and their ability to adapt to it.
At Baxter, our focus is to remain highly relevant, ensure sustainability, and embrace agility.  We must remain competitive, even in the face of predatory competition; relevant and sustainable under the pressure of price controls, and extremely agile in countries where the landscape is constantly shifting and several priorities compete for limited resources.  We do it by bringing life-saving, high quality therapies and devices to our patients in the region.  We do it by leveraging the strength of our brand, our Portfolio, our technology and our customer relationships.

MDUSA: Are ethics relevant for you and your company, how can you apply this concept in a practical way?

CA: At Baxter we believe that “doing things right” is not only an ideal, but a necessity.  Baxter’s Code of Conduct defines the core principles that govern employee and corporate behavior. The Code of Conduct builds on Baxter’s longstanding commitment to leadership in ethical business practices, covering topics such as protection and use of company assets, accurate recordkeeping, competitive and confidential information, sales and marketing practices, anti-corruption, insider trading, bioethics, conflicts of interest, gifts and trade compliance. Additionally, Baxter’s Ethics and Compliance Standards for Baxter Suppliers defines policies and sets common expectations about ethical behavior when doing business with Baxter. Just recently, Baxter’s Code of Conduct was featured as the Ethisphere Institute’s “Code of the Week” with an overall score of A-.

In Latin America we are very focused on making sure our ethics and compliance standards are followed and are continuously training our employees in this area.

MDUSA: What are the causes for your success in Baxter?

CA: I think my success is a result of a combination of Luck, Preparation and Courage.  I will further explain this: Luck: some friends say I have a good combination of business acumen and sense of opportunity to be at the right place at the right time. Others say it is a good dose of empathy and charisma to quickly connect and build rapport and trust with people. For lack of a better way to express it, I prefer to call it “luck”.

Preparation: there are things one can learn in school and others that only life and experience can teach us.  In life I have lived in countries such as Germany, Argentina and Canada, besides USA, Spain and Brazil. Therefore, after being exposed to so much change and various cultures, I have always found a way to survive and be happy.  I have been able to build high levels of cultural awareness, adaptability and emotional resilience along my lifetime.  On the other hand, my educational background provided me with a broad and diverse work experience as a petrochemical process engineer, design engineering manager, engineering services product manager, marketing manager, country general manager and regional president in six different countries.

Courage: I have a very high energy and passionate nature, which gives me a natural drive to always ask myself, ‘how can I make a difference?’ Consequently, I have never been intimidated by high-risk situations or to solve high complex issues.

MDUSA: How do you see Latin America in 2010 in terms of business?

CA: I am very optimistic about the outlook for the Latin America region. Baxter counts on its evolving scientific capabilities, strong financial position and ability to invest in future opportunities. I am confident that we will continue to show strong sales and earnings growth and that we will result in a very strong, agile and more sustainable company.

Adriana Carrera.  Miami