For 14 years, Vincent Tan has been leading PharmaCare Laboratories as its CEO. The Singapore-born marketing masters graduate always had a vision that he would one day be the boss of a successful corporation, and so from a young age he put the wheels in motion to achieve that. After starting his career in marketing and sales, he moved into a 17-year tenure with Bayer, before his extensive experience and knowledge led to his appointment at PharmaCare in 2003.
“I always had an ambition to get to the top and I knew I had to get into sales first because sales toughens you up,” Vincent says.
“Sales is where the rubber hits the road, so after a few years in marketing, I moved into sales, selling computers and word processors in the 80s. I thought if I wanted to get to the top, then I’d better be able to cover all bases.”
When Vincent joined PharmaCare, it had a revenue of AU$40 million and a high staff turnover. However, he quickly recognised that it was well positioned for positive growth, as long as the right strategy was applied. “The owner of the business was (and is) still active, and very entrepreneurial,” Vincent recalls. “We bought quite a few brands, with the aim that with every single one we bought, we’d turn around. That was the catalyst of our growth.”
