My day-to-day work involves performing valuations, building business cases and analysing mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Putting a price to assets and companies is one of the reasons I decided to become an accountant. It fascinated me, but I quickly realised that attempting valuations without accounting is like trying to write a novel without knowing how to read.
I started my finance career at Syngenta in 2012 and worked in technical accounting while also qualifying for my ACCA. My experience and the knowledge acquired through myACCA led me to an M&A position, initially at Syngenta and since 2018 at the pharmaceutical company Novartis.

Each deal is different from the previous one, so we have to use different valuation methods.
A major challenge for the pharmaceutical sector is that it relies on intellectual property (IP) to protect innovation. When medicines lose patent protection, the revenue profile of pharma companies changes dramatically. The big question for investors therefore concerns replacement power and how internal and external innovation can replace lost revenues.
Opportunities in pharma often come from identifying external innovative biotech. These are often accessed via M&A or licensing, which is necessary to bridge the revenue gap between patent cliffs and the next wave of internal innovation. A large proportion of revenue originates outside the R&D capabilities of companies (46% by 2028, according to Evaluate Pharma). Therefore, inorganic growth is critical for pharmaceutical businesses, so valuation skills are vital to assess those external opportunities.
I stepped out of my comfort zone when I reopened some old biology books to better understand business cases in the pharma sector. Despite biology never being my strong suit, I went deep into clinical data until I understood well enough that I could work the value proposition of a molecule into our models.
I have a very holistic role, which involves learning new things all the time. Each deal is different from the previous one and includes publicly listed and private company acquisitions, asset deals, divestments, joint ventures and many others, with each having a different level of complexity. These deals are also often at a different stage of development; some are just research collaborations, while others are mature products with several years of commercial life, so we have to use different valuation methods.
Ensuring patients reap the benefits of medical innovation is critical
My biggest achievement was working on the acquisition of AveXis by Novartis in 2018. This brought a gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) to Novartis. SMA is a devastating genetic disease leading to early death and motor impairment. Having grown up with relatives affected by SMA, I felt privileged to work on this acquisition, and help channel capital towards innovative medicines. This marrying of my M&A skillset for the purpose of helping patients cemented my interest in working in finance for the pharmaceutical sector.
If I had law-making powers, I would want better access to medicine for everyone globally. Innovation is not always accessible to patients due to perhaps budget constraints, or a how a country’s insurance system is set up. While this is a complex issue, ensuring patients reap the benefits of medical innovation is critical.
If I wasn’t in finance, I would like to work in teaching, at any level. I have not completely excluded this for the future.
In my spare time, I enjoy fitness training and sport, especially football and combat sports. I also enjoy spending quality time with my wife and friends, and reading Mangas.