Senior Director, Head of Global Marketing, EPD (m/f/d) — Abbott

Full description

At Abbott, we're committed to helping people live their best possible life through the power of health. For more than 125 years, we've brought new products and technologies to the world in nutrition, diagnostics, medical devices and branded generic pharmaceuticals that create more possibilities for more people at all stages of life. Today, 114,000 of us are working to help people live not just longer, but better, in the more than 160 countries we serve.

Abbott’s Established Pharmaceuticals Division (EPD) is looking to recruit a

Senior Director, Head of Global Marketing (m/f/d)

Based at the EPD HQ in Basel, Switzerland

Primary Job Function

• Lead, define, and orchestrate the global marketing vision, strategy, and execution for Abbott’s Established Pharmaceuticals Division (EPD), driving sustainable above-market growth, enterprise value creation, and long-term competitive advantage across a multi-billion-dollar, multi-therapeutic portfolio spanning 80+ markets.
• As the most senior marketing leader in the organization, this role is accountable for shaping the end-to-end commercial strategy across all therapeutic areas, integrating portfolio strategy, brand building, innovation, digital ecosystems, and go-to-market excellence into a single, coherent growth engine. The Head of Global Marketing ensures the organization consistently outperforms competitors by embedding a data-driven, insight-led, and patient-centric approach across the full value chain from early portfolio ideation through lifecycle management and in-market execution.
• This role serves as a key strategic partner to Executive Leadership, influencing enterprise-wide priorities, resource allocation, and long-range planning, while building a high-performance global marketing organization capable of delivering transformational impact at scale.

Core Job Responsibilities

Enterprise Marketing Strategy & Leadership

• Define and lead the overarching global marketing and commercial strategy across all therapeutic areas, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives and long-term growth ambitions.
• Architect and continuously evolve the company’s global brand and portfolio strategy, ensuring clear prioritization, competitive differentiation, and optimal resource allocation.
• Translate market dynamics, competitive intelligence, and customer insights into actionable enterprise strategies that drive above-market growth and market share leadership.

Portfolio & Innovation Leadership

• Lead the integration of marketing with I&D, Business Development, and Portfolio Expansion to define “where to play” and “how to win” across short-, mid-, and long-term horizons.
• Drive the identification, evaluation, and commercialization of new growth opportunities, including in-licensing, partnerships, and lifecycle innovation.
• Ensure a robust, future-ready portfolio by embedding commercial excellence into development decisions and accelerating time-to-market for new assets.

Global Brand & Launch Excellence

• Drive breakthrough creativity in all global brand campaigns and instil the need & processes to ensure that this translates through to local brands and local brand execution.
• Establish and govern global brand positioning, architecture, and communication strategies across all therapeutic areas and product categories.
• Oversee the design and execution of best-in-class global launch strategies, ensuring consistent excellence and rapid scalability across affiliates.
• Ensure all marketing programs are differentiated, insight-driven, and effectively deployed through multi-channel engagement models.

Commercial Execution & Affiliate Impact

• Drive execution excellence across regions and affiliates by setting clear strategic direction, performance targets, and governance frameworks.
• Review, challenge, and align affiliate commercial plans to ensure full consistency with global strategies and portfolio imperatives.
• Champion a performance-driven culture with clear KPIs, including sales growth, market share, profitability, and ROI.

Digital, Data & Customer-Centric Transformation

• Lead the transformation of marketing into a data-driven, digitally enabled function, leveraging advanced analytics, AI, and omnichannel engagement.
• Institutionalize customer-centricity, ensuring deep understanding of healthcare professionals, patients, and trade stakeholders across markets.
• Drive the development and scaling of global digital ecosystems to enhance patient outcomes, adherence, and brand engagement.

Financial Stewardship & Performance Management

• Own and optimize the global marketing investment strategy, ensuring effective allocation of resources to maximize return and strategic impact.
• Lead the global planning cycle, including long-range plans and annual operating plans, ensuring alignment with financial targets.
• Monitor and report performance to senior leadership, ensuring transparency, accountability, and timely course correction.

Culture, Capability & Organizational Excellence

• Build and lead a world-class global marketing organization with best-in-class capabilities across brand strategy, creative execution, digital, analytics, and commercial execution.
• Foster a culture of innovation, agility, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Establish and embed global frameworks, standards, and best practices to elevate marketing excellence across all markets.

Management Responsibilities

• Direct Reports: Multiple Global TA Directors / Group TA Directors
• Indirect Reports: Global marketing organization across regions and affiliates
• Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing leadership team, ensuring strong succession planning and talent pipeline.
• Set clear objectives, performance standards, and development plans aligned with organizational priorities.
• Attract, retain, and develop top talent, fostering a culture of servant leadership, collaboration, and accountability.
• Drive cross-functional alignment at the highest levels of the organization, influencing stakeholders across Commercial, Medical, R&D, Supply, Finance, and Executive Leadership.

Position Accountability/Scope

• Full accountability for global marketing strategy, execution, and performance across a multi-billion-dollar portfolio and all therapeutic areas within EPD.
• Responsible for enterprise-wide brand equity, market share growth, and commercial performance across 80+ markets.
• Owns global marketing budgets and resource allocation decisions, ensuring optimal deployment of investments.
• Defines and governs the commercial framework for portfolio prioritization, launch excellence, and lifecycle management.
• Acts as a key member of the Global Integrated Marketing leadership team, shaping transformation initiatives, and long-term value creation.
• Drives organizational transformation by embedding digital, data, and customer-centric capabilities at scale.

Profile Requirements

Education

• Advanced degree in Life Sciences and Marketing or related field required.
• MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification in Business, Marketing, or Strategy strongly preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with significant exposure to global marketing and commercial strategy roles.
• Proven track record of leading large-scale, multi-market portfolios and delivering sustained above-market growth in complex, highly competitive environments.
• Deep expertise across brand strategy, portfolio management, launch excellence, and lifecycle optimization across Rx, branded generics, and/or OTC categories.
• Demonstrated success in integrating commercial strategy with R&D, business development, and portfolio expansion initiatives.
• Strong financial acumen, with experience managing budget, P&L responsibility, and investment prioritization.
• Exceptional leadership capabilities, with experience building and leading high-performing global teams in a matrix organization.
• Advanced understanding of digital transformation, data analytics, and omnichannel marketing in healthcare.
• Extensive experience working across Emerging Markets and developed markets, with strong appreciation of market access, trade dynamics, and regulatory environments.
• Outstanding strategic thinking, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at Executive Committee level.
• Fluency in English required; additional languages are an advantage.

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity. Connect with us at www.abbott.com , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on X @AbbottNews and @AbbottGlobal.

The base pay for this position is N/A In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.

JOB FAMILY

Marketing Support

DIVISION

EPD Established Pharma

LOCATION

Switzerland > Allschwil : H-127

ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS

WORK SHIFT

Standard

TRAVEL

Yes, 50 % of the Time

MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE

Not Applicable

SIGNIFICANT WORK ACTIVITIES

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