Boyden Interviews Perrigo’s VP of E-Commerce

Boyden sat down with Jaclyn Ahearne, vice president of e-commerce at Perrigo Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. In the interview she discusses the ten distinct management roles she’s held at the company, leading a startup within a major manufacturer, the power of e-commerce, when to take a career risk, and how leadership is different for women.

At Perrigo, would it be accurate to say that you led a startup or company within a company? How would you describe your mission?

Ahearne: Yes, my unit is absolutely a startup. And the reason is that we’re building something fundamentally different from what our company, Perrigo, traditionally does. This is especially true in terms of pharma. I joke all the time that my job is mostly about change management. In terms of technology and mobile, we’re part of fundamentally changing how retail works, not just in the U.S. but around the globe.

Traditionally, we’ve been the “white label” manufacturer and the store brand provider to all the major retailers. While we highly value our relationships with those customers, as our business diversifies and becomes more global, we have been exploring new ways to shape our destiny. That’s really what my team is about. It’s about helping to figure out what those uncharted waters could be, and working out how to leverage them to diversify our portfolio.

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