Georgia Garinois, President, Beauty Care Strategy and New Growth, Johnson & Johnson - Building Gender Balanced Business

“The second issue is how do you deal with globalisation? Part of the panic we have witnessed in the banking system and the stock markets is caused by the fact that we don’t know how to cope in a world where everything is instant.”

How can we adjust to this new reality?
We need to find a way to cope with this instant, globalised world. So, in the next 18 months we are probably going to go through a transition from where we are now to trying to find a model that integrates technology into our businesses better, and helps us cope with the speed of change. We haven’t really had to think this through before. This is the first time we have had a crisis driven by it. This is going to be a big lesson for all of us and for sure, human nature is such that we are going to create a new model. But during the process, things will be uncomfortable for people.

Are there other big challenges right now?
Yes, at a human level the biggest issue for managers will be how do we preserve jobs in the process of all this? One way or the other there will be a recession. And this will cause a good number of people to lose their jobs. So one of our big priorities as managers is to make sure we lose the least number of jobs possible in our areas of responsibility.

What will drive growth in the future?
I see three major drivers of growth or megatrends: the continued growth of the emerging economies creating new consumer markets, ageing populations and new models on the internet. All businesses will find new opportunities in the emerging markets, especially amongst the Asian countries. Second, there is the ageing population, which will demand health care and information, for example. This is a huge territory not only because we are going to live longer. But also because many people will have less wealth now as they grow older because of the loss of value in the insurance industry. Dealing with this territory and finding creative ideas managing people offering services to such markets such as providing health information will be very significant. The third area for growth will be new models of innovation on the internet. After the entrance of women into the economy as workers and purchasers, this is probably the next biggest economic revolution.

“So one of our big priorities as managers is to make sure we lose the least number of jobs possible in our areas of responsibility.”

Why is diversity important to you?
There is a new type of diversity today relating to emerging markets. If companies fail to tap into the local talent in these rising economies, be it men or women, then they will be operating blind. This is the case too for countries like Japan, which may now start to pull out of its long recession and become a motor for innovation in Asia. You need to have local people to really understand it. Diversity in general is a huge opportunity, both in terms of gender and different cultures. The biggest issue people will have 50 years down the road because of the ageing population will be shortages of skilled labour. That’s why it is critical that companies recruit from untapped sources of talent. First of all, women and eventually local talent in emerging markets.

How important is that more women reach board level?
It is very important. It is disappointing that it has not improved faster in recent years. So, how to correct it? I believe in quotas or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as we call them. There is no magic plot of men against women. It’s that they don’t feel comfortable with women because we are different. So the more women you get into higher positions, the more women will be recruited behind them. That is what I’m trying to do in my business. At the end of the day, the more you have the more role models you have. This leads to men becoming more comfortable hiring more women in the boardroom.

What are your KPIs for gender balance?
I have a 50/50 view. When there is a vacancy for a senior position, I would expect there to be at least two women candidates out of five. This is Johnson and Johnson’s overall strategy and applies to all levels. We start with a gender balance of 52% women to 48% men at the beginning of the career path and end up with 8% at the very top. So, at every level we look to see what the gender balance is and if it is not 50/50, we ask why not. It is not just about the glass ceiling. There are certain technical issues by which women can be demotivated. One is maternity and the second relates to not having a role model.

What advice would you give other managers right now?
First, do your best to get a long-term view. I know that is difficult because of the immediate pressures. It will settle one way or the other. In six months, we’ll know how long this recession is likely to last. Try to keep a long-term view and manage your panic. My second piece of advice would be to find ways to save jobs. Be very creative about saving jobs such as looking at agreements over salary cuts because employment gives humans pride and recognition. It is criminal not to do as much as we can at our level to save the jobs of as many people as possible.

Georgia is President of President Beauty Care Strategy and New Growth at Johnson & Johnson. Prior to that she was President of Beauty GBU, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Global President RoC and Suncare. She joined J&J in the US 25 years ago, as an assistant product manager and then moved to positions of increasing responsibility in several international locations.

She earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering ranking top student of Athens Polytechnic and then moved to the US to continue her studies at MIT, as a Fulbright scholar. That is when she decided to change direction and take an MBA from the Sloan School of Management, with a focus on finance and strategy, which she completed, ranking in the top 5% of her class.

Georgia was born in Northern Greece, has worked in the US, Greece, Italy Belgium, Switzerland, France, and the UK. She now lives in Paris with her husband and two teenage children.