Pharmaceutical Executive Credits Long-Term Approach for Success

Christopher Savage, managing director of Propensity4 and chief of staff at Inizio Engage, credits his long-term approach to career development for his success in the pharmaceutical industry.

After studying animal science, Savage initially planned to work in veterinary medicine or research. However, he discovered the pharmaceutical side of the industry while researching these fields and felt it offered a broader opportunity to help people than day-to-day care for animals or individuals.

Savage's experience at Merck, where he says people stayed for 35 to 40 years, shaped his philosophy of looking long-term. He left Merck, which had around 100,000 employees at the time, to join Vynamic, a company with just 35 employees. There, he focused on finding and retaining top talent and serving clients exceptionally well.

'We built our entire business on relationships and trust,' Savage explains. 'As a company of 35, we were bold in how we worked but humble, treating our clients' business as if it were our own.'