Lily Zhu, is currently the Global Commercial Operations Lead for Pfizer China. Prior to this role, Lily was the Director of Commercial Operations& Effectiveness (COE) where she led the COE team which included sales training, Field Force (FF) effectiveness and providing support to all business units and divisions within Pfizer China. Under her leadership, Pfizer’s business has seen consistent growth and maintained its position as a leading pharmaceutical company in China.

Lily began her career at Pfizer China in 1996 as a sales representative, and over the past 13 years, has held many sales and sales management positions across the business, including Associate National Sales Director for Oncology, and Associate Director of Commercial Effectiveness (CE) for Pfizer China. Speaking about her early days with Pfizer, Lily says, “The biggest difference for me today compared to when I started in sales, was that back then my focus was on how to support my direct manager and my relatively small, sales team. Now as a leader of operations for an entire organization, my focus is so much broader and I have to view the needs of the business from multiple angles and take a very strategic approach to my work.”

Lily says that most of the industries in China provide equal opportunities for men and women. “I think all industries in China, including the pharmaceutical industry, have basically reached gender parity when it comes to career development. In my experience, I have seen that both male and female employees at Pfizer are provided with equal and fair career opportunities.  However, I think the challenges comes from a difference in leadership traits between men and women and also individual personalities. For example, I would always look-up to some of my male colleagues for being naturally strong, strategic thinkers and I would strive to be more like them. In parallel, many of my male colleagues have commented on my creativity and ability to innovate which they may lack." 

She opines that when it comes to planning careers, men are more assertive and willing to showcase their abilities whereas women maybe more inclined to take a subtle approach and may prefer being in a team or a function that offers behind-the-scenes support such as Operations.

In her current role, she leads Sales & Marketing Services (SMS), Business Intelligence and Insight (BAI), Customer Engagement (CE) and Sales Training. China’s multi-channel marketing function also have dotted line reporting to her. Lily is also the Co-Lead of Pfizer APAC Women Council. In her advice to fellow women achievers, Lily says, “We can be as ambitious as male leaders. We just need to transcend the traditional gender restraints that we put upon ourselves and set higher aspirations. Also, finding the right balance between family and career, is critical.”
Lily has a Bachelor’s degree from China Zhejiang Medical University and an EMBA degree from Beijing University.