Leading the Transformation: Interview with Marcelo Dotti Ratti - General Manager, Boehringer Ingelheim Colombia

Meeting highlights

• Marcelo Dotti, recently appointed as General Manager of Boehringer Ingelheim in Colombia, embodies a new generation of leadership. Bringing fresh strategic leadership, a renewed vision, and a steadfast commitment to innovation and collaboration, underpinned by extensive experience across multiple Latin American markets. 
• Colombia market positioning: Third largest pharmaceutical market in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico, with a population of 52 million. 
• Company purpose alignment: "Transforming lives for generations," emphasizing both immediate patient impact and a long-term sustainability mindset. 
• Marcelo's definition of access. 
• Long-term presence: Evolving significantly in Colombia, tripling company size since 2018 and moving from 15th to 4th place among pharmaceutical companies in the country. 
• Strategic focus areas: Strengthening presence in cardiorenal metabolic diseases, respiratory disease franchise with focus on pulmonary fibrosis, mental health segment, and long-term investment in oncology. 
• Collaboration success story with Universidad de la Sabana to develop and implement the Excellence Stroke Training Center (ESTC), addressing stroke as the second leading cause of death and first cause of disability in Colombia, affecting 16,000 lives annually. 
• Talent development commitment: Colombia is recognized as a talent pipeline in Latin America with strong diversity and talent levels, with Colombian employees advancing to other countries and headquarters positions.  

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EF: You have recently been appointed to your new position to lead Boehringer Ingelheim in Colombia. Congratulations! Could you share what mission you’ve set for yourself and what you want to achieve? 

MD: This is a very exciting time to take on this new position. Leading Boehringer Ingelheim in Colombia represents a unique opportunity to strengthen our presence in this evolving market. Taking this new role also allows me to bring my previous international experience to enhance our local presence. Always keeping at the core the company’s purpose of transforming lives for generations. This is a very strong and clear statement of what we do. Transforming lives gives a broad perspective of the impact we can have with our daily work. 

When we say, “transforming lives for generations,” it reflects more than a statement; it embodies our long-term mindset, our commitment to sustainability, and the responsibility we have to society. I feel highly inspired by this purpose. In the end, it’s about providing innovative treatments to as many patients and animals as possible in the market. This purpose is strongly connected to my role here in Colombia, and I am looking forward to the future. 

EF: What is the relative importance of your Colombia operations to Boehringer Ingelheim? 

MB: Colombia represents a market of strategic importance for Boehringer Ingelheim. It is the third largest in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico, supported by one of the best healthcare coverage systems in the world, and it continues to grow at an outstanding pace.  

There’s a wonderful opportunity not only for Boehringer Ingelheim to continue to attract resources and investment, but also for the rest of the industry. Since 2018, the company has been able to triple its size in the country, moving from 15th to 4th place among pharmaceutical companies, consolidating Colombia as one of the most important growth engines in the region and worldwide. 

Thinking about investment, it is also related to our people. Colombia has been recognized as one of the talent pipelines in Latin America because of its huge diversity and strong level of talent. We have many examples of Colombian people moving to other countries and even to headquarters. We feel proud and committed to continue investing strongly here despite the challenges. 

EF: What opportunities do you identify in the market in Colombia? 

MB: Our main priority is to provide innovative treatments to patients and animals. Moving deeper into that, we need to improve awareness of critical pathologies, provide scientific evidence, support, and medical education for healthcare professionals and stakeholders, both public and private. We need to support the system in diagnosis and continue strong collaborations with stakeholders to unlock access barriers. 

We are also focusing on operational stability to ensure sustainability, as our priority is to give continuity to access to treatments and services, while maintaining quality healthcare services. Patients remain at the center of everything we do.  

EF: With your experience in multiple countries such as Mexico, Argentina, and Ecuador. What does access mean to you? 

MB: Access means giving patients the opportunity to be treated properly. We all need to work together to achieve this objective long-term, understanding each stakeholder’s interests but collaborating to truly impact patients’ lives and meet customer needs. It should be a key priority not only for the pharmaceutical industry but for all healthcare stakeholders. For me, access also means that no patient is left behind. It requires close collaboration with authorities, healthcare professionals, and other actors to remove barriers and ensure that innovation reaches those who need it most. 

EF: What key innovations are you most excited about bringing into the country? 

MB: I’m excited about the future of the company. We are strengthening our presence in cardiorenal metabolic diseases. We have specific programs for obesity and renal protection drugs. We continue expanding our respiratory disease portfolio, focusing on pulmonary fibrosis with a compound that could be superior to current therapies. In the long term, we’re investing in mental health, with programs for schizophrenia and depression, and significantly in oncology. We’re excited about the company’s pipeline and its future impact. 

EF: How do you see collaboration opportunities to build a healthier society? 

MB: It’s about understanding we share the same objective: providing patients with the best medications and treatments. Collaboration with both private and public sectors under this common goal can have a significant impact. Initiatives range from awareness campaigns to diagnosis programs and value-added programs focused on going beyond just selling a product. 

One initiative in Colombia we’re proud of is the stroke initiative. Stroke is a major public health threat here. Boehringer Ingelheim Colombia has been consolidating an integrated stroke care network with institutions, physicians, stakeholders, and universities to strengthen response capacity. 

This year, with Universidad de La Sabana, we developed the Excellence Stroke Training Center (ESTC) to educate physicians with skills to improve diagnosis, accelerate interventions, and enhance rehabilitation, using realistic simulations. As the first center of its kind in Colombia, the ESTC responds to one of the country’s most pressing health challenges: stroke is the second leading cause of death, with 16,946 fatalities in 2023. Every second, a stroke can destroy approximately 32,000 neurons, underscoring the urgency of immediate and highly trained medical responses. Through state-of-the-art clinical simulation, the ESTC provides a safe environment to train professionals in acute care, rehabilitation, and decision-making, significantly improving patient safety and outcomes. To date, more than 250 healthcare professionals have participated in the training sessions, strengthening Colombia’s capacity to save lives and reduce long-term disability. 

EF: We’d like to dive deeper into both your talent and leadership style. What makes it a company to stay in, and how do you attract new talent? 

MB: Our focus on our culture provides a strong framework for why we exist. The company’s purpose is to transform life for generations. It’s not only about that purpose but also how we work, collaboration, and prioritizing values such as respect, passion, keeping patients at the center, and integrity. Integrity is not just about doing business but about how we do business. That’s the company’s competitive advantage. I feel identified with those values, and as leaders, we must be ambassadors of them, not just for leadership, but to cascade this way of working throughout the organization. If successful, it can even have an external impact on stakeholders and in the industry. 

EF: You will soon celebrate your first year as general manager. What will you celebrate at the end of your first year? 

MB:  

At the end of my first year, I will celebrate the strength of our team and the way we have come together under a single purpose: to serve patients, to strengthen the company, and to create lasting value for future generations. I feel proud of how we have worked with passion and dedication to advance our commitment to Colombia and to build a solid foundation for long-term growth. 

In Colombia, there is still so much to be done: many patients to reach, many animals to care for, and countless opportunities to expand our impact. This motivates us to keep moving forward with determination, ensuring that our science, innovation, and partnerships truly make a difference for people, animals, and communities.