Théa’s Susan Benton on building a team with an eye on succession

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Good morning. My name is Susan Benton and I'm the president and CEO of Thea Pharma US. We've been here in the US now for three years and my responsibilities include establishing the business and our footprint in the US, as well as launching products that we've recently both acquired, as well as products that we're bringing here from Europe. So, it's a very exciting year for u so we've gone from a team of seven to 70 people so we'll talk a little bit about some of those challenges in building a team in such a high growth environment, but we've had a successful year so far. We've integrated five products from an acquisition we did in March with Acorn Pharmaceuticals, and we launched a dry eye and lid hygiene line under the brand name of iVIZIA, and just recently, in December, we had our first NDA approved for the first preservative-free latanoprost formulation in the United States called Iyuzeh. So, stay tuned for more from us coming in 2023 as we plan for the launch in late Q3.

Thank you so much for being here and welcome to our Woman Ophthalmology Healio Leadership Series. I'd like to start off by asking you to share a pearl from all your leadership experience.

Yeah, sure. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for inviting me to be here. It's a pleasure. I guess, as I look back on my 30 years in business and industry and in ophthalmology, as a leader, I think the most important thing that we do is grow the next generation of leaders. So, for me, especially in this year, it's very much in my windshield. It's hiring the right team, and building the right leadership for the future, so as I look at my future endeavors, for me it's important to have my successor, so I was very much at cause and with purpose with the next hires that I've made into the organization. I've hired a brilliant team. I've got brilliant team. So I've got three other of my leaders here with me today and hopefully everybody has a chance to meet with them but it's the most important thing that we do. So, I would counsel people to hire smarter than themselves. I certainly do. I'm very self-aware. I know where my blind spots are and I know where my weaknesses are and I look to shore those up with other people that I surround myself with. So, that's been great. Also, I think it's important to set expectations for folks and provide them with the right resources, the training and the tools, to be successful. I'm not a micro manager. Nobody wants to be micro managed. Not even myself, so very important to give people what they need to be successful and to shine in their space, and then just really be there for them. Be present. I'm a very transparent leader and I share everything with my team. I have an open door policy and there's nothing that's out of bounds for us to discuss as it relates to the business and growing the business for the future.

Susan, those are really wonderful words. Things that resonated with me listening to you is your proactive approach to succession, meaning you can't just come to a point and say, "Okay, who's going to do what next?". The fact that you're proactively, in a very calculated way, setting your team for success, that really takes a lot of forethought and a lot of intuition, so that's wonderful advice.

Yeah. Thank you.

My second question for you is, I'm sure along the way of becoming a CEO of a big international company like Thea, you have come across some challenges. Can you share a challenge with us, and perhaps a workaround or a solution that you have formulated?

- Yeah, sure, no, great question, and thank you for that, Cynthia. So I think just staying with the theme of team building and building a team. So, hiring the right people in for leadership positions, we don't always get it right and quite frankly, even in this year, I hired two executives and I didn't get it right, so recognizing that quickly, so the impact of those folks on the rest of the team can be quite toxic, so people become demotivated, people don't wanna work together and collaborate on teams. They avoid that. That does nothing to help the business and slow down the business. So, you have to be proactive, as you mentioned, with people so I've had to take action. So what I would say is when you do that, own your mistake, recognize your mistake, and then act swiftly. And, obviously, that meant two people exiting the organization but you do it humanely and you have a conversation. "It's not working. It's not a fit for you or for us." So you have to ask people to leave. That's tough. So I would say, own your mistakes. Deal with it to make the tough decisions quickly and swiftly and quite frankly, as an organization we had to heal. We had such a severe... one individual was so toxic for the work environment, it took some time for us all to heal so our parent company, our company, and all of our employees, so I think that's really important as you're looking at building a business overall, and just making sure you recognize that, right? So if you've ever read the book, "Good Degree", right? So make sure people are on your bus and re with you. You're all going in the same direction. Everybody knows what they need to do and let people do what they're doing but then when they're not, you need to act.

The goals need to align.

Yes.

The team is the asset so those are really great pearls. And can you just share with us some advice that you can share to your younger self?

- Ah. Yeah, how long do we have, right? So, 30 years of doing this, so I would always say something I've always done for myself, I would say, be an advocate for your career. If you think other people aren't looking out for you, nobody's gonna look out for your career more than yourself, so make sure people know what it is you want to do and what your aspirations are and make sure the people that know that are the people that are in power to be able to give that to you. So, that's something I've always done. Often that means you're going to do two jobs. You're going do the job you're in now and you're going to do the job that you want for your future and you just have to know that and be ready for that, and that's fun. And I think, along with that, it kind of dovetails into it, is being comfortable being uncomfortable. 'Cause that's where we all learn and we grow, so don't let fear get in your way, so if you don't have all the answers, if you're not sure you're gonna be perfect at something. So, make the leap, and be comfortable being uncomfortable because you'll learn and grow in that space.

Growing pains are good.

They are. It is. And it is painful, right?  It's fear, so let the fear drive you a little bit and you'll fulfill your potential... to get where you want to go.

Growing pains make you better.

Yes. It does.

Susan, thank you so much for being part of our Women Leadership Series. We really appreciate your time and your advice.

Yeah, thank you so much.