A pioneering spirit and the determination to remain independent are timeless values that continue to guide the family
Interview by Annabel MacGowan
Founded over 115 years ago by a visionary pharmacist, Merz is still run today by the members of this unique and discreet family who demonstrate a cohesive, down-to-earth approach combined with a passion for innovation and venture. We caught up with Andreas Meyer, who gives us an unvarnished account of the values of a pharmaceutical and medical aesthetics company present in over 50 countries.
ANTI AGE MAG: What is the driving force for a family-owned company that has been in existence for four generations? What principles of good governance do you, as a family group, follow to maintain stability while developing new products and markets?
ANDREAS MEYER: Our founder, my great-grandfather Friedrich Merz, shared his main guidelines that were: trust yourself, be different, strive to be better and stay independent. To this day, they keep on guiding us. They were a cornerstone for the creation of our family charter three years ago which keeps us strong and on track while going through many changes: “As a family of entrepreneurs, our values unite us, the health and the wellbeing of humans around the world drive us, and sustainable entrepreneurial decisions guide us”. This is our framework and it keeps us strong and stable while driving innovations, which is in our DNA.
AA MAG: Merz appears to be a company that has been willing to consistently take risks and whose driving force is innovation. And, to a certain extent, audacity and uniqueness in its different sectors of activity which have all been incredibly successful. What do you attribute this “flair” to?
A.M.: We go through the world with open eyes and we work and think as a team, together with our management and our trusted advisors. As entrepreneurs, we have to dare to try out things. Some work out well and some do not, but that is the price for being innovative. We take a long-term view and that is a big difference to a publicly-owned company. The next generation of the family is being prepared for changes to come. The governance is now in the hands of the fourth generation, and we have a programme to prepare younger members of our family to help them understand how structures and governance work, and how a family business is run.
AA MAG: Merz is comprised of a therapeutics division, a lifecare division, and a medical aesthetics division. Did this holistic approach happen by itself or is it the result of long-term planning?
A.M.: It’s both. Realising the diversity in our set-up, five years ago we took a very structured approach and made the decision to develop our businesses based on their respective market needs. We created three independent divisions out of this conglomerate. They all very successfully developed their own identity and culture, tailored to our customers’ needs.
AA MAG: You are a very active shareholder in the Merz Aesthetics division, can you explain what your role consists of?
A.M.: Together with two cousins, we represent the owner-family in all strategic decisions. I have a deeper focus in Merz Aesthetics which entails staying close to the business, the R & D pipeline, as well as our customers. I represent the family at important events for Merz Aesthetics. I get in contact with employees and customers which I really benefit from because they are very different according to their countries and markets. The management also has a different way of doing things according to their country’s culture so it’s really great fun, I enjoy meeting all these people. We value the feedback from our sales force and our customers, they help us to improve and inspire us with new ideas.
AA MAG: You have more female employees than male, including in key jobs, with less turnover. People stay longer and grow with the company. Do you attribute this to Merz being privately owned and not having pressure of public stockholders?
A.M.: We have a high percentage (63%) of female employees over all Merz businesses. What counts most is the best qualification for the job. Merz offers a lot of opportunities for internal development and women can climb to the top of the ladder in their career. I get a lot of feedback that people are happy to work at a family-owned company. It feels more secure and there’s a team spirit and culture of supporting each other so I am happy to say that our family spirit reaches out into the company.
AA MAG: Merz Aesthetics appears to be the company in the field of medical aesthetics that has conducted a very high number clinical trials. What are your guidelines and what is your position about the importance of these studies?
A.M.: This keen interest comes from our heritage as a pharmaceutical company, and our continued efforts to strive for the best product quality and safety. Innovations driven by our R & D are undisputed factors in our sustained success. We are constantly working on further developments and insights on our product portfolio as well forecasting trends. For Radiesse® we have 200+ studies and more are ongoing. We believe that they can improve the procedures that doctors utilise to treat patients and we want to support them and help our customers to obtain the best possible outcomes. Today current needs revolve around longevity and skin regeneration, and these needs will increase over the coming years. The field of biostimulation evolved from the relationship between us and our partner doctors who shared ideas and proposals. We developed studies to discover and learn more about the benefits of biostimulation which in turn helped to create and perfect treatment protocols.
AA MAG: It seems that Merz invested quite a bit of time and talent to turn around public opinion of filler injections and medical aesthetic procedures, and today you launched a second production unit of Belotero® in Dessau. When did you feel the shift happening?
A.M.: The pandemic created a boost on beauty treatments. People have since become more open to treatments, patients are younger and talk about it more openly. A key factor is that people are no longer afraid of medical aesthetic procedures and the main reason is that the quality of treatments is constantly improving, bringing a natural result without significant downtime. Our marketing campaigns “Confidence To Be” and #My Attitude support a self-determined approach to looking and feeling good in keeping with one’s own criteria, and without giving in to short-signted trends or diktats.
AA MAG: Why is it important for Merz Aesthetics to have a branch in France?
A.M.: We want to be present in all the important markets and France is very important to us. Not only because of the business, but also because France is influencing the rest of the world very strongly. Beauty has been and still is today, strongly defined by French influence and taste. Beauty, health, fashion, are a huge part of French culture so we want to have a front-row seat to detect the latest trends in lifestyles and customer needs that come out of France. l
