Role purpose
The VP, Strategy, Value & Innovation drives what International Commercial’s Digital & AI capacity works on, why it matters, and how value is realized. The role owns the portfolio system, investment logic framework, go/no-go gates, benefits ledger, external innovation strategy and commercial model innovation agenda across Top 16 and Cluster markets. It ensures the model is not a collection of AI experiments, but a disciplined enterprise portfolio with clear value, market fit, reuse discipline and senior business ownership.
Scope and impact
This is a role with International Commercial scope across Top 16 and Cluster markets. The role operates through a senior matrix across markets, International functions, CMO (Chief Marketing Office), CIO (Chief Information Office), US Commercial, Finance, Legal/Compliance, PX (People Experience) and external partners, with accountability for strategic choices, resource allocation, measurable value, risk discipline and portfolio effectiveness.
Key responsibilities & accountabilities
Portfolio & value
Own the International Digital & AI portfolio management system: one shared backlog, one plan of record, annual and quarterly investment choices, prioritization rules, go/no-go gates, the Portfolio Council and the International AI SteerCo, with markets flagging local priority and conflicts at intake through Spark.
Own the business case, KPIs and benefits tracking for every investment, and manage the programme’s finances against the agreed budget; stop or redirect work that is not delivering.
Treat model cost as a value lever: keep AI running costs visible and managed, including routing work to cheaper models where quality holds.
Fund use cases quarterly with explicit kill and market-fit criteria; prove value in one market before scaling.
Commercial model innovation
Design the new commercial model and the capabilities it needs, working hand-in-hand with the business functions.
Own the commercial model innovation agenda: identify the use cases that bring it to life and define the outcome each must deliver — the initiatives live today (currently 13, across the five arenas: Information, Partnership, Contracting, Patient Experience and Internal Fuel) and the new ones that emerge as the model evolves.
Act as the business owner for these use cases end to end: frame the problem and the market question, sponsor them into portfolio intake on Spark, and stay accountable for the business result — while Build delivers and Adoption & Scale embeds them.
Keep the set coherent, so the use cases add up to the shift the model is built for — winning on the strength and placement of our evidence, not on volume of sales activity — rather than a scatter of disconnected experiments.
Prove each use case in one market against one clear question, then hand it to Adoption & Scale to roll out; retire what doesn’t earn its place.
Market sensing & intelligence
Translate market sensing — competitor, policy, payer and HCP signals — into portfolio and design choices; own the systematic IIS (Integrated Insights & Strategy) link and embedded innovation.
Innovation ecosystem & partnerships
Represent International Commercial externally with selected technology partners, start-ups, innovation centres and strategic vendors; shape partnership strategy and commercial terms in partnership with Procurement, Legal and relevant enterprise teams; track whether each relationship pays off.
Partner with Pfizer’s own innovation hubs and draw on their knowledge and capabilities — the Gateway in India, the Centre for Digital Innovation in Thessaloniki, the Pfizer Innovation Center in Hangzhou, and US Commercial AI.
Own the build / buy / partner call for new capabilities, and the partnership strategy behind it.
FIT accelerator
Set FIT’s mandate, funding rules, value gates and integration with the Build pool as the rapid-prototyping fast lane for internal and external demand — with engineers borrowed from the Build pool, never a standing team of its own.
Ensure every experiment has a clear path to value and a quick check that it is not rebuilding something that already exists.
Key relationships & interfaces
Internal
Head of Business Transformation & Technology — International Commercial Division (direct line); peer VPs for Build and Adoption & Scale.
Market and cluster leadership — through the Portfolio Council and intake, so markets have a genuine voice on priorities.
The CIO organisation — to shape and build on top of the new capabilities the CIO is developing.
US Commercial and CMO counterparts — shared platform, standards and measurement; peer benchmarking as both models evolve.
Finance — budget, business cases and the benefits ledger against the 2028 envelope.
External
External innovation ecosystem: start-ups, technology vendors, academic and innovation-centre partners.
Strategic partners on commercial terms and joint value tracking.
Success measures
Value delivered versus business case across the International Digital & AI portfolio.
Percent of initiatives with a clear owner, KPI, funding gate, kill criteria and market-fit evidence.
Reduction in duplicate capabilities through Spark and reuse-before-build discipline.
Quality and representativeness of market input into portfolio decisions, including Cluster-market voice.
Strategic partnerships delivering measurable value.
Leadership behaviours (Pfizer values)
Courage — makes the hard prioritisation calls, says no, and kills work that is not paying back.
Excellence — holds the whole model to one plan of record and measurable value, not activity.
Equity — ensures smaller markets have a genuine voice at intake, not just the loudest ones.
Joy — builds a culture where innovation and experimentation are welcomed, provided they carry a clear path to impact.
Scope & decision rights
Decides portfolio priority and sequence within the agreed envelope; owns annual and quarterly investment recommendations, prioritization rules and go/no-go gates.
Owns the build / buy / partner recommendation and partnership commercial terms (with Procurement and Legal).
Approves FIT intake and stops experiments without a path to value.
Escalates to the Head of Business Transformation & Technology — International Commercial Division where portfolio conflicts cross pillars or markets.
Experience & qualifications
10+ years in commercial strategy, digital transformation or portfolio leadership in biopharma or an adjacent regulated industry, with significant international (ex-US) experience.
A track record of running a country / TA P&L or an investment portfolio at scale — setting gates, prioritizing work, and being accountable for impact, not just business cases.
Experience designing or redesigning commercial operating models and taking senior stakeholders with you.
Prior senior leadership of a lean, senior team; comfortable operating at ELT level.
Degree required; advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) preferred.
Proven ability to operate as a senior enterprise leader in a complex global matrix, influencing senior business, technology, legal/compliance, medical, finance, PX and market stakeholders without relying solely on direct authority.
Technical skills & knowledge
Portfolio and value management: business casing, benefits realisation, KPI design, cost-to-serve of AI (model cost as a value lever).
Working fluency in AI and agentic technology — enough to challenge feasibility, cost and reuse claims credibly
Partnership and BD craft: scanning, structuring and negotiating commercial terms; ecosystem management.
Market sensing and competitive intelligence methods across payer, policy and HCP signals.
Purpose
Breakthroughs that change patients' lives... At Pfizer we are a patient centric company, guided by our four values: courage, joy, equity and excellence. Our breakthrough culture lends itself to our dedication to transforming millions of lives.
Digital Transformation Strategy
One bold way we are achieving our purpose is through our company wide digital transformation strategy. We are leading the way in adopting new data, modelling and automated solutions to further digitize and accelerate drug discovery and development with the aim of enhancing health outcomes and the patient experience.
Flexibility
We aim to create a trusting, flexible workplace culture which encourages employees to achieve work life harmony, attracts talent and enables everyone to be their best working self. Let’s start the conversation!
Equal Employment Opportunity
We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is crucial to building a successful business. As an employer, Pfizer is committed to celebrating this, in all its forms – allowing for us to be as diverse as the patients and communities we serve. Together, we continue to build a culture that encourages, supports and empowers our employees.
DisAbility Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and we encourage you to put your best self forward with the knowledge and trust that we will make any reasonable adjustments necessary to support your application and future career. Our mission is unleashing the power of our people, especially those with unique superpowers. Your journey with Pfizer starts here!
To learn more about acceptable and prohibited uses of AI during the recruitment process, please review our candidate AI-use guidelines available on Pfizer Careers.
Information & Business Tech
