How Can Eli Lilly Gain Billions of New Customers?

The answer: Improve access to medicine and health care for the billions of people living in new and emerging markets. For Lilly CEO John C. Lechleiter, reaching this customer base is shared value – and it’s no part-time job. In the journey towards enterprise-wide commitment to both business and social profit, Lilly is aiming to improve both revenues and global access to healthcare. 

In this latest installment of the Leading Shared Value series, the Shared Value Initiative interviews Lechleiter in preparation for his upcoming presentation at the Shared Value Leadership Summit in May 2015. When asked why shared value is a priority for him as the leader of Eli Lilly, he said: 

"Health is important to every person on the planet. We know that healthy people have higher quality of life, learn more at school, are more productive at the workplace, and can contribute to their community in a more robust way. We also know that the path to health is very different based on a person’s socio-economic situation. Our aspiration at Lilly is to make life better for people around the world. Shared value is a priority to me because of the “around the world” part of the Lilly Promise. It enables us to extend our good work to people who may not have easy or consistent access to Lilly medicines."

"Take diabetes – a disease that’s reached epidemic levels in many countries around the world and an area where Lilly is a global leader. Successfully treating someone with diabetes requires not only medicines but also health care providers and patients who are educated and supported. Shared value has informed our efforts to provide the education and support to complement our medicines in places like Brazil, Mexico, India, and South Africa." Read the rest of the interview at: How Can Eli Lilly Gain Billions of New Customers?​

And don't miss John C. Lechleiter discuss building a healthy business strategy at the 2015 Shared Value Leadership Summit, taking place May 12-13 in New York. Register today: http://sharedvalue.org/2015summit