Bayer does more than make aspirin, executive says
While most people are familiar with its tiny white tablet, global Bayer Corp. does much more than produce aspirin.
“We are a science-based company. We have three major pillars: Health care, crop science and material sciences,” said Andrew J. Diana, who will take over as president of Bayer Business and Technology Services Oct. 1.
Diana was the first guest speaker in the fall series of CEO Conversations held at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
Currently vice president of Bayer Business and Technology Services, Diana spoke to students and others about Bayer, his career in information technology and things he looks for in employees.
Products made by Bayer, he said, are found not just in medicine cabinets but in nearly every bedroom, living room, kitchen, garage, hospital, farm and factory across America. According to its website, Bayer’s products “help preserve local landmarks, advance automobile safety and durability, diagnose and treat disease, and protect crops, homes and pets from pests. The crystal-clear crisper in your refrigerator probably got its start as one of our plastic resins, and the lettuce it holds fought off pests with the help of our crop protection products. Your car is safer and your couch is plumper thanks to our polyurethane. And, our scientists are making sure that you, your family and your pets are protected from illness.”
Bayer does business in 150 countries and employs more than 120,000 people, Diana said. About 20,000 of those work for the company in the U.S., which is Bayer’s number one market, followed by Germany, China and Japan. The company’s revenue last year, Diana said, was $50 billion.
Bayer’s motto is “Science for a better life,” Diana said, adding that the word life is an acronym for four qualities the company wants in its employees: Leadership, integrity, flexibility and efficiency.
Another quality Diana looks for in employees is one from his father.
“My dad always had a ‘can do’ spirit and he instilled that in me. He encouraged me to become a paper boy when I was 11 and I have been working ever since,” Diana said.
“I look for someone with that spirit and someone who can deliver on his promises. Communication, both verbal and written, are also important. We expect people to show up for work who are able to act and engage with their co-workers,” he said.
Diana also advised students to “never give up. You may have a class that is difficult. But don’t give up no matter how you think you are doing. Learn and perform while you are in school.”
Diana explained “reasonable grades” from school are important but that “your attitude must be delivered from the heart.”
Diana began his IT career in high school where his guidance counselor, noting Diana did well in math and science, suggested he follow a career in those fields.
He began studying data processing at a technical school, then went to community college and later received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from Lockhaven University in Lock Haven, Pa. He paid his own way through college by spending summer vacations working in Pittsburgh steel mills, a job that helped him decide to go into information technology.
When he graduated from college, he mailed out more than 150 resumes. “I got two responses back,” he said, adding that today’s college graduates “have to work much harder” to find employment.
His first job was in 1975 with a Wisconsin insurance company where he worked in data processing. In 1979, he took a job with Mobay in Pittsburgh, explaining that Mobay was the first joint venture in Pittsburgh between Monsanto and Bayer corporations.
He has been with Bayer since May 1980.
Diana has a broad level of information systems experience including applications, infrastructure and customer relationship, currently serving as vice president of Infrastructure Global Center Americas for BBTS.
Diana’s previous roles include vice president of BBS IT Operations North America and Asia Pacific IT Operations, as well as head of NAFTA IS Communications and Command Center.
Diana is a Global IBM Tivoli advisory board member and a Pittsburgh Project for Freedom non-profit board member. He has also held various management roles leading development and deployment of Bayer business application software and leading outsourcing activities.
Diana holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and computer science and a master’s degree in business administration.
CEO Conversations is designed to give students the opportunity to hear from and talk with key individuals in the local, regional, and national business communities about business, entrepreneurship and leadership. The 2012 guest speaker series is being sponsored by Joseph A. Hardy III.
Greg Burton, president and chief executive officer of BrickStreet Mututal Insurance Co., is scheduled at noon Oct. 17 for the next CEO Conversations at Penn State Fayette. BrickStreet is West Virginia’s first private worker’s compensation carrier. Burton oversees the company’s policy direction, leadership, strategic plan implementation and budget development.
For more information, call Susan Brimo-Cox at 724-430-4199 or Ellen Rogers at 724-430-4206.