Ascendis Health
John Backman started their work experience in 1994 as a Representative at Pfizer. John then progressed through various roles at Pfizer, including Regional Sales Manager, Brand Manager, Group Brand Manager, and Marketing Director. In 2003, they became the Commercial Director at Pfizer, a role they held until 2005. John then worked at AstraZeneca as the Vice President of Marketing for a brief period before joining Blue Parrot Advertising as an Account Executive from 2007 to 2008. In 2009, they worked as a Consultant at Adcock Ingram before moving on to various marketing roles at the same company, including Generics Marketing, Marketing - Generics and Critical Care, and Commercial Manager. John then joined Ascendis Pharma in 2014 as the Head of Marketing and later moved to Ascendis Health in 2017, where they currently hold the position of Head - New Business Development, Business Intelligence, Project Management, Corporate Marketing & PR.
John Backman completed a Bachelor's Degree in Physiology, General from the University of the Witwatersrand from 1991 to 1993. Prior to that, they pursued a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Physiology, General from Damelin from 1988 to 1989.
Ascendis Health
Background Ascendis Health is a health and wellness company founded in 2008 and listed in the healthcare sector of the JSE in November 2013. In 2015, the Group embarked on an international growth strategy and acquired four businesses in Europe: Farmalider in Spain (2015), Remedica in Cyprus (2016), Scitec in Hungary (2016) and Sunwave Pharma in Romania (2017). Today Ascendis Health has a global reach with well-known brands and products sold to more than 120 countries across all continents. Strategic focus Against a backdrop of too much debt and limited operational flexibility we have set out a three-pillar strategy with the following focus areas: Pillar1: Stabilise (‘Fix the balance sheet’) • Set the medium-term portfolio strategy – which companies we should keep and which we should sell • Restructure existing debt to match the long-term portfolio strategy • Introduce sufficient new money to restore operational flexibility and ability to execute ‘Optimise’ Pillar Pillar 2: Optimise (‘Right-size and create platform businesses’) • Set the operating model to align with portfolio strategy and reduce complexity • Implement Project Office discipline to drive efficiencies, capital allocation optimization, and margin management strategies in each Business Unit • Create Business Unit specific incentivization programs and develop owner-manager mindsets Pillar 3: Grow (‘Maximise value and grow the platforms’) • Deleveraging strategy to take onto account the interim cash conversion profiles of the underlying business • Remain flexible to access attractive market windows • Deploy capital to underpin steady state portfolio