In 2020, the emergence if a deadly and terribly contagious virus has challenged leaders in ways they never expected. National leaders are responding in inconsistent and contradictory ways. Outside of the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, corporate leaders can feel like they are flying blind. Even the most beloved and respected experts on vision, values, strategy, and culture, are unequipped to understand the many unknowns that this pandemic and future ones might present. And yet organizations now have a life or death role to play in protecting the health of employees, customers, and the public
To breathe easier — literally and figuratively — we need a new executive in the C-suite: a chief medical officer.
That’s what Constellation Brands, which owns brands such as Robert Mondavi Winery, Casa Noble Tequila, and Corona beer, did when the pandemic first hit. As the fastest growing large consumer packaged goods company in the United States, Constellation has long embraced an agile approach, listening to trends and responding accordingly, which enabled it to quickly recognize that the Covid-19 crisis would be fluid for some time and that that its current leaders did not have the skills to respond to it. They needed an expert with medical and scientific training to fill the gap.
How did the company determine what the new person and their team would do? Tom Kane, Constellation’s human resources chief, recalls first looking at the immediate challenges, which included closing hospitality locations, establishing strict protocols for operations facilities that would remain open, and establishing safe reopening sequences and rules. The medical executive’s role would be to provide health-related advice and expertise to the executive, crisis management, and HR leadership teams as they made navigated the pandemic, informing risk assessment and policy recommendations in line with the varying guidelines befitting a multinational company.
Constellation’s appointment of Dr. Tim Malins as chief medical officer highlights three key reasons why this role is essential not only for today’s extenuating circumstances, but also for long-term growth.
Employee health. For Constellation and countless other hospitality businesses — from mom-and-pop shops to global restaurant chains — employees on the front lines are putting themselves at risk. Dr. Malins ensures that they are doing so as safely as possible. But even for organizations with employees working mostly remotely, or in jobs that don’t expose them to infection, hiring an in-house medical expert is an important signal that your leaders cares about their people. “Consulting outside experts” does not suffice. You need to show that employee physical – and mental – health is a fundamental concern. Constellation gave its workforce direct access to Dr. Malins with an event called “Conversation with our Chief Medical Officer” on the company intranet. The idea, Kane says, was to give everyone “peace of mind [that the organization is] seeking a medical perspective to best understand how to keep our employees and communities safe.”
Customer safety. At Constellation, the medical expert and his team are essential in responding to the ongoing question of when it is safe to re-open so that the communities in which the company operates are not at risk of infection and spread. They also help design the most effective social distancing procedures once locations resume business. With so much conflicting information that’s changing by the day, it’s important to have an expert who is capable of wading through and interpreting all the data and opinions to determine the course of action that best serves your customer base. Organizations that are not built on hospitality have to decide when and how to start seeing clients and partners, attending road shows and conferences, and much more. Ultimately, business leaders have a social responsibility to set the conditions for safe and healthy behavior.
Compliance everywhere. Constellation is a multinational organization, with more than 100 brands spanning the United States, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. During a pandemic, this means navigating varying health regulations and protocol at every level: global (World Health Organization), national (Centers for Disease Control in the United States), regional, state, and local. The task isn’t easy when different places are in different stages. “We need to be up to date and understand the many guidelines and adapt,” Kane explains.” Dr. Malins brings the expertise necessary for this highly sensitive task. Without this kind of leadership, a single misstep can lead to PR nightmares and expensive lawsuits.
Covid-19 has upended our work routines in extraordinary ways. It has also brought to sharp relief the need to integrate private business and public health. Ken Frazier, the CEO of Merck — leading vaccine producer of of the past 25 years — recently told me that the search for a working vaccine, which needs to be manufactured and distributed to more than seven billion people worldwide, could take a very long time. Organizations have to think strategically about the health of their organization, and the first step for many companies could be hiring a chief medical officer.