When Covid-19 stalled the world's economic motor in early 2020, ICON CEO Steve Cutler and his team at the clinical drug and vaccine trials company revved up.
"Everyone sort of felt like you're in the middle of a sci-fi movie, and that's very much the way it felt for us," said Cutler, 61. But the deadly coronavirus spreading across the globe was happening in real life, not a make-believe Hollywood film.
Cutler heads a company with 38,000 workers in 53 countries whose job is to evaluate new drugs and medical devices to see if they work and are safe. He knew early on Covid-19 was serious. He then got a call from Pfizer, one of ICON's biggest clients, about running a large-scale trial of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
With the world watching, Cutler quickly mobilized his team. Good things, he says, can come out of tough times. "We had to pivot on the dime," says Cutler, who became ICON's CEO in 2017.
Move Fast, But Safely Like The ICON CEO
A speedy yet safe study was key to getting a vaccine out fast. Dublin-based ICON, thanks to its focus on digital technologies, conducted remote monitoring as well as on-site trials. That innovation was key in a world in shutdown mode. In four months, ICON worked with 153 sites in the U.S., Europe, South America and Latin America to recruit 44,000 Covid-19 vaccine trial participants.
On Dec. 11, 2020, the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine was first to get approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization in people 16 or older. And on Aug. 23, 2021, it became the first approved Covid-19 vaccine. It was the fastest-ever FDA vaccine approval.
Don't Wait For Crisis To Innovate
The seeds of the successful vaccine trial, though, weren't planted overnight.
The ICON CEO gained muscle memory to run the historic vaccine trial years ago, with lessons learned over a lengthy career. Cutler says he's also learned from his days as an amateur rugby player who won a World Cup with Australia. Cutler knows the importance of teamwork, preparing for big moments, and having a game plan in place and executing it under pressure.
And yet ICON's Covid-19 vaccine trial is just the latest highlight in Cutler's career there. Since taking over as CEO on March 1, 2017, ICON's stock has surged 183%, outpacing the S&P 500's 91% gain. Revenue rose 229%, or more than 26% annually on average, since then. Earnings per share have more than doubled.
Cutler: Build A Great Team
You can't be successful without building a good team that buys into your message. "Get the right people on the bus, sitting in the right seats, heading in the right direction and collaborating together," he said.
Make every team member feel the role he or she plays is integral to the company's success. A rugby team, he says, is only as good as all 15 players on the pitch. The same rule applies in business. "The team can't operate without any one (player) doing their job," he said. "You may not be the star, but you're in there and you have to do your job. You've got to operate as an effective unit, have a plan and execute that plan."
One job of a CEO, Cutler says, is to motivate workers to excel. A personal touch can go a long way, too, especially with employees lower on the organization chart. "Interact with them," said Cutler. "Know their names. Know what they do and how they contribute. Make them feel part of the journey."
Ciaran Murray, ICON's ex-CEO and current board chair, says Cutler's "intellectual horsepower" and personal qualities make him a strong boss. "He's a very authentic leader," Murray said. "People respect him. He inspires confidence. He leads by example. And I've never known him not to deliver."
Communicate What You Stand For
Being CEO gives you more power, but you still must get buy-in from others. "There's only so much you can do as an individual," Cutler said. The key is to communicate your philosophy, so people know what's important to you, he says.
Cutler isn't wishy-washy about his leadership traits: "I like to execute. I like to get things done. I like to move things along."
He also doesn't want to hear excuses. "Own the problem," is one of ICON's key catchphrases, Cutler said. "Find a way to get that solution in place, irrespective of whose fault it is or who's to blame. Get it fixed. That's when you really add value."
Offer A Template For Growth
Under Cutler's leadership, ICON has grown fast. He's boosted growth by increasing revenues organically via existing clients, as well as making strategic acquisitions.
His biggest deal was a $12 billion acquisition of PRA Health Services last July. The marriage roughly doubled ICON's size and elevated its market share from number five to number one or two in key business segments. Being bigger, Cutler says, makes ICON a more attractive strategic partner for giant pharmaceutical firms and upstart biotech firms. "It makes us very hard to ignore," he said. "In drug development, scale is important. It gives us opportunities to do more clinical trials."
Cutler is a fan of generating more revenue from existing customers. His strategy? Do great work, provide great service, and get rewarded with more work. A key to ICON's growth, Cutler says, is "developing customer partnerships in a way that allows them to trust us with more and more of their pipeline and development portfolios."
But you can't have success unless you're innovative and evolve, Cutler says. "We can't just keep doing the same old, same old," he said. "We have to stay on the edge." Case in point: before the pandemic only about 20% of ICON drug trials were executed via remote monitoring. Today 80% have a remote, or decentralized, component, Cutler says. Remote drug trials, which are cheaper and more efficient to run, are the direction ICON and the industry are headed, he adds.
Unlike traditional clinical trials which require a health professional to monitor the patient on-site in-person, remote monitoring allows trial participants to take part at home and stay in contact via phone or online.
Maintain Work And Life Balance
All work and no time away from the grind are a recipe for failure, Cutler says. "It's really important to get away from things and sort of release the stress button," he said.
To do that, he tries to clear out his weekends for nonwork activities, nurture relationships with his wife and family, and expose his mind to new points of view.
"I just read a biography of Winston Churchill," Cutler said. And he regularly tunes into podcasts from sources such as "The Economist," "Freakonomics," and author Malcolm Gladwell.
"As a CEO, you need to have a broad perspective," he said. "I find it does have relevance to running an organization and trying to get the best out of people in our company."
Keeping your life in order away from work allows you to thrive at the office, too. Cutler exercises four or five mornings a week. He mixes in long walks with trips to the gym or biking. "You have to be happy at home," said Cutler, who says he's lucky to have a wife that is so supportive of his career. To thrive on the job, you also must "look after yourself."
ICON CEO Steve Cutler's Keys
- CEO of leading clinical testing company ICON, which played a key role in the development of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
- Overcame: Geographic barriers to opportunities. Cutler has taken jobs not just in his native Australia but also the U.K., Europe, South Africa and worked the past two decades in the U.S.
- Lesson: "We all have setbacks in life. What's important is not that you got knocked down. It's did you get back up?"
