Data-Driven Leadership in HR with Teva Pharmaceuticals

On this episode of the “Gen AI Breakthrough” podcast, Thomas Kellaway interviews Placid Jover, the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Teva Pharmaceuticals. They discuss Placid’s leadership philosophy, which emphasizes leveraging data and analytics to unlock the potential of individuals and teams within an organization.

Welcome to The Hackett Group’s “Gen AI Breakthrough” podcast, where top experts give actionable artificial intelligence (AI) insights, expert advice and strategies to achieve breakthrough business performance. In this episode, host Thomas Kellaway, Benchmarking principal at The Hackett Group, is joined by Placid Jover, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Teva Pharmaceuticals. They discuss Placid’s leadership philosophy, which emphasizes leveraging data and analytics to unlock the potential of individuals and teams within an organization.

Placid begins by sharing insights from his extensive human resources (HR) career spanning over 20 years at companies like Unilever and Teva. He emphasizes the importance of leading with transparency and context, decentralizing resources to where they impact customers directly, and building strong teams capable of sustaining success independently. Placid believes that leadership is not only about setting clear visions but also about how those goals are achieved, focusing on truthfulness and empowering people.

Then, Placid discusses the critical role data and analytics play in modern HR, stressing that the process begins by clearly defining the problem before gathering relevant data to develop actionable insights. He points out that challenges – such as data quality, organizational readiness and overcoming biases – underline the need for strong collaboration with finance and commercial teams. A key piece of advice he offers to HR leaders is to build and support the right analytics team – not just hire talent but actively invest in their development and remove obstacles so they can thrive. The conversation ends with a teaser on the topic of generative AI (Gen AI), signaling its growing importance in shaping the future of work.

Teva Pharmaceuticals is actively experimenting with Gen AI across various business functions, including HR. Placid acknowledges both the promising opportunities and the potential disruptions that Gen AI may bring, such as the transformation of work and the possible displacement of certain roles. Placid shares his personal fear of obsolescence, which fuels his curiosity and drive to engage with the technology proactively. He encourages individuals to embrace Gen AI with an open mind and participate in its development, rather than stand on the sidelines, emphasizing that intellectual curiosity is essential for growth in this changing landscape.

Looking ahead to leadership priorities in 2025, Placid highlights the complex global environment shaped by geopolitical tensions, technological advances, economic uncertainty and environmental concerns. Despite these challenges, he stresses the importance of staying connected to external developments, focusing on business needs and caring for internal teams. From an HR perspective, he identifies workforce planning, talent management, and organizational transformation as the key areas of focus to ensure organizations remain agile and ready for the future. The conversation closes with thanks to Placid and encouragement for listeners to engage with the podcast and explore further resources on Gen AI transformation.

Time stamps:

0:12 – Welcome to this episode hosted by Thomas Kellaway.

4:16 – Using data to unlock organizational potential.

8:10 – Performance culture and the game-changer for data-centric HR.

11:14 – Discussing Gen AI in the workforce.

16:51 – Leadership priorities for 2025.

17:33 – Closing remarks.