Meet Francisco Santos, Senior Planning & Management Control Specialist!

ACADEMIA AND MOTIVATION
Since I was a child, I remember saving money from birthdays and Christmas gifts to make my small investments, whether it was a new basketball or a PlayStation, so I could play FIFA. From that early interest to my growing appetite for mathematics, choosing my degree felt obvious: Management! I graduated in Management from the School of Economics at the University of Porto, where the course opened my eyes to how broad and transversal the field of management can be. It was also during my bachelor’s that I had one of the best and most enriching experiences of my life: spending a semester abroad on Erasmus in the Czech Republic. Before entering the job market, I began a Master’s in Management at Católica Porto Business School, finishing it with my first professional experience, through a curricular internship in banking. Three years later, already working in Bial’s Finance Department, I decided to enrol at Porto Business School to complete a Postgraduate Program in Controlling and Performance Management, during which I had the opportunity to attend a one-week module at London Business School. The motivation has always been the same and very clear: to learn and grow by exposing myself to new contexts and realities.

WHY BIAL?
I crossed paths with Bial when I decided that I didn’t want to continue my previous (and short) experience in banking. At the time, I wanted to find a new challenge, ideally in a relevant industrial Portuguese company that had offices in Porto, but one where I could have international exposure. An internship opening had popped up in the Financial Department, which I was warned from the beginning would have no continuity, but I just thought that it would still be a great opportunity to get to know the backstage of Bial and the Pharmaceutical Industry, even if it was for just nine months. Today, and thanks to the great team that welcomed me and taught me, ten years have passed by, and I was able to fully experience the Financial Department’s responsibilities, enabling me to transition to the Planning & Management Control Department, broadening my knowledge of the Group, the Industry, and being able to get in touch with even more stakeholders.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO WORK AT BIAL?
At Bial, we always want more! The thing about working here is that goals are ambitious, and when we do reach them, that’s suddenly already part of our (centenary) history, and we’re already aiming for what comes next. At Planning & Management Control, and due to how transversal our work is, we really feel part of that change! Enhancing the bonds with all Departments, seeing the business as more than financial models, and bringing into our day-to-day the inputs our colleagues share, enables us to help build a sustainable Bial for the next 100 years.

Being a “numbers person”, I always struggled to step out of the rationality (and maybe comfort) of figures and let myself into more of a sensation’s territory. But in the last ten years, Bial and Bialers have shown me the true meaning of Purpose, which is now so well stated as "To be Partners in Life". Being able to witness the impact we have on our patients gives me the perfect balance and the right motivation to help Bial pursue its mission, even if I’m “just crunching some numbers”.