Andrea Iucci learned one of his best pieces of advice not from the pharmaceutical industry, but from a Michelin star chef.
The Italian native and his wife Elena were having a meal at a restaurant when the chef met them afterwards and told him: “’Andrea, the work I do is not so different from the work you do. It doesn’t matter how many customers you satisfied, how many meals you innovated, or even how many stars you get. It is always the next meal that matters’.” It was a metaphor that Andrea took to heart: “It’s not important what you do in the past. What’s important is what you will do in the future.”
This motto was certainly applicable when Andrea joined Norbook, a manufacturer of veterinary pharmaceuticals founded in Newry in 1969 by Lord Ballyedmond (Eddie Haughey). In October 2023 Andrea was appointed chief executive, replacing Liam Nagle. It was a year of rising business costs, stifled profits, increased competition from India and China, and staff losses; a tough year for Norbrook. Yet the financial year 2024 results from Norbrook Holdings Ltd reveal a dramatic turnaround. Global sales of customer orders for the second half of 2024 were up 16% on 2023, generating a net profit increase of £5.3m.
Andrea – who was born in Rome, Italy, and now lives with his family in Amsterdam – is delighted with the results but he credits the team rather than his own leadership skills. “There was a massive amount of work from everybody in the company, to be honest. I’m impressed about the commitment, the resilience and the passion here. I thought as an Italian I was passionate until I met the people in Norbrook, Newry. They are very passionate about what they do. There was a lot of work behind the scenes to achieve this turnaround.”
In 2024, Norbrook appointed three new leaders and introduced two major new products, including Felanorm Oral Solution, a liquid treatment for hyperthyroidism in cats: the first product of its kind to be approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in the US. “We are advancing the development of differentiated genetics,” Andrea says. “… which will give us the possibility to add value to and differentiate ourselves from companies producing in India or China.” The business engaged in an £11m capital investment programme, including a £2.5m in Kenya and a £1.3m sterile injectable manufacturing suite (for the manufacture of products for the treatment and prevention of infections in livestock and pets).
Andrea’s leadership in pharma companies such as Abbott and IDEXX boded well for his tenure at Norbrook, but the chief executive is modest about his past achievements. “What I left [in those businesses] is more important than what I brought. I’m not the kind of person that has such a strong ego to pretend that I have all the answers and the capabilities to fix, solve or develop. I come with questions. My only talent is to find people with talent and put them together as an effective team. I leave the company with a leadership team that is capable to do better without me than with me. That’s what I’m trying to do at Norbrook.”
What interested him in the position at Norbrook? “First of all: the people. The people in the company are truly passionate, committed and hard workers.” Norbrook is also a family business. Andrea has experience in this field, having previously led the family-run Sigma Tau Group – Avantgarde and its portfolio of pharma products. “When you are in contact with the people who (A) created the company and (B) invest every day in your future, it becomes more personal. A multi-national company might have more resources and people, but a family business has more connection with purpose and values. It’s more meaningful.”
Andrea was attracted to the “strong entrepreneurial spirit” at Norbrook, instilled by his predecessor Liam Nagle. “Regaining this entrepreneurial spirit was part of my philosophy”. The chief executive spends four days a week in the Newry office, flying back home to Amsterdam on Thursday evening. How would he describe his leadership style? “I’m fascinated every time I attend big congresses where leaders tell everybody how complicated and complex leadership is. I am an old-fashioned guy. I stick to situational leadership, which means you need to adjust yourself to every project, every person, every situation. You need to park your ego and take a step back. Ask yourself this: ‘What is the best style a person, company or project, needs from you?’”
Andrea confesses to having a lot of drive, ambition and energy. “My mother is 83 and still doing hydrospinning classes four times a week. I got my energy from her. I’m fast paced. By joining a mid-sized company that competes with multi-national giants, you need to be ambitious because otherwise you’re not establishing the right position to compete with them. You have fewer resources so you need to be faster, smarter and bolder than the others.”
Norbrook – between its cost reduction initiatives and environmental ambitions (the company is on track to receive its first environmental, social, and governance certification) – is also brimming with energy as it turns a corner into 2025. Andrea is not blind to the challenges that still face the industry, though. “In 2024, the microeconomic conditions (A) have not improved and (B) sometimes deteriorated, especially when it comes to supply, logistics, shipments. It’s not something that is improving at all. But an amazing team, especially in procurement, is managing to control and negotiate costs to our advantage.”
But the opportunities ahead, he believes, outweigh challenges in the rear-view mirror. “I’m committed and focused and want to develop a team and a company that will thrive in the future. This is a company with more than 50 years of experience and history. I like history but history has to be refreshed and renewed. You need to write new history every day and that is what we are trying to do.”