- 2 years ago
26 February 2025
Chifumi Umeda has an unusual background for someone leading an Australia and New Zealand affiliate of a global pharmaceutical company, but in many ways Umeda personifies MSD’s commitment to diversity and its belief that great leaders can emerge from any function.
Born and raised in Japan, Umeda spent three years of her childhood in Los Angeles when her father, a newspaper publisher, was transferred to the US. She returned to the US in 2019 before moving to Australia with her family six months ago, the result being an interesting mix of cultures backed by a sharp intellect that makes this leader one-of-a-kind.
“I have a unique mix of strong Japanese heritage values and culture, but I also have the benefit of understanding and appreciating American culture,” Umeda explained when she sat down with MedNews in what was her first Australian interview. “That’s how I define who I am.
“There are very distinct values in Japanese culture such as honour, not letting people down, holding yourself to a high standard. I always strive to give my best performance and to really lift up others.
“I also have an inherent appreciation for being reserved, because that is what is valued in Japan, but you have to balance that with honouring your commitment and doing what is right for your people. When I do that, I step up and take the lead. I speak up and take risks. I’m more comfortable doing that than most Japanese people.”
The influence of Japanese and US cultures is evident in Umeda’s speech and mannerisms, although she jokes that in America she is considered quiet and in Japan outspoken. In Australia – where outspoken larrikinism is par for the course – Umeda will no doubt be perceived by many as polite and considered, but behind her demure smile is a steely resolve to deliver for patients and her company.
From film financing to pharma
Umeda’s career journey was not straightforward. She studied law in Japan to “understand how the world works and how decisions are made”, her first foray into business being as a junior consultant.
Driven by a deep curiosity and determination to understand decision-making, Umeda applied for and was accepted into a financial talent development program with GE Japan where she worked as a corporate auditor, learning on the job until she had mastered the finance function.
“Three years in the GE audit program was a great opportunity for me and led me to Universal Pictures as an off-program assignment,” she says, noting Universal was a subsidiary of GE at the time.
“The entertainment business is very different from other businesses and I was intrigued, although looking back I realise it’s not that dissimilar to pharmaceuticals. Both industries are about innovation that takes a long time to pan out.
“A movie may take many, many years to develop and you are constantly pivoting, honing in on the right product, which is also what we do with pharmaceutical products, making sure the one we bring to the world is the best.”
It was finance that opened the door for Umeda to move into pharmaceuticals when she was headhunted for a role at Schering-Plough in 2008 – the year before it was acquired by MSD. After seven years in finance, rising to Region Finance Lead, Umeda moved briefly into a Head of Sales role before being made Associate Vice President and Business Unit Head of the company’s hospital acute care and vaccines businesses in Japan.
Five years ago she moved to the US as a Marketing Vice President, her success in a series of global senior marketing roles resulting in her being offered the job of Managing Director of MSD’s ANZ business last year, succeeding Prashant Nikam who now heads up MSD’s Oncology business in Japan.
“I’ve come a long way in 17 years,” she says of her MSD journey. “I knew nothing about the pharmaceutical industry when I started, but I thought it sounded interesting and made the jump, and now here I am.
“MSD thinks very flexibly about careers and that leadership skills are transferrable across different functions. Maybe with a different company, I would have stayed in finance, which I loved and really enjoyed, but my mentors and managers opened my eyes and said I should take my finance experience into commercial.
“Being a commercial leader seemed very different to me at the time, but I warmed up to it and started to like the idea. When a Head of Sales role came up, I made the wild jump over.”
Multi-cancer proposal progressing, albeit slowly
Since her arrival, Umeda has continued much of the work done by Nikam and the ANZ leadership team. One of the challenges she has taken on is the multi-cancer funding proposal the company put before the PBAC last year.
The PBAC did not accept its proposal, instead reducing the request to ‘simplified listings within tumour types’, but Umeda says the company continues to push for a broader approach.
“It’s taken longer than what we would have liked, but it continues to be our commitment and I sense strong support from stakeholders, and it’s a great way for us to contribute to this market by bringing this innovative program which is already proven around the world,” she says.
“There is no reason why we can’t also do it here. I see good alignment with where the Department wants to go and the benefits we need to achieve for patients, and I see all of that coming together in a nice way through our various engagements. There’s no guarantee of what is going to happen, but it is progressing and we will keep at it.”
Another challenge MSD is tackling that Umeda also hopes to make headway on is bringing new vaccines to Australia.
MSD’s pneumococcal vaccine VAXNEUVANCE was recommended by the PBAC for adults in November 2021 and for paediatrics in March 2023 yet it is still not funded, while the company withdrew its submission for CAPVAXIVE, the only pneumococcal vaccine specifically designed adults, from PBAC consideration in November 2024 when it was clear it would be undervalued.
As with MSD’s multi-cancer proposal, Umeda believes appropriately valuing new vaccines is possible through a collaborative approach with government, clinicians, and patient organisations, and she’s excited at the prospect of leading these discussions with her team – and ultimately delivering for patients.
“I see great opportunity for us to work as a team and set MSD Australia up for a very successful era ahead of us with all the pipeline products global headquarters is developing,” she said.
“We have doubled our Phase 3 assets in the past three years and I know first hand, having worked in global marketing, that these are all really exciting assets. We are not going to see another Keytruda but we do have a pearl string of great assets with differentiated value that meet unique, unmet needs.”
With a leader at the helm of the local affiliate who brings such a unique pearl string of attributes, it seems MSD is in good hands.
©MedNews 2025