Sipping coffee from an ordinary paper cup that looks like it came from the company cafeteria rather than the closest Starbucks, Christine Poon, Johnson & Johnson's worldwide chairman of medicines and nutritionals, starts her day as many women do. But beneath her humble persona is the leader of J&J's $17 billion drug business—which accounts for 60 percent of the company's operating profits and is its most dynamic unit.

"Our pharma business, over the last two years, has been the fastest-growing of the large pharma companies," says Robert Darretta, J&J's vice-chairman and CFO. "Chris has been playing an important role, even prior to leading the entire foreign business over that period of time. I think she's done it very well. It's a very challenging time for the industry. But she is a talented person up for the challenge."

Good Judge of Talent. Intrigued by her outstanding industry reputation, chairman and CEO William Weldon brought Christine Poon to J&J.

A Perfect Fit Poon, who resides in Princeton, New Jersey, with her husband, came to J&J in November 2000, after 15 years with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), where she last headed up the international medicines division.

"I knew Chris through her reputation," says William Weldon, chairman of the board and CEO of J&J, whose idea it was to court Poon. "We got to know each other over a period of months. We talked about values, beliefs, business, and industry." Discerning whether Poon subscribed to J&J's guiding principles, outlined in the company's credo, was of utmost importance. (See "Being Is Believing.") Etched in stone outside the entrance of the company's headquarters in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the credo is a commitment to customers, employees, the community, and stockholders. It promotes the idea that investing in people will ultimately produce financial rewards. The company has no mission statement—just this set of ideals that dictates a way of life at J&J and influences all business decisions.

"When I first talked to [former J&J CEO] Ralph Larsen about coming here, I asked what advice he would give an outsider coming in," Poon recalls. "I think he gave me the best advice in the world. He said, 'I think it's important that you do your homework and you really understand the kind of company J&J is and the kinds of values we have.' He pointed out the credo, and he talked about decentralization. He talked about commitment to a diversified company. He talked about the high-level values of the company. He said, 'The best thing is for you to understand who we are, and if your own values match up well to who we are, it is probably going to be an easy transition for you.' He said if you feel like you are fighting any of these values, it will be tough for you, because it's not likely that this company will change for a single individual.

"I certainly understand the credo. I think it's not as much an intellectual as it is an emotional document. On the issues of diversification and decentralization, I intellectually understood, but I wasn't emotionally committed until I actually got here and came to understand the power of our business model."

"When Chris stepped into the job, it became very, very clear that she was the good fit," adds Darretta. And she has gone on to prove it.

Diversity Breeds Opportunity With a physician father and a mother studying to be a nurse, Poon felt destined to work in healthcare. It wasn't pressure from her parents or the social circle she grew up in; she simply "loved the idea of science advancing healthcare and being able to cure many of the diseases that 50 years ago we took for granted people would die from."

Science-Minded

Despite providing a competitive advantage, being different had its challenges in the business world. "I think women my age would say that it was a lot lonelier 25 years ago. Today's generation of women probably don't feel that same isolation that some of the early HBA award winners and myself must have felt," she says. "But I think one thing that women have learned through the years is to understand that inherently, as individuals and as women, we have certain strengths. Many, many years ago, the only way we understood how to be part of this tribe was to be like the tribal members. But I would urge all women to just be themselves. Being yourself is the greatest strength you have. Just tap in to your own individuality and make it work for you.

"That's what makes a company great, and that is the essence of diversity. Diversity isn't just because you are Asian or African-American, because you are a woman or a man. It's the individuality and the differences that you bring, the perspectives you bring to the job that is really the essence of diversity."

Poon sees the benefits of diversity come to fruition whenever she interacts with her management team. "It's great to watch how many different people have such different approaches to the same issues. The creativity the people bring—I'm just continually in awe of our people and what they bring to the organization, their ideas, their commitment, their creativity, their innovation. I get as enthusiastic and as excited as they are when they're talking about their business. And because I have worked around the world for so many years, I hope that I bring to them a different perspective."

Learning Through Listening When it comes to being in charge, Poon, 50, is a quiet powerhouse who understands the need to let people be themselves to get the most out of them. Perhaps a product of her Chinese heritage, her respect for others encourages successful business relationships and keeps the lines of communication open.

"Chris is an extraordinary person, an extraordinary leader," says Weldon. "She gets the most out of people and motivates them." He also touts her scientific and business background, including her experience in the diagnostic and device areas, as well as managing business. "She's the complete package," he adds.

For Poon, management is more of a democracy than a dictatorship. She values interacting with people and spending time with J&J's organizations, whether they are in the United States, Europe, or Asia. "It's probably those times and those moments when we're together, when I'm hearing what they want to do in terms of strategies around new products or product launches or dealing with particularly challenging issues—those are probably the best moments of any day or week or year that I have," she says.

Being Is Believing

"I'm a pretty patient listener," she adds. "On the other hand, I tend to know where I want to go and to be decisive about getting there. So there is always this balance between being patient, being too decisive, and not listening. And I'm always trying to find the place to be in the middle."

"Poon is a skilled psychologist, I would say, to get the most out of any individual. She is extremely respected and liked," says Per Peterson, J&J's chairman of research and development, pharmaceuticals. "She never overreacts, and there is never a crisis with her. There may be problems, but there is never a crisis. She deals with it and says, 'Okay, this is the situation. What are our options? What is the best course of action?' She is never yelling at anybody or jumping up. She is stimulating people."

Poon is also known for setting high goals and is skilled in influencing people. Although salespeople are pressured to come in with challenging forecasts, Peterson explains, Poon will look at those forecasts and simply say, "Why don't you go back and see if you can come up with something more," without raising her voice or pressuring them. "Everybody makes the utmost effort, because she generates so much respect," he says. "And she is not disappointed if you can't. Because then she knows that you have really gone all the way."