___________________________________________________________________________________ Bayer
Consumer Health
Cristina Nitulescu has always been drawn to big, complicated problems. Today, as Chief Information Officer( CIO) for Bayer Consumer Health, she is reshaping how the division uses technology and sciencebased self-care to reach billions of people and help them build healthier futures.
“ It’ s not an IT transformation,” Cristina says.“ It’ s a business transformation- and AI is redefining how work gets done, how decisions happen, and how Bayer Consumer Health scales globally.”
A platform-centric foundation
When Cristina joined Bayer four years ago, she stepped into a division that leaned heavily on external partners and struggled with overlapping systems, which created significant complexity. Her mandate was clear: shift from system- and application-centric thinking to product-centricity and get ready for a major SAP S / 4HANA transformation.“ We had to modernize our platforms because we relied almost entirely on external partners. That meant we weren’ t steering our own technical future.”
Cristina and her team first mapped the Consumer Health technology estate, deciding which systems to retire, modify, or merge, and simplify wherever possible before the SAP overhaul began. Along the way, they rebuilt critical capabilities in-house, so the division could own more of its future rather than depending on external providers.
“ That work led to a platform-based structure,” she continues.“ Empowered leaders now run end-to-end technology domains, and full-stack engineering teams serve the business directly.” This step was critical, but it was only the beginning.“ Today, we’ re moving beyond product-
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