___________________________________________________________________________________ Bayer
Consumer Health
Cristina has adeptly harnessed technology, transforming it into a forcefor good that empowers billions of consumers to lead healthier lives every day. Beyond efficiency, she has effectively wielded technology as a backbone to scale trust, access, and better health outcomes. Cristina has been a great collaborator as we jointly pursue our vision of applying science to save lives
Vikas Jain, Head-Life Sciences, Tata Consultancy Services
The‘ Road to Billions’
After spending much of her early career in medtech, Cristina found herself drawn to the fast-changing intersection of consumer and health, where engagement, experience, and scale are critical.“ These organizations are, at their core, marketing companies. The brands are key assets, and channels like social media and influencer partnerships are essential to how they reach people.”
Consumer Health’ s‘ Road to Billions’ strategy, which brings self-care products to people at global scale, resonates with her personally. She sees AI helping the division build brands that connect better and respond faster, enabling targeted campaigns, quicker content creation, and deeper engagement, while preserving the scientific foundation behind Bayer’ s products. Modular, API-driven, and increasingly headless platforms power it all, letting teams reuse and scale capabilities globally with minimal friction.
“ The most compelling AI use cases are not about shaving minutes off tasks, but about changing how Consumer Health listens to, learns from, and serves consumers on a global scale.”
Leading by multiplying
Cristina may be deeply technical, but she credits her career growth to a people-first philosophy.“ I think my move into the C-suite reflects my focus on people,” she reflects. Early in her career, she measured her value by the platforms she built and the problems she solved herself.
That changed when she moved into leadership roles and, around the same time, became a parent.“ It clicked for me that I could multiply my impact,” she remembers.
Since then, she’ s taken pride in helping people identify their strengths, develop them, and find roles where those strengths matter most. She brings new opportunities to team members and has kept in touch with interns from more than 20 years ago. In an era of rapid technology change, where AI and new architectures continuously redefine roles and capabilities,“ Leaders must be clear about expectations, generous with opportunities, and committed to developing people as much as platforms.” ■
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