MBN USA

October 04, 2021

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Q&A with Merck’s Yammel Sanchez-Ocana

Yammel Sanchez-Ocana is executive director of global procurement corporate and site services at Merck & Co. Inc. She is responsible for all corporate and site services functions including across corporate, human resources, finance, legal and facilities management.

She joined Merck in 2015 from Johnson Controls Inc., where she led procurement operations and sourcing of corporate services. She was also project management officer for the indirect procurement transformation. She has over 20 years of progressive purchasing leadership roles within Johnson Controls and materials management, export control and customer service roles within BASF SE and GlaxoSmithKline PLC in Mexico, the United States and Germany.

Sanchez-Ocana continues to build organizational capacity by identifying, growing and providing strong talent for the enterprise pipeline. In 2020, she was a recipient of the Merck Global Services’ Coaching and Development Award and was appointed to serve as chair of Merck’s Economic Inclusion Leadership Council.

She serves on the board of directors of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and is also part of the executive committee of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.

Q: Can you tell us a little about your background?

A: I was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. I graduated from college with a degree in communications and public relations. I joined BASF in its supply chain in Mexico after graduating and had the opportunity to move as an ex-pat to its headquarters in Mount Olive, New Jersey, for a couple of years and to its global headquarters in Germany.

A couple of years after returning to Mexico City, I decided to accept a position with Johnson Controls or JCI in indirect procurement in its automotive division. After a couple of years in that position, I transitioned to JCI’s global headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I moved as a permanent employee in 2005 and continued growing with JCI and developing my career with them until 2015 when I was invited by Merck to join its indirect procurement team as executive director of corporate and site services.

Q: What has been your biggest challenge as an executive in corporate America?

A: Personally, I would say that the biggest challenge I faced when I was beginning my career in corporate America was merging the Latino business culture with the American business culture. Even though I moved to the U.S. 16 years ago, it doesn’t sound too far away. But there has been great progress on how we do enterprise integrated business now versus how it was done then. Not only does the way we conduct business now really integrate the best of global thinking, but we have also learned how to understand the heritage and foundational business mindset of other countries to deliver the best results. But it has not been easy.

Another big challenge — [as] I continue identifying as a Latina — is the lack of representation of Hispanic/Latinx [individuals] in the C-suite and [on] corporate boards.

Q: How have you been able to overcome challenges as you’ve risen through the ranks to your current corporate level?

A: I consider myself a very fortunate individual. In my early professional years, I had opportunities to move to New Jersey and Germany. [In addition,] JCI provided an opportunity by extending me an invitation to participate in its XLP [or] Accelerated Leadership Program, an eight-month program where 40 top executives were selected by the CEO to deliver a final recommendation to an existing global opportunity in the corporation. [These opportunities] really brought a different perspective to my mind on how to connect, approach and diversify business across countries and cultures.

Finding the right coaching and mentors in your career as you continue growing is key to learning through their perspectives and guidance.

Building the strongest network across the corporation is of upmost importance — being a team player and supporting your network as they support you.

Q: How important is it to find the right mentor during the corporate ladder climb; how do you find the right mentor(s)?

A: Mentoring is one of the most valuable guidance and support [systems] you should always seek. Having the opportunity to listen to different perspectives and approaches to challenges we face and learning from their experience and point of view is invaluable.

I try to find mentorship from people who are not related to my daily job and who have a very different responsibility in the company — people who can bring a totally different perspective and appreciation of the challenges I face. They usually bring unexpected recommendations.

I also still have mentors from my past companies, and I like touching base with them from time to time to correct course when needed in my career and to listen their recommendations looking at my challenges with a totally different lens.

There’s a lot of discussion about diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI in the corporate talent and supplier inclusion space.

Q: Are you seeing progress from DEI initiatives, and how can minority, Hispanic and Latinx talent and enterprise suppliers help corporations continue to grow?

A: I have seen tremendous progress in DEI. I am really happy to see that, overall, the importance in these initiatives is recognized and directed by the top executives in the companies. However, there is a lot more to do. If we ignore the power of DEI, we will miss out on opportunities to tap into our people’s potential and promote inclusivity, recognition, respect and appreciation. This is a journey.

Minority, Hispanic, Latinx and enterprise suppliers bring a very different approach to helping corporations continue developing their priorities by proposing innovative and impactful solutions, and this is something we can’t miss!

To learn more about Merck’s supplier diversity program, visit merck.com/company-overview/suppliers.