On October 23, Zoetis CEO Juan Ramón Alaix accepted the 2018 Deming Cup for Operational Excellence during an awards reception at the Columbia Business School’s W. Edwards Deming Center in New York.

“This is an award that I share with my leadership team and with all of our Zoetis colleagues,” said Juan Ramón. “Their commitment to bring value to customers, their passion for animal health, and focus on operational efficiencies have made the difference.”

Curiosity is Key

Awarded annually since 2010, the Deming Cup honors leaders who exemplify William E. Deming’s management principles and foster continuous improvement and operational excellence within their organizations. During his acceptance speech, Juan Ramón noted Deming’s philosophy about learning throughout one’s career, and attributed much of his success to learning through different experiences.  

“Deming believed that people are born with a natural curiosity to learn. My curiosity to learn through different experiences moved me from banking to tech companies, to human pharma – and finally to Animal Health, the best of any experience!” said Alaix.

“And I am continuing to learn every day – from colleagues, from customers, from advisors, from investors, and from the Board members. Learning how to make our company more innovative, more efficient, more customer focused…It is a learning journey that I enjoy every day, because it gives me the opportunity to work with many people around the world.”