Meet SMS Alum Globetrotter Pablo Tesouro
By Sherry Cook

SMS alum and former Marketing Graduate Assistant Pablo Tesouro just isn’t “typical.”  A native of Argentina, he’s never taken the predictable route. In a country known for its love of soccer, Pablo chose baseball, somewhat an oddity in Argentina. He started his academic career in the field of science with an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry. Soon after, he joined a local pharmaceutical company where, despite his science background, was soon promoted to Marketing and Sales. Then it was on to a regional management position where he supervised operations in neighboring countries Chili and Uruguay.

Ahhhh, the great life you might think. But remember Tesouro isn’t “your normal guy.”  At this point, he walked away, quit his job and moved to the U.S. to further his education.  He hoped to obtain an MBA to garner more business knowledge, a calculated move designed to make him even more successful in the pharmaceutical industry in the long run.  

But, with a science undergraduate background, the first task was to pick up the necessary prerequisites. He did this at Drury University in Springfield. The rest almost didn’t happen. “We were about to go broke with just $800 in the bank and on the brink of going back to Argentina when both my wife Ingrid and I got graduate assistant positions at SMSU.”

That changed everything. In fact, Tesouro had landed in the perfect spot given his career aspirations. As a GA in Marketing, he took advantage of every opportunity. “I worked for three great professors [Robert Luke, Linda Pettijohn and Sherry Cook], made a 4.0 and was honored with the David Glass Outstanding Graduate Student Award.” He wrote every paper he could on pharmaceutical issues and did an internship in Dallas with VHA/Novation, a leading group purchasing organization in the U.S. healthcare industry. “With all the hurdles, we never lost track of two things: keep up the hard work and remain determined,” he says. 

Those four years in Springfield would provide some of Tesouro’s favorite memories. In addition to his hours spent at SMS, he also had the chance to play his beloved baseball as part of two local semi-pro teams—the Springfield Generals and Slashers during the summer months. “Despite being frustrated for not having the chance to play right field for the New York Yankees,” he laughs, “I never had that much fun as playing semi-pro ball in the U.S.” In fact he hopes to come back for a reunion game this coming year. 

Soon the four years were over and the couple moved back to their native country. What are the differences between the two countries—particularly small town Springfield and urban Buenos Aires? “Sometimes I miss the level of service you get in the U.S. In Argentina, there isn’t such a thing as going to Kinkos at two in the morning to make a photocopy or running to Wal-Mart to exchange something—just because.” On the other hand, he explains, “Buenos Aires is a city that never sleeps with pubs and clubs open until six in the morning and lots of things to do ranging from concerts, shows, art exhibitions, museums and vibrant night life.”

Business culture is also different. “The U.S. environment is more competitive, value driven, shareholder oriented and fast paced with much less uncertainty—rules are clearer,” he explains. “Argentina offers a more uncertain environment with more improvisation, less planning and more creativity. Now that I’ve experienced both, I believe this, along with my current job, gives me a competitive advantage.”

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Tesouro uses the skills he has mastered from his past experiences and education in his current job with BioSidus, a biopharmaceutical firm that supplies bio-generic products to Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The company has future plans to introduce products in Europe, Australia and the U.S. within the next three to four years.  

As a business development manager, the SMS alum is responsible for more than six million dollars in sales annually with operations in seven countries—Thailand, India, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Ukraine and Morocco. “It is my goal in 2005-06 to bring in four new countries, three more in 2007 and make my region grow to $10 million in three years.”  

Responsibilities range from not only managing the region’s sales, but also providing support in sales force training, product launches, monitoring the status of clinical trials, promotions, and conducting market data research. He travels extensively throughout the region globetrotting from one continent to another. In the past few months, travels have taken him to North Africa, the Middle East, China, India, Egypt, Belgium and Moscow to name only a few of his stops.

Despite the excitement and challenges of a relatively new job and constant travel, that’s not even Tesouro’s biggest news of the moment. He and Ingrid will be having their first child in November. “We are so looking forward to this experience,” he exclaims proudly. “In fact a few weeks ago we took a vacation and went to Brazil since we figured that was going to be the last vacation on our own for some years to come.” 

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