Öngen serves as the Vice President at Nestlé Skin Health, responsible for theLatin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and Japan. He is the first Turkish executive to receive the Outstanding Executive Leadership Award.
Öngen explained the role of the company’s restructuring and building the strong team spirit in earning the award, delivered by the company’s General Managers: “We created a leaner organization by bringing three regions — Europe, Latin America, and Asia — under one roof. We reinvested our savings in our global brands and key markets. These organizational changes have strengthened our market penetration strategy. In 2018, we achieved the market-leading position in most of the key markets and strengthened our leadership position in others. We also exceeded our financial and organizational goals within the international markets and increased our investments significantly in Brazil, Germany, China and Turkey.”
Headquartered in Switzerland, Nestlé Skin Health boasts a net annual sale of about $3 billion. It employs nearly 5,000 staff and has three R&D centers. The Company products are being sold over 100 countries.
“Nestlé Skin Health offers special solutions mainly for the acne care, baby skincare, and sun care market valued at $17 billion globally, the dermal fillers and toxin cosmetic products market valued at $5 billion, and the dermatological topical prescription products market, worth nearly $9 billion” added Öngen.
“THE INDUSTRY GROWS BY 6% EVERY YEAR”
Acknowledging the global growth of the dermatology industry, Öngen stated,”The industry growth is expected at about 6 percent every year. The growth in some segments, such as fillers and aesthetic solutions, is much stronger. We grow above the market growth rate, and we intend to keep the same growth trend over the next five years.”
Öngen also emphasized that aesthetic solutions, such as dermal fillers, are becoming a significant and reliable alternative to surgical procedures. He went on to say that: “We will see more development of these products in the future. New formulas of fillers and toxins will be available in one to two years.” He also said, “Ongoing researcheswill provide stem-cell products to be used not only in dermatology and aesthetics but also in other fields too. We are also working on special solutions for dark spots, redness, and acne.”
TURKEY SERVES AS HUB TO MANAGE 28 COUNTRIES
Nestlé Skin Health launched its branch office in Turkey in 2016 to serve as a hub to manage a total of 28 countries. Öngen stated, “Turkey is a substantial market for us; it is a shining star. We manage the operations of Eastern Europe, CIS and Israel from our newly established branch office. Throughout the last two years, we have built good relations with dermatologists and business partners through extensive investment and revitalized the market by holding high-level scientific meetings, symposiums and training sessions for healthcare professionals. He added: “There is an increased demand for skincare products in Turkey, which has a population of 80 million. Consumers’ awareness has significantly increased. Consumers are aware of the risks of using not registered skincare products. Products should be safe and used under health care professional recommendation.”
Öngen graduated from Marmara University’s Faculty of Pharmacy in 1987 and continued his education at the Business Institute of Business Administration of Istanbul University. Öngen started his career at Alcon in 1990, and became its General Manager at the age of 27.
In 2003, he moved to Switzerland to take regional roles, managing first the Middle East and Central Europe and later Western European markets such as the UK and Germany. In 2014, he moved from the ophthalmology to the dermatology industry and joined Nestlé Skin Health as VP, to lead Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). In early 2017, he added Latin America (LATAM) region in his responsibilities. Since September 2017, he is Vice President and Head of International Markets at Nestlé Skin Health, covering over 80 countries and generating more than half of the sales revenue of the company. Öngen completed several Executive Leadership Programs including IMD and Harvard Business School.