THE SUPPLY CHAIN INTERVIEW
“ We also focus on healthcare system resilience, collaborating with others to reduce the environmental footprint of healthcare systems and understand how our treatments can support healthcare decarbonisation.”
Miracles of science On every level, Sanofi’ s mission is deeply human. The claim,“ we chase the miracles of science to improve people’ s lives” is a lofty one, and at another organisation might be a soundbite. At Sanofi, it is clear that this purpose has a deep influence on the everyday running of the company, and of its supply chain.
“ It’ s our common purpose which guides every significant decision,” Vanessa expands.“ This manifests in concrete ways throughout our operations. When we designed our inventory automation capabilities, we could have optimised purely for cost, but instead we deliberately excluded life-saving drugs from full autonomous execution.
“ The reason is simple: a patient’ s life is more valuable than any cost savings we might achieve. Similarly, when we invest in resilience – dual sourcing, redundancy, stress testing – we recognise this costs money, but when a life-saving drug almost went out of stock and our AI agents detected it weeks in advance, the return on that investment was infinite.
“ The result is a supply chain that not only functions efficiently but serves with genuine purpose, where every team member understands that their work directly impacts whether patients receive the treatments they need.”
“ We can’ t predict everything, but we can build systems that sense changes earlier”
Vanessa Clemendot SVP, Global Head of Supply Chain Sanofi
Space for solutions Leadership requires so many attributes. It is rare to find an individual with both the professional drive and personal qualities to make profound differences to every organisation they work at. For Vanessa, however, leadership is not just about taking others along for the journey – it is about allowing them to discover their own path.
“ At 50, I’ ve come to realise that true leadership isn’ t about having all the answers or being the smartest person in the room,” Vanessa goes on.“ It’ s about creating space for others to find solutions – and role modelling what authentic leadership looks like.”
Twenty-five years at L’ Oréal is a hard act to follow. But in the second stage of her career, Vanessa is feeling right at home, both at Sanofi and, of course, in the city of lights.
“ The beauty of my role is that every day brings something new,” Vannessa concludes.“ What drives my schedule isn’ t routine, it’ s purpose.
50 May 2026