Berlin to go, english edition 2/2015

DISCUSSION
THE “BERLIN EFFECT”
Since March of this year, Peter Albiez has been steering the destiny of Pfizer Germany –
the group values the capital city in particular due to its diverse networking opportunities
“Berlin is the place to be”, says Peter Albiez. The boss of
Pfizer Germany loves being in and around the city not
only as a passionate cyclist, but also due to its wealth of
commercial possibilities. Berlin is changing on a daily
basis – one might even say almost hourly – and it is precisely
this dynamic that Pfizer utilises.
In 2008, Pfizer relocated from Karlsruhe to Berlin, and
established the fourth largest Pfizer site in the world and
the largest in Europe. A major decision. “And looking
back, the right decision”, says Peter Albiez. He has been
the board’s new chairman since the 1st March this year.
But Albiez has known the company itself a bit longer. The
qualified biologist embarked on his career with Pfizer as a
pharmaceutical consultant back in 1996. At that time, the
German head office was still located at the site in Karlsruhe.
Today, he and his team of around 700 employees
operate from the capital city. “We have profited from the
move to Berlin”, Albiez concludes. Because the arguments
in favour of relocation were not only Berlin’s solid position
in relation to the global competition, but also its close
proximity to the local research institutions. With the company
itself conducting no on-site research, it has instead
established close links with Berlin’s research centres – for
example the Charité or the German Rheumatism Research
Centre. And the same is true in the field of biotechnology.
“Berlin stands out due to its broad range of medical establishments”,
says Peter Albiez. Relocation does not automatically
also mean a paradigm shift, although Pfizer has
certainly gained new perspectives with its move to the
city. For example, it has utilised innovations generated by
the numerous start-ups. In particular given
the increased confrontation with the digitalisation
of the company, Pfizer seeks to
understand what drives start-ups and what
The Pfizer head office in Berlin
on Potsdamer Platz.
14 BERLIN TO GO