Laura Villarreal, Business Unit Director of Ruminants at MSD Animal Health in Brazil

Laura Villarreal, Ph.D., DVM, is currently head of the Ruminants Business in MSD Animal Health in Brazil, managing more than 200 colleagues. She has more than 18 years of experience in leading technical, sales and marketing functions at MSD Animal Health, a global biotechnology and technology solutions company with offices in more than 150 countries. She joined MSD Animal Health in 2006 as a Regulatory Affairs Coordinator. Her forward-thinking, proactivity and results-oriented behavior led her to become Technical Manager of the Poultry Business in Brazil and, later, she reached the position of Technical Director of that Business for Latin America. In 2013, Laura was named Global Marketing Director for Poultry, where her performance allowed her to achieve leadership in the Poultry Business in Brazil. From 2019 to 2021, she assumed the position of General Manager of MSD Animal Health in the South Region, a market that included the operations in Argentina and Chile, leading the integration of two different markets and the integration of the company’s products and solutions in the Region. During this period, the market in the veterinary segment in both countries grew considerably in sales, volume, efficiency and profitability. She assumed as Ruminants Business Director for MSD Animal Health in Brazil in 2022. She led the business unit to be the number one in the Ruminants market this year with the highest financial efficiency of the last years through the implementation of a strategy focus on operational efficiency, managing key accounts and stakeholders and market segmentation. She is currently Director of the Ruminants Business Unit in Brazil, where she has focused on driving the business through operational efficiency and accelerating growth since 2002. She is continually developing her team and has implemented a new organizational design according to the new business needs. The change mindset of the team has been the main driver for the success to integrate our products and solutions. She also has demonstrated an inclusive leadership, promoting female talent as leaders and hiring colleagues with diverse backgrounds and creative mindsets.