Oral History Interview with Dennis Gillings, June 10, 1999. Interview I-0072. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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Abstract
Dennis Gillings is the chairman and chief executive officer of Quintiles Transnational Corporation, a company specializing in consulting for the pharmaceutical agency. In this interview, he describes the decision, made when he held a professorship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to apply his training as a scientist in the corporate world. Gillings left academia after his corporation's growth seemed secure. He shares his common sense business philosophy, which, despite its lack of nuance, appears to have served him very well.
Excerpts
Launching a career in pharmaceutical consulting
Building a successful business
University ties help build post-university career
University ties help build post-university career
English accent lends aura of authority
Common-sense management style
Building a successful business
Building a team is essential in building a business
Financial success awakens Gillings's conscience
Global expansion of Quintiles
Global expansion of Quintiles
Belief that business leaders should focus on business, not PR
Business success enhances leadership skills
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Finding aid to the Southern Oral History Program Collection
Database of all Southern Oral History Program Collection interviews
Subjects
Industries--North Carolina--History--20th century
Quintiles Transnational Corporation
Pharmaceutical industry--North Carolina
International business enterprises--North Carolina
Research Triangle Park Region (N.C.)
Gillings, Dennis B.
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