Interview with Mike Zingg - CFO Global Supply and Quality at Takeda

CFO Talk: Miriam Hirs interviews Mike Zingg at Deloitte Finance Day 2026

Deloitte: First of all, a very warm welcome to this year's Deloitte Finance Day here at the Kongresshaus in Zurich. It's great to have you.

Mike Zingg: Thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to again be here at this great event. I always very much appreciate the relevance of the topics being discussed and, at the same time, I enjoy the networking aspect of the day, meeting colleagues across the industry.

Deloitte: Great. Very happy to hear that. And I don’t want to keep you long from networking! Let me therefore start directly with my first question for you.

The theme of this year's Deloitte Finance Day is Reflecting to Shape Tomorrow. I'd love to understand how your past experiences as a CFO have really influenced the strategic decisions Takeda is taking now, and how those decisions will shape the future.

Mike Zingg: I think reflection is a very important aspect of our work. And I think this reflection should not just be a retrospective exercise but really a leadership discipline. What I mean by that is that if I think about the challenges we've had in the last few years, whether it was the pandemic, supply chain challenges, or the current geopolitical uncertainties, at Takeda and Takeda Finance, we made sure that we have a resilient operating model, and resilient processes. We learned that this really needs to be designed, it does not just happen by chance. That means that in Finance we have developed robust predictive models for revenue, production volumes and capacity utilization in our manufacturing network. We are now able to make faster decisions and react more quickly to all these challenges.

Deloitte: Mike, another hot topic: I know that at Takeda, you made really good progress in implementing AI within the Finance function already, and, I have to say, we really enjoyed being a part of that journey with you as well. Now, how do you expect AI to further transform your function over the next three years - also considering the interaction between your people on the one hand, and the AI agents on the other?

Mike Zingg: AI is truly transformational in our Finance organisation. It elevates the capabilities of my Finance colleagues. It takes away repetitive work, whether it's data preparation, data validation, variance analysis or visualisation, and it frees us up as a Finance organization, so that we can focus on the interpretation of data, ask the right questions, and come up with creative, substantiated proposals to senior management to implement the right strategic decisions.

Deloitte: That’s great, Mike. And, right at the heart of the ongoing AI transformation sits the People topic, which I think is keeping some of us awake at night, to be honest. So, I'd like to explore that a bit deeper with you. When we think about the implications of the AI transformation on your workforce and the whole process around it, from hiring people, the recruitment process, what skills you need, but then also how to train people in the organisation, and ultimately the motivational aspect: people and their mindset. How do you see that transformation happening at Takeda?

Mike Zingg: I believe that in recruitment and training, learning agility will become increasingly important. It’s not just what knowledge colleagues come with – of course, technical and financial knowledge continues to be very important – but, in addition to that, continuous learning, learning agility, and curiosity, the willingness to engage with these new technologies, these agentic AI opportunities, I think that is key. I believe that training will be continuous and no longer just periodic. And so, it's really about how do we engage our Finance colleagues in new opportunities and projects. If there is a failure, we also learn from that, we get up and progress continually as we engage with these new technologies. But I think that the big transformation in the enterprise is not just driven by technology, it’s really human-driven, with the understanding of how to apply these new possibilities.

Deloitte: You mentioned a big transformation. There definitely is a lot of change happening but also in recent last decades there was a lot of transformation, too. So, how do you compare the changes happening now with previous transformations?

Mike Zingg: We have been in a continuous mode of transformation. And the last ten years have been about efficiency, reliability, control, and shared service organisations being set up. But there is a certain difference now, not just with AI as such, with the technology and the data and the incredible opportunities that brings, but also, we have geopolitical uncertainties. There are more stakeholder demands, internal and external. On top of that, there’s an increasingly complex regulatory environment which we’re dealing with, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. I think we have a perfect storm of change right now. And that's why the role of Finance is becoming increasingly important, as we are becoming the centre of value creation and strategic decision-making.

Deloitte: Great. I have a last question for you, Mike. Where do you see your role as CFO in balancing investments in AI technology with financial discipline? How do you manage that?

Mike Zingg:In the pharmaceutical industry we are long-term oriented, especially in manufacturing, supply and quality. We always think five years ahead, ten years ahead, and so the decisions we take now ensure that we are ready and optimally positioned for the future. And when it comes to these technology or AI investments, it’s the same, we make sure that we are aligned with our long-term strategy, with our long-term objectives. And then we have other investments which are maybe more short-term and driven by efficiency and operational optimisation. We have to make sure in Finance that we make conscious decisions and make transparent which investments drive which financial and non-financial benefits.

Deloitte: Great insights, Mike. Thank you so much for taking the time for this interview. Let's go back to the event and enjoy mingling with other people. Thank you.

Mike Zingg: My pleasure. Thank you very much.