In January, Kyle Ferguson became the new CEO of Spokane-based HollisterStier Allergy, the 100-year-old, provider of allergy products for diagnosis and treatment. 

Ferguson, 60, was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, where he got his start as a representative in the pharmaceutical industry over 35 years ago. Ferguson joins HollisterStier Allergy from the India-based company, Sun Pharma, where he was the company’s senior vice president for nearly a decade. Before this role, Ferguson held international and U.S. domestic roles with Janssen, the pharmaceuticals drug division of Johnson & Johnson, and with Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co., a U.S. pharmaceuticals company headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey. During his tenure at Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Ferguson became interested in immunotherapies and has focused on this type of work ever since, leading him to HollisterStier Allergy. 

HollisterStier Allergy was founded in 1921 in Spokane by Guy Hollister and Dr. Robert Stier with a focus on relieving allergy sufferers of their symptoms. Jubilant HollisterStier, the contract manufacturer of injectable products was founded in 1999. The two are separate business units within Jubilant HollisterStier LLC, a subsidiary of Jubilant Pharmova. 

Located at 3525 N. Regal, the company currently employs 750 people and ranks as the Spokane area's second-largest manufacturer in the Journal’s latest list of Leading Spokane-area Manufacturers. 

The Journal recently caught up with Ferguson to discuss his career path, the challenges he faces, and what he hopes to accomplish in this role. 

How did you get interested in immunotherapies within the pharmaceutical industry? 

About 15 years ago, I got my first entry into immunology, which I found to be very exciting because of the nature of the medicines and how you can affect someone’s immune system to prevent these diseases. The thing that struck me the most was that I got a chance to meet patients who were afflicted by conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, and ulcerative colitis psoriasis, to name a few. These are debilitating immunological disorders. I had a chance to work on some medicines that corrected the immune system, and it got me very intrigued in immunology. 

Recently, I got to meet families who have young children who have to take an EpiPen with them everywhere because they are scared they are going to get stung by a bee and have a severe reaction. Think of the impact that has and the fear they have to live with. So when I got a chance to work with immunotherapies, I got to see, feel, and understand the impact to a much greater level. 

How has your international experience shaped you professionally?

I got a chance to work in Tokyo, Japan, in my early 30s for three years while I was with Bristol-Myers Squibb. That was an extraordinary experience, a real leadership opportunity, but also a personal-development experience I look back on fondly. It got me started down this path of global experience. When you go into a culture that is completely different from what you’re used to and you try to behave and perform work the same way you did, you’re not going to do well unless you adjust, unless you adapt, and unless you open your eyes and say, alright what is going on here? 

It opened my mind to be more accepting of differences. It broadened my vision of the world so that when I got the opportunity to work with other cultures, whether it was a global role at Bristol-Myers Squibb or Janssen, I could accept, understand, and engage when I saw differences around how to approach business and how to approach people. Some of my colleagues that never had that international experience struggled sometimes in global roles if they didn’t have the opportunity to live in a different country. I think it gave me a competitive advantage in my field. 

Is part of your mission in this role for HollisterStier Allergy to have a wider international presence? 

We do sell our products to other companies in other parts of the world. The organization doesn’t yet have a footprint in the international markets, but our products are there, which is great. I think that’s why Jubilant HollisterStier was interested in me, because I have that international background. Part of my mandate and assignment is to make that assessment. My assignment is to assess if we can take Spokane globally so to speak and see which markets might present an opportunity for us.  

Do you have any mentors or other inspirations that have helped you get to where you are today? 

Yes, I certainly do. I think any industry you choose to be in, you need mentors. Maybe not just mentors, but people who you can reach out to and count on to get a perspective. A friend I worked with at Bristol-Myers has always been such a grounded person. When I bring him challenges or, for example, when I was considering leaving Sun Pharma for HollisterStier Allergy, I can always bounce an idea off him and talk it through.

Early in my career, there was a woman who was leading the business department who told me, 'You need to be who you are, but you also need to be who you are expected to be.' I didn’t understand it until I was in leadership roles. What she meant was that one of the most important characteristics for a leader is to be genuine. Be who you are. Sometimes it works in a situation, and sometimes it doesn’t. And if it’s not the right environment for you, that’s an important lesson. So be authentic, be a genuine leader. I strive to do that every day. 

What are some challenges you face in this industry?

There are two that come to mind right away. The first is not unique to HollisterStier, but across the industry, and that is ensuring that patients have access to the medicines they need. There are many great medicines out there in the system, and access to these medicines must go through many hands. There are insurance companies, specialty pharmacies, distributors, and physicians. There are just so many elements between the manufacturer making great products and the patient receiving them. The pathway to access to medicines is always challenging. I believe some products are not yet reaching their full potential and certainly not reaching as many patients that could benefit from them. 

The second thing might be less of a challenge and present an opportunity, and that is the evolving technologies. How do you select the technology that is best for your customers? How do you embrace the right technology to help you meet your goals?  Because it’s evolving so fast, by the time you do an assessment, it's outdated and you have to move on to something else. 

The way to lead through all this is to work with my team, it isn’t going to be me alone by any means. We will have some robust and challenging discussions on what our business objectives are. We will align on those, then we will select and align not just on the technologies, but the process for achieving our goals, expanding our product utilization, and helping more patients.  

What do you hope to achieve while in this role? 

I truly believe that we are making immunotherapies that are lifesaving and life-improving in many ways. With that being the core of what we do, I hope we can achieve that on a larger scale.

We are doing wonderful things here in the U.S. market. I do think there is a global potential. We’ll put a lot of energy into understanding that potential.

There are also a lot of people in the U.S. who are not yet aware of these therapies and how they can impact their lives. What keeps motivating me is knowing that there are parents out there who have children with food allergies, a bee sting allergy, or whatever it may be. I think of how they live life every day, they kind of live in fear. I want to create awareness that we have therapies that can remove that fear. There’s still a lot more work to do. I hope to create that greater awareness here in the U.S., and then work on how we take HollisterStier and Spokane to the world markets and have the world also be aware of the impact these products can have on their lives. There’s a lot to do, and it’s big and glossy, but I think that’s what leaders are supposed to do­—create those challenging goals.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.