Vantaggi
Back in Feb 2012 I thought the company was wrapping up for a cheap merger. Then a new CEO took over and I still find it hard to describe how much positive change did I see overall. Having gone through a number of CEOs in big pharma it is even peculiar to acknowledge how much transformation did Pascal Soriot bring into the picture. The move to Cambridge, UK will certainly be paying very high dividends in the mid to long run. From the cheap seats research scientist standpoint I seriously doubt there could be a better CEO in big pharma out there - or at a big (R&D-centric) company for that matter. I believe AZ is now sustainable in the long run, provided that Soriot remains at its helm. Otherwise, probably some tough times as for nearly anybody else in the business.
Svantaggi
I would recommend that higher level management speeds up the process of having their vision and values being actually put into practice through all layers.