testimonials

Designed to prepare experienced functional leaders for broader leadership roles, the program helps participants understand how decisions connect across the business, strengthen cross-functional decision-making, and develop the broader business perspective needed to lead beyond their own function.

This case study is based on interviews with George Beres, Valerie Benz, and Jennifer Frank, who share how The Fresh Connection has become an integral part of Roche's leadership development journey.

The Challenge: Preparing Leaders to Think Beyond Their Function

Moving into senior leadership requires more than becoming better at your own function.

Future leaders must understand how strategy connects across the organisation, how one decision affects multiple departments, and how to balance competing priorities without optimising only for their own team.

That was the challenge Roche set out to solve for their leadership program.

Rather than adding another traditional supply chain workshop, Roche wanted an immersive leadership experience; one that would bring together leaders from different functions and let them experience the complexity of running a business together.

The audience included experienced leaders from different parts of the organisation. George, who had previously introduced The Fresh Connection into another leadership program before bringing it to Roche, immediately recognised its potential.

“This is way beyond a supply chain education. This is a leadership education. None of the people in our program were supply chain people, they were operations heads, heads of quality, leaders ready to move from leading teams to leading the enterprise.”
— George Beres, SVP Global Operations at Genentech USA (Roche)

The Solution: Learning by Running a Business Together

Instead of talking about cross-functional collaboration, Roche wanted leaders to experience it.

Using The Fresh Connection, participants stepped into executive roles and worked together to manage a virtual business. Every decision affected the company's performance, making it impossible to optimise one function without considering the impact on the others.

The unfamiliar setting, a fruit juice manufacturer rather than a pharmaceutical company, proved to be one of the program's greatest strengths. It removed the comfort of industry expertise and encouraged participants to focus on universal leadership challenges: aligning strategy, managing trade-offs, and making decisions as one team.

"People may think orange juice should be simple. Then they see how complicated the system is and realise: if this is difficult here, imagine it with a much more complex product. It gives them a completely different perspective."
— George Beres, SVP Global Operations at Genentech USA (Roche)

The Fresh Connection also gave Roche the flexibility to tailor the experience to its own leadership objectives. Rather than following a fixed format, each cohort could focus on different business challenges, while still reinforcing the importance of cross-functional decision-making.

“What was also great is the flexibility, that the program can be adjusted. We added some parts and could shape it more for our industry. It's quite nice that the program is so flexible.”
— Valerie Benz · Learning, External Relations and SC Initiatives Manager, Roche

An Experience that Never Repeats Itself

For Jennifer Frank, Product Supply Chain Leader at Roche, the simulation challenged her expectations from the very beginning.

After sixteen years in supply chain and having already completed the program once, she expected a second round to offer little that was new.

“I first thought, oh, another supply chain game. But it was a completely different experience with The Fresh Connection, very energizing, and a lot of learnings. Even though I played it twice, it was not the same. I learned different things; I was facing different situations.”
— Jennifer Frank · Product Supply Chain Leader, Roche

Because each program is tailored to a different business challenge, no two cohorts have exactly the same experience. Whether the focus is end-to-end supply chain management, S&OP, Integrated Business Planning, or Risk & Resilience, the lesson remains the same: success depends on understanding how decisions in one function affect the entire business.

For Jennifer, one of the biggest insights came from stepping outside her own role.

“I took another role than the product supply chain leader, and that triggered me to think differently. It helped me better understand what the other roles are doing and the considerations behind their decisions, and how that translates back to my daily work.”
— Jennifer Frank · Product Supply Chain Leader, Roche

The Moment Everything Clicks

George has watched enough leadership cohorts to recognise the moment participants stop thinking like functional experts and start thinking like business leaders.

It rarely happens during the first round.

“Particularly when people think they can game the system, they realize they can't. This is not a computer game, it's way more complicated than that, and the human brain can't process it the way they think it can. It always happens in round two: they think they've learned it in round one, they try to game it, and it falls completely flat. That's the most exciting moment to watch.”
— George Beres, SVP Global Operations at Genentech USA (Roche)

That realisation shifts the conversation. Participants discover that improving one department isn't enough. Better business results only come when teams understand the trade-offs between functions and make decisions together.

The Impact: Lessons that Last Beyond the Simulation

Across more than 90 participants and multiple leadership cohorts, Roche has consistently observed the same outcomes:

• Developing a broader understanding of how business functions are interconnected.
• Understanding the priorities and trade-offs faced by other functions.
• Recognising how decisions in one function affect the wider organisation.
• Strengthening cross-functional communication and collaboration.
• Applying these insights in their day-to-day leadership roles.

As Valerie describes the biggest impact isn't what happens inside the simulation. It's what participants take back into the workplace.

“I think the most lasting value is the clear realization of how critical cross-functional communication is. It teaches our leaders that they must share the right information with the right people at the right time. Even though it's a fruit juice company, it translates directly back to their daily work.”
— Valerie Benz · Learning, External Relations and SC Initiatives Manager, Roche

Why Roche Recommends The Fresh Connection

Since 2019, more than 90 leaders have completed The Fresh Connection as part of Roche's leadership program. The experience continues to be renewed because it consistently delivers an engaging and practical way to develop future leaders.

For Jennifer, that value remained clear even after completing the simulation twice.

“I don't want to call it a game; it's more like a simulation. Even after a long time in supply chain and a lot of different roles, there were still a few aha moments for me, real learnings. Overall, it was energizing, it was refreshing. Even over several rounds, you never got tired, because something different happened every time, and there was always another learning to tackle.”
— Jennifer Frank · Product Supply Chain Leader, Roche

When asked whether they would recommend The Fresh Connection to other organisations, both Valerie and George answered without hesitation.

“I would say, go for it and test it. It's a fantastic way to observe how teams evolve, break down walls, and learn to collaborate under challenging conditions.”
— Valerie Benz · Learning, External Relations and SC Initiatives Manager, Roche

George believes the program fills a gap that few leadership development experiences can.

“It's a very cost-effective way of doing targeted, accelerated development. I don't even really have an alternative. There really aren't comparables for how Inchainge does that.”
— George Beres, SVP Global Operations at Genentech USA (Roche)

Curious What This Could Look Like for Your Leadership Team?

Whether you're looking to develop end-to-end business thinking or focus on specific leadership challenges such as S&OP, Integrated Business Planning, or Risk & Resilience, The Fresh Connection can be tailored to your learning objectives.

Get in touch with us at corporate@inchainge.com to discuss your goals and scope a free pilot for your leadership team.