Johnson & Johnson's head of pharmacy David Mitchell explains why he hasn't regretted a second of his 20-year career in the pharmacy sector – and why he'd still encourage people to join the industry

What made you first decide to pursue a career in pharmacy?

"I first joined Janssen pharmaceuticals, the prescription business of Johnson & Johnson, 37 years ago and realised that I'd joined a great company. I worked my way up through sales and marketing and then got really involved with pharmacy when we took the first-ever product from POM to P, Immodium. I really liked pharmacy because it's very professional, but also commercial. When you combine those two together you can be very creative, innovative and have a lot of fun as well. I've been involved with pharmacy for at least 20 years now and I've never looked back."

How did you climb the career ladder?

"When I first joined the company, I saw a lot of people getting promoted very rapidly, but it was a meritocracy. You were as good as you could be, and you had to work hard and apply yourself. You also had to be prepared to move – I and my family have worked in four different locations around the country, and I've spent a bit of time working abroad as well. So sometimes you have to take a risk and say to your family, ‘Right, we're going to move from the sunny south-east to Scotland and I'm not sure whether we're coming back!'"

What advice would you give to people who are looking to progress their careers?

"You've got to have a clear vision of yourself and think about what you want to achieve and how you can achieve that. You can put timescales on but don't be disappointed if you don't meet them – continually remember what you bring to the business and stick to your principles."

What do you enjoy most about your job?

"People. I get an absolute thrill out of working with young people and watching them develop and gain confidence. There are a lot of people in high office in pharmacy today who I first knew as students, and I watched them grow and mature. I've had the privilege of not only knowing them but working with them. I seek their advice and guidance and I'm pleased to say that they often come to me and ask the same."

Looking back, is there anything in your career you would do differently now?

"No – I'm a great believer that you can look back and learn, but don't look back and regret. I'm very proud of all the things we've done. It's hasn't always been perfect but we've done them to the best of our ability at that point in time. I've been involved with a number of major POM to P switches, and was very much involved in simvastatin POM to P switch. Although that didn't work out from a commercial point of view, it was a truly remarkable process both from a learning viewpoint and a professional viewpoint. We worked a lot with pharmacists on that and it was a very interesting time."

Is there anything else you'd like to do in the future?

"Clearly I'm coming towards the end of my career, but I'd love to see pharmacy take its full place within not just the NHS, but also the consumer offering. I'd like to see pharmacy really increase its service in the community and see people trusting even more than they do today that pharmacy is the place for great advice, information and products."

Would you still encourage people to pursue a career in pharmacy?

"Yeah I think so – it's a great career and a lot of young people nowadays don't necessarily aspire to be pharmacy owners, but they do want to have a good career within pharmacy. It's a profession whereby you can do lots of things – you can work in retail or industry."