Marina Hong Mealin
SVP Head of HR
Bayer
Episode 157
Future-Proof Your Org: How Skills-Based & Customer-First Teams Drive Breakthroughs
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJune 6, 2025 · 12:28
Thesis
“Successful organizational transformation hinges on a dynamic, skills-based approach, a customer-first enterprise mindset, and empowered cross-functional teams, requiring HR to drive changes in structure, mindset, and tools.”
Show notes
Bayer is a 160-year-old company undergoing one of the most ambitious structural transformations in its history — shifting from traditional business unit hierarchy to a model it calls "dynamic shared ownership," where cross-functional teams operate with start-up agility inside an enterprise scale. Marina Hong Mealin, SVP Head of HR, is the person rebuilding the talent architecture to make that transformation stick.
Her insight is deceptively simple: "If we put the customer first, everything else revolves around it." That's not a platitude — it's the organizing logic for a complete rethink of how teams form, how decisions are made, and how success is measured. Cross-functional squads with real accountability to customer outcomes, operating in rapid cycles, produce innovation that siloed functions simply can't. HR's job is to build the structure, the mindset, and the tools that make that possible at Bayer's scale.
Her work on skills-based progression is the most concrete piece of the transformation. Traditional job ladders at large organizations are built around roles, seniority, and title. What Marina is building at Bayer is built around skills and potential, supported by a talent marketplace where employees can see and pursue opportunities across the organization. The shift requires more than a new platform — it requires retraining leaders to evaluate people differently and employees to think about their own development more expansively. It also requires, as Marina frames it, a willingness to be bold: to take roles you're not yet fully qualified for, and trust that growth happens in the discomfort.
- Dynamic shared ownership in practice — what cross-functional, customer-first teams look like inside a 160-year-old enterprise
- Skills-based progression at scale — how Bayer is rebuilding the talent architecture from roles to capabilities
- The VACC leadership framework — Visionary, Architect, Coach, Catalyst as the model for transformation-era leaders
- Talent marketplace as infrastructure — enabling internal mobility when the old career ladder no longer applies
- "Be bold" as a growth philosophy — what it means to take roles before you're fully ready, and why that's the point
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What you'll take away
- 1Dynamic shared ownership models facilitate rapid innovation and market delivery by empowering cross-functional teams and adopting a customer-first mindset.
- 2Transitioning to skills-based progression requires a holistic approach that rethinks organizational structure, cultivates a growth mindset, and leverages talent marketplace tools.
- 3Leaders must embody a 'VACC' framework (Visionary, Architect, Coach, Catalyst) to inspire, guide, develop, and ignite new ideas within their teams during transformation.
- 4Personal career growth in a transformative environment is driven by curiosity, a willingness to learn, and overcoming the fear of failure to embrace new roles and skills.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Stepping out of traditional functional HR roles (Marina's 18-month role outside HR) can be a powerful catalyst for personal and organizational understanding during transformation.
- •The emphasis on a 'self-authored' career, where individuals actively seek skills and roles that energize them, challenges conventional notions of job security within static job descriptions.
In Marina's words
“The first 10 to 15 years is really in total rewards, and then I spin out from there. Instead of going through my CV, let me just share maybe a few of my milestones of what lessons I've learned through my career.”
This quote highlights her non-linear career path and focus on lessons learned, setting the stage for her insights on dynamic progression.
“If we put the customer first, everything else revolves around it.”
This statement encapsulates a core philosophy of Bayer's transformation and how it guides their organizational design.
“HR plays a very pivotal role in making sure that happens. So what we've done so far is you need to take a look at structure, mindset, and then what types of tools that you have that you can do this.”
This outlines the three critical pillars HR must address for successful skills-based transformation.
“If you're jobs and you think that you have job security and you only wanna do HR, that's good and fine. But if you're looking to expand and wanna do something else, this is the opportunity and it is very much what we call self-authored.”
This emphasizes individual empowerment and choice in modern career progression, moving beyond static job roles.
“The coach is, I don't think we need to describe what a coach is. It's really being able to go out there and work with the teams to be able to help them develop the skills that they're looking for. And the catalyst is really being that ability to ignite new thoughts, new creativity, new mindset, so then others can follow.”
This defines two critical aspects of Bayer's 'VACC' leadership framework, highlighting their role in fostering team growth and innovation.
“Be bold. Be that change. Either follow the change that others have made or be that shaper and uplift others. If you don't, why be here?”
Her parting advice encourages proactivity, leadership, and a commitment to positive impact within an organization.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Traditional functional silos within large corporations impede cross-functional collaboration and slow down product development cycles (e.g., 18 months to market).
- •Reliance on static job descriptions limits employee growth, skill development, and internal mobility, potentially leading to disengagement.
- •Leaders often struggle to adopt new mindsets and behaviors required to drive and sustain large-scale organizational transformations.
- •Difficulty in quickly matching internal talent with project needs when relying solely on traditional hiring processes rather than skills-based platforms.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Dave Schultz shares a little bit more about his career journey
Steve Jobs on His Career Journey
Bayer is undergoing a dynamic shared ownership transformation to meet customer needs
Bayer's Dynamic Shared Ownership Transformation
How does your team practically implement the shift from traditional job roles to skills-based progression
How to effectively implement Skills-based Progression in the Company
VACC helps leaders and teams rewire their brains during a transformation
How to Rewire the Brain of a Leader
Reina has moved from career ladders to career progression at Bayer
Rebuilding Career Ladges at Bayer
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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