He had a PhD in econometrics. He was a supreme nerd. He did not strike me as the management type. Some people just aren't able to climb that ladder and they fall off.
> Some people just aren't able to climb that ladder and they fall off.
That's learned helplessness. You are looking at it from a fatalist point of view. You said yourself that this person actually decided to learn python and try to find a job in software engineering so he was actually more resourceful that you give him credit for.
I know very little about pharma, but my guess would be that domain knowledge and industry connections would be super valuable.