When you meet Sheralyn Loxton, you quickly realize she’s someone who leads with quiet confidence and thoughtful strategy. As Senior Manager of Technical Customer Support at Beckman Coulter Diagnostics (a Danaher business), she’s spent the last decade building systems, solving problems, and supporting teams across the globe—all while staying rooted in her love for science and continuous improvement.
From South Africa to the world of diagnostics
Sheralyn’s career began in Pretoria, South Africa, where she earned her degree in Biomedical Technology from Tshwane University of Technology in 2004. She then spent several years in the lab—first at the National Health Laboratory Service and later as a senior medical technologist at Lancet Laboratories.
In 2012, she made a big shift: stepping out of the lab and into a new role at Beckman Coulter as a Flow Cytometry hotline specialist. “I joined Beckman Coulter straight out of the labs,” Sheralyn says. “I was working night shift using the company’s LS Epics instrument and decided to join the Beckman Coulter team as an LS Flow Cytometry hotline specialist—a front-line technical expert who empowers customers to maximize the value of their instruments, ensuring their labs run smoothly and efficiently.
“It might have seemed like a big shift from the outside, but for me, it felt like a natural and incredibly exciting progression,” she recalls. “I had always loved working in the flow lab. I still vividly recall standing at the goods-in bay, watching the Beckman Coulter boxes being delivered. It was in those moments that I started to set my sights on being on that side of the support cycle – contributing to the technology and support that enabled labs like mine. I also really admired our field service engineers; watching them efficiently fix complex issues sparked a genuine interest in understanding how I could upskill myself in a similar way.”
At the time of Sheralyn’s hire, Danaher had recently acquired Beckman Coulter. While the name wasn’t yet familiar to Sheralyn, she quickly got immersed in Danaher’s winning culture—especially the continuous improvement mindset driven by the Danaher Business System (DBS).
The right moves at the right time
The timing couldn’t have been better. Sheralyn had just had her son in 2012, and the flexibility of the hotline role in South Africa helped her balance work and family. “It gave me the chance to do both—have a career and be a mom. That was really important to me.”
From there, her career continued to climb. Within a year, she was promoted to supervisor. Then came a move to the UK, where she managed the entire hotline team for three years before pivoting into project management. That led to another step up: Senior Manager of the Global Service Systems Team.
Sheralyn’s team was small but mighty: two teammates in the U.S. and two in Europe. “We were very different from each other culturally,” she says, “but we learned each other’s communication styles and leaned on each other’s strengths.”
Her tight-knit team managed ServiceMax, the platform powering Beckman Coulter’s service operations. It was a fast-paced, collaborative process with high impact across diagnostics and life sciences. “We made recommendations about what can or should be done from a system perspective,” she says, “and worked to safeguard against unintended consequences for other stakeholders.”
Her current mission: aligning customer support teams across Europe
In April 2025, Sheralyn embraced a new challenge as Customer Technical Support (CTS) and Dispatching Senior Manager for Europe, responsible for five CTS and dispatch centers, overseeing more than 50 associates, and expanding her commercial and leadership experience.
“My goal is to standardize and optimize all the CTS and dispatching processes—leading a dispersed team to achieve the highest standards of customer service,” she says. “Ultimately, we want to implement a new centralized model for Beckman Coulter’s CTS organization, leveraging AI-powered tools to minimize language barriers across the EU, drive innovation, improve service delivery, and achieve new levels of strategic and operational rigor.”
So far, Sheralyn has implemented two DBS events that she describes as “phenomenal.”
“I’m excited that our teams are very engaged and hungry for positive change,” she says. “They haven’t lost sight of the big picture for Europe—driving process discipline to ensure high customer satisfaction.”
Supporting Beckman Coulter’s innovation leadership
“Once our innovations are sold and accepted for use in a clinical laboratory setting, it’s the after-sales support that helps us retain our customers—enabling them to continue their vital work of ensuring better patient outcomes,” says Sheralyn. “If our innovations are not maintained and supported in a meaningful and sustained manner, we cannot claim to be leaders in innovation and reach our full potential.”
Studying on the side: her MBA journey
Over the past few years, Sheralyn also found time to work towards her MBA—a goal that she fit around her work and family schedule. Most days started early, with study sessions from 5 to 7 a.m.
“It worked best for me,” she says. “Evenings were often unpredictable with meetings, so mornings were my go-to.” Despite the additional workload, the support of her colleagues made all the difference. “When I had school-related deadlines, my team was understanding and supportive of my time off. I was always encouraged to keep going.”
Sheralyn completed her MBA in March 2025—another personal professional victory.
Seeing DBS through a business lens
One of Sheralyn’s biggest takeaways from her MBA? A deeper appreciation for the Danaher Business System (DBS).
“Beckman Coulter and Danaher have provided me with the business context to help evaluate organizational structures and departments, identify cultural and leadership gaps, or identify areas of excellence,” she explains. “There was always ample learning opportunity.”
“Regarding DBS, I’ve looked into other improvement methods and theories, but DBS is special,” she adds. “It can’t really be replicated. All associates are practitioners—that’s the difference.”
She even used a DBS tool called Daily Management to help track her academic progress. “I set incremental goals and applied countermeasures when things slipped.”
Advice for future leaders
For candidates considering Danaher or one of its operating companies, Sheralyn offers encouragement born of experience:
- “Take the initiative. Develop yourself. Learn from others.”
- “Be willing to try, get it wrong, but try again. Don’t give up.”
- “Set high expectations—Danaher expects excellence.”
- “Be comfortable with change. The good stuff is outside your comfort zone.”
- “Take the lateral move—it’s a new learning opportunity.”
- “Danaher provides the opportunity to fulfill your career aspirations—go get it.”
Behind the scenes: driving change
Whether she’s managing global releases, mentoring her team, or squeezing in early-morning study sessions, Sheralyn brings clarity, drive and heart to everything she does. Her career journey is a reminder that leadership doesn’t always come with considerable fanfare—it often shows up in the systems, in the strategy, and in the quiet work of building something that lasts.
Take your next step
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