Tag: DBS

4 Things I’ve Learned on My Journey to CIO – Bryan Smith Shares Some Perks of the Danaher Culture

Some people know their career inclinations early on. Not Bryan Smith. When he joined Pall (a Danaher business) in 1996, he admits he was still figuring out what he wanted to be when he “grew up.” Today, 29 years later, Bryan channels his many experiences gained over three decades into his current role as Pall’s Chief Information Officer.

Here are some of his valuable learnings:

Danaher’s unique offerings gave Bryan Smith, Pall CIO, a unique and unexpected rise to leadership.

1. Career paths aren’t always a straight line.

Bryan started working for Pall in an unassuming role—production control at Pall’s Portsmouth (UK) manufacturing plant. Over time, his interest in IT slowly grew.

“I’ve always had an appreciation for solving problems and attention to detail, and through my early career roles, my interest in IT-related topics slowly developed. That, coupled with the explosion in IT, e-commerce and the internet, encouraged my interest in continually learning and developing in this field.”

Setting his sights on a career in IT, Bryan decided to go to college and gain formal IT qualifications. He moved into his first IT role in 2003, working for Pall’s Business Systems team. From there, Bryan worked in a variety of IT functions over the years supporting project management, digital transformation, HR systems and enterprise architecture. He also worked on some major projects, such as Pall’s global SAP rollout.

“When Pall joined the Danaher family in 2015, I had a number of opportunities to support other Danaher operating companies—all of which have been great stepping-stones for my career growth,” he said.

All of Bryan’s experience and leadership roles culminated in his promotion to Chief Innovation Officer in November 2023.

2. Danaher’s multi-business structure provides a variety of career opportunities.

In Bryan’s experience, Danaher’s global footprint and common culture provide a unique opportunity to have a varied career with relatively low risk, as opposed to changing companies and the unknowns that can bring.

One of Bryan’s most memorable experiences was supporting the acquisition of Cytiva (a Danaher business) from GE in 2020, a highly complex and strategic transition.

“My role involved ensuring a seamless IT separation and integration, while maintaining business continuity—something I likely wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do if not for the unique way Danaher operates,” he said. “Danaher’s multi-business structure, cross-functional collaboration, and unique Danaher Business System (DBS) tools enabled me to navigate the challenges of integrating a multi-billion-dollar business, while working with teams across different Danaher operating companies to deliver a successful outcome. That experience reinforced the immense value of strategic IT leadership in large-scale transformations and the impact of Danaher’s unique business model in making such initiatives possible.”

Bryan and his wife visiting St. Pierre, Wales (UK).

In his free time, Bryan enjoys traveling with his wife around Europe and the UK (shown here in London).

3. With DBS, everyone can accelerate innovation to make measurable improvements.

Danaher’s culture of continuous improvement means never settling for the status quo. At Pall, Bryan leverages DBS to challenge inefficiencies, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation. This mindset ensures that every project—whether optimizing IT service management or modernizing our SAP landscape—is approached with a focus on long-term sustainability and measurable impact.

“A great example of a way in which we used DBS tools to solve a real challenge was in improving our employee onboarding process, which was performing poorly and sometimes led to new hires waiting up to seven days to receive their IT equipment,” explained Bryan. “This delay negatively impacted their productivity and first impressions of the company.”

“Using DBS tools, we analyzed every step of the onboarding workflow to pinpoint the root causes of delays,” he said. “From there, we streamlined approvals, improved coordination between teams, and eliminated bottlenecks. As a result, we reduced lead times and now ensure 100% of new hires receive their IT equipment on day one, significantly enhancing their onboarding experience and early engagement.”

4. Even functions like IT contribute to meaningful global impact.

Danaher provides a unique environment where IT isn’t just a support function—it’s a strategic enabler of business success. The company’s commitment to continuous improvement through DBS ensures that innovation, efficiency, and problem-solving are deeply embedded in everyday work.

According to Bryan, “IT professionals looking for impactful careers will find that Danaher’s multi-business structure offers many different opportunities for growth, cross-functional collaboration, and exposure to cutting-edge technologies.”

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April 24, 2025
From Academia to Industry: How Adam Chernick, PhD/MBA, Pivoted Roles to Enable Scientific Breakthroughs

Sometimes, career moves happen purely by chance. Just ask Adam Chernick, PhD/MBA, an associate at IDT (a Danaher business), who was in the right place at the right time for a tremendous career opportunity.

In 2016, while working on his PhD, Adam was considering using an IDT product to selectively enrich a specific viral genome to improve the on-target sequencing rate. He was working with IDT’s applications support team to explore that solution and had a discussion with the local sales manager, who mentioned he was looking to hire an inside sales representative.

“I’d already been considering non-academic careers at that point, and the opportunity to move into a non-academic career while still getting to use my scientific knowledge every day was very compelling—and IDT sounded like the kind of place where I could do that,” explained Adam. “It was also an opportunity to learn more about the business side of science, where I really had no personal experience.”

Adam was hired for that role and two years later, IDT was acquired by Danaher. Every few years, he progressed to higher roles until landing in his current role as Senior Commercial Product Manager – CRISPR, in May 2023.

Today, he manages a team of Commercial Product Managers who oversee the launch and maintenance of IDT’s CRISPR and Functional Genomics products. He works closely with other teams to take mature technologies and get them ready for customers to purchase and use in their own experiments. He also collaborates with many other IDT functional teams—from manufacturing and R&D to legal and sales—on product updates such as new features, pricing and marketing materials.

Thriving in a culture of continuous improvement

With access to Danaher’s portfolio of best practices (known as the Danaher Business System or DBS), Adam finds his work especially fulfilling.

“DBS helps us tackle a whole range of business and technical challenges in reproducible and dependable ways,” he said. “Danaher has been using DBS successfully for decades, and the DBS toolbox has taken that success and enshrined it into something everyone here can use in their daily work.”

Making a real difference—one experiment at a time

“It’s exciting to see my work contribute to something that scientists all around the world use every day,” he said. “Not every industry gets to say that they contribute to positive change in the world, but IDT products are integral for customers who are advancing medicine and our collective understanding of biology—that’s truly inspiring.”

“While customers are doing their work, we’re committed to learning about their challenges and developing tools to help overcome them,” he added. “This is a really satisfying way to apply my technical background to solving problems that’s a little different from running my own research program in an academic setting.”

Going forward, Adam isn’t sure what his career future looks like, but he knows it will be exciting.

“Most of the products I support are based on CRISPR, a technology that’s barely a decade old,” he said. “I doubt anyone can truly predict what the future holds in such an innovative and dynamic industry, but I’m excited to be part of it.”

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March 4, 2025
Accelerating Growth and Fostering Innovation: A Conversation with Tiffany Murphy, Radiometer US Commercial General Manager

At Radiometer, part of the Danaher family, leadership is all about driving continuous improvement and empowering our teams to shine. We sat down with Tiffany Murphy, our US Commercial General Manager, to hear about her unique management style, how the Danaher Business System (DBS) supports her work, the exciting changes she’s led, and how Danaher has invested in her journey.

Photo: Tiffany Murphy and her family

Adapting Leadership to Empower Teams

“I flex my leadership style based on the associate’s needs or situation. However, the style I align closest to is the ‘transformational leader’ – focused on continuous improvement and empowering the team to be problem-solvers. As a leader, I think it’s imperative to go to gemba or “where the work happens” to deeply understand the state of the business, the customer experience, or the challenges that my organization is facing. Then, I ruthlessly prioritize the most critical areas of opportunity!”

Tiffany believes in being flexible and adaptable, tailoring her leadership to meet the unique needs of her team and the challenges at hand. By embracing a transformational leadership style, she creates an environment where everyone feels empowered to innovate and tackle problems head-on.

Leveraging the Danaher Business System for Excellence

“Danaher, and thus Radiometer, is built on the foundation of the Danaher Business System (DBS). It is the ‘how’ we do our work. When we apply the principles of DBS, we expand our capabilities, improve our processes, execute at a higher level, and sustain performance. This ultimately gives us a unique competitive advantage.”

DBS is at the heart of Radiometer’s operations. By consistently applying DBS principles, the team enhances processes, drives continuous improvement, and maintains high performance, giving Radiometer a unique edge in the healthcare industry.

Driving Growth and Enhancing Experiences

“We are driving significant growth through improving our commercial rigor and execution, expanding our teams, and working on improving our overall customer AND associate experience. “Under Tiffany’s leadership, Radiometer America focuses on robust growth by strengthening commercial strategies, growing the team, and enhancing customer and associate experiences. These initiatives ensure that Radiometer continues to meet the evolving needs of the healthcare sector while providing a supportive and dynamic workplace.

A Journey of Professional Growth within Danaher

“I have essentially grown up at Danaher and will celebrate my 25^th year soon. I have progressed my career through experience at three different Danaher Operating Companies. I have been afforded the opportunity to attend many leadership development programs, received valuable coaching from many great leaders and mentors, and gained my MBA with the tuition assistance program. My family has been blessed by the opportunities I have gained here.”

Tiffany’s 25-year journey with Danaher highlights the company’s commitment to nurturing talent. Through many experiences, leadership training, and educational support, Danaher has played a crucial role in her personal and professional growth, enabling her to lead Radiometer with expertise and passion.

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November 22, 2024
Getting Acquired and Growing with the Danaher Business System

When Angelica Meyer joined Aldevron in 2016 as a biomanufacturing operator, she didn’t know what the future had in store—for her career or for the company. Five years later, Aldevron became a Danaher operating company, and today, Angelica is a senior manager leading the new Manufacturing Support and Technology team. Below, she shares what it was like to go through the acquisition—including learning the Danaher Business System of continuous improvement—and why she calls her work “the most rewarding experience of my life.”

What does Aldevron do, and what kind of impact does your work have?

We do contract manufacturing, which means making biologics—plasmid DNA, mRNA and proteins—for our clients. Every project is different because we have clients all over the world and work with them at every stage, from the initial clinical phases all the way through to commercial products. Sometimes we’re taking their existing processes and executing on those, sometimes we’re working with them to develop a new process, and sometimes we handle all of that ourselves.

As far as the impact of our work, the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is a good example; we supplied the plasma DNA Moderna used for all the different variants of the virus. Getting to be part of that collaboration has been amazing. Normally you don’t get to see a program go from initiation to patients nearly that quickly, but because of the pandemic, it was obviously a very compressed timeline. And the opportunity to contribute to a project that affected every single person in the world—it has been the most rewarding experience of my life, hands down.

Danaher acquired Aldevron not long after the first vaccines rolled out. How has that changed the way you work?

I believed going in that the acquisition would be extremely beneficial for us. That was especially true at that point in the pandemic, because procurement was a nightmare for so many companies, including us. Things were shut down, things were delayed. Before we joined Danaher, trying to get the materials and technologies we needed felt like being alone on one side of a tug-of-war. And then after the acquisition, suddenly we had all these other operating companies we could work with and learn from. Cytiva, Pall—we were able to talk to them about what our next steps should be in a way you never could if you weren’t part of the same parent company. It was an open door for collaboration.

And I think being under the Danaher umbrella was especially appealing for me as someone involved in tech—my role isn’t within the R&D department, but my team does handle process development and biomanufacturing engineering; we sort of bridge manufacturing and R&D. So to join a company that’s so well-known for investing in development and gain all this potential to do new things—that was exciting.

What about your introduction to the Danaher Business System (DBS)? What was it like to climb that learning curve?

Danaher did bring DBS in relatively quickly, but it never felt invasive or aggressive. It wasn’t, “Learn all these acronyms and terms right away, and sink or swim.” It was, “Hey, here are some tools and structures that can make your work easier and better, and here are some people who can help you get those things online.” It was done very thoughtfully—working collaboratively, slowly making adjustments. They really emphasized that DBS is an ever-evolving process. When you have a metric in the red, that doesn’t mean you’re doing a bad job. It’s about continuous improvement.

I think I was personally predisposed toward DBS because I love troubleshooting and solving problems—that’s one of the reasons I enjoy working in biologics so much; the field always throws you curveballs. But I do think it’s been valuable across the board. Daily Management, for example, is a visualization tool for keeping track of different elements of the business—that’s now pretty ubiquitous across all of the departments at Aldevron.

Can you give us any examples of improvements DBS has helped the team make?

We have been doing a lot of what we call kaizens, which are essentially workshops where you deeply evaluate a process and look for opportunities to streamline it. So far we’ve focused on big-picture issues such as safety programs and batch-record distribution, and we’re working our way down to smaller challenges. Kaizens are very structured, which I think is important—if you don’t have a specific process, it’s hard to know what you’re putting in and what you’re getting out.

There’s also a lot of attention paid to getting the right people in the room. For the kaizen that led to our new “dock to stock” warehouse process, for example, it was critical to include the operators who work on the floor. Our goal was to cut out unnecessary work for them as they checked in materials. Before, we were treating everything the same way regardless of its product impact, which meant spending as much time on things like paper towels as we were on final vials. If you want to solve a problem like that, the operators are your subject matter experts—and then we also include people who work on any processes that process affects.

The process doesn’t end with implementation—it’s kaizen, evaluate, kaizen, evaluate. Our goal isn’t to make everything perfect right now. It’s to continually improve, and as we do, identify other opportunities for improvements. But I can say we’ve already seen great results. Our processes have been streamlined significantly just in this first year within Danaher, and I think that really is because of using the DBS tools.

What are you looking forward to right now regarding your growth and Aldevron’s?

I look forward to every day because I always know I’ll get to help clients advance their clinical programs and reach more patients—but beyond that, Aldevron is so dynamic that I honestly have no idea what’s in store. A year ago, I never would have expected to be in this role; I started as a biomanufacturing operator, and now I’m getting to run a brand-new team.

The same is true of Aldevron itself—I couldn’t have told you when I joined in 2016 that we’d see exponential growth almost every year, but that’s been our trajectory. And I think we’re just getting started; gene therapy is still relatively new in the field. There are a lot of visionary people at this company, and now we have the resources to bring in new technologies, expand the manufacturing we’re already doing and adapt to support innovations in the industry. So I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how we grow.

Interested in joining Angelica and the rest of the Aldevron team? Check out all open roles across Danaher or join our talent community today.

February 26, 2024
Innovation Beyond the Lab: Maria’s Unconventional Path from Chemistry Scientist to Marketer

My name is Maria Sanz Rodriquez and I am a Marketing Manager at Radiometer. My career path is not the traditional one you would imagine. I started my career as a chemistry scientist, doing research in academia – along the way, I developed new skills that led to a career change in marketing and sales.

From Lab Coats to Marketing

As a scientist, I was always interested in the clinical aspects of chemistry and as a result, decided to specialize in laboratory medicine. In Spain, coming from a science-based background, you can choose one of four laboratory specialties; I chose laboratory clinical biochemistry. I started working in a hospital and had my first contact with analyzers. When I finished my specialization at the hospital, Radiometer asked if I was interested in joining the Iberian Radiometer team. The rest is history.

Now, years later, I am a marketing manager at Radiometer. I love my job because it allows me to explore my passion for growth and development – for businesses, people, and myself.

Did I expect to work in a global diagnostic technology company when I started my career as a scientist? Definitely not. But I’ve found many opportunities for personal growth, high-quality products and community within a global team.

The Power of Seizing Opportunities

As time passed, I realized that a job at Radiometer is not just a one-time proposition. You get a development plan and work with your manager towards your goals. And because we are part of a larger organization, Danaher, you become part of a global community inside and outside Radiometer. I have close connections with colleagues from around the world. And honestly, I am proud to sell Radiometer products because they are the best on the market.

Improvement is what motivates me. And not just business-related improvement but (maybe even more) related to people management and development. I want to work to support the business and my people. I make a habit of asking myself: “How can I support my team? Can I share knowledge? Can I have another one-to-one meeting with someone to check in and improve their current situation?”

Anyone can change their career path, but I think I could take the journey I am on because I learned how to see opportunities; this is a skill that anyone can learn.

You cannot wait for things to happen to you. The chance that someone offers you your dream job out of the blue is extremely low. You must raise your hand and speak up when you’re ready to take on the next challenge and continue learning. And you need to ask yourself from time to time: What do you want to do in your future career?

Continuous Improvement: Applying Business Principles in Life

I call it improvement, but at Radiometer and Danaher we call it continuous improvement. Danaher Business System (DBS) is the foundation on which we build lean manufacturing. And honestly, I love the DBS. When I started using DBS, I thought it was just about numbers. Now I understand why we use it – why we think strategically and learn new tools and processes.

Believe it or not, I even apply DBS tools at home with my kids. When their grades were slipping, I called for a meeting and used visual management and problem-solving tools to help them see the problem and create a step-by-step solution. This is just one example of how DBS adds value and can be helpful in many ways.

Interested in joining Maria and the rest of the Radiometer team? Check out open roles across Danaher or join our talent community today.

December 7, 2023
Meaningful, Incremental Change in a Growing Market

When Dong Li, the Director of Clinical Affairs (CA) for Beckman Coulter China, left the United States and moved to Shanghai with his family, he was on a mission to build a top-notch clinical function to help Beckman Coulter China gain a competitive edge in the country’s In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) industry. With an increasing focus on collecting clinical evidence for both product registration and market access, Clinical Affairs has become the “gatekeeper” before vital diagnostic products go to market. The approval processes can be lengthy and complex, but Dong knows that the most effective change is incremental, and Danaher Business System (DBS) tools have been serving him well. Below, read about Dong’s leadership—which has now expanded to CA for several Danaher operating companies in China—how his team at Beckman improved the complex clinical study process with DBS tools, and his take on the future of CA in China, a market with massive global potential.

Tell us a bit about your role at Beckman and the larger impact the company is making.

I’m on a mission to build the clinical muscles for our business in China, so to speak. In the past five years, China has ramped up its regulations around IVD clinical research. The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA)—which is the equivalent of the FDA in the United States—wants to ensure the quality of all the medical products that come through China, which means very stringent inspections for companies running clinical studies here. My role is to build a strong, reliable, Clinical Affairs function that not only improves the clinical study execution—meaning delivering high-quality clinical projects on time and within budget—but also creates a competitive edge for our business through innovation.

Beckman has been working on a variety of products to make diagnostic testing more effective for critical issues like sepsis, tumors, and cardiac diseases. In 2020, we had several products successfully licensed in China, including assays for cardiac and infectious diseases. And we’ve engaged some of the top hospitals in China to run more innovative clinical research on diagnostic products to help doctors deal with healthcare challenges more efficiently and effectively.

Why did you join Beckman?

In China, we talk about three elements of success: the geographical advantage, the favorable climate, and the people. Essentially, that’s being in the right place at the right time with the right people. When I joined Beckman Coulter China in 2019, the timing and place were just right to start pushing high-quality clinical research in China. That left the right people, and once I met my future colleagues, I knew Danaher offered that, too.

I actually learned about Danaher back in business school. I’d always been intrigued by how DBS empowered a wide variety of businesses, and I wondered about its secrets. So I think that was the last piece of the puzzle that brought me back to China after 20 years living and working in the U.S. and Europe.

Tell us about some changes you’ve already implemented across Clinical Affairs.

One of the main metrics we use is on-time delivery (OTD) for our clinical trial cycle time; that’s a good surrogate for our products’ time-to-market. When I started, the number was in the single digits. Part of my mission was to improve the execution—to speed up the OTD while maintaining quality and keeping an eye on the budget. We used DBS and kaizens—weeklong sessions where we work though specific problems—to make a series of incremental changes to improve this metric. We also worked closely with our vendors and our clinical research laboratories, and now our OTD is at 100%.

We also used a kaizen to create a formalized process for integrating the China requirements into the early stages of product design. The requirements in China are different from the U.S. or Europe, so this kind of review will have a huge impact in terms of getting our products to the Chinese market. Instead of having to backtrack later, we’re building in the China requirements from the beginning, which makes developing the clinical study protocol more effective.

Tell us about some opportunities for innovation at Beckman.

When it comes to innovation, people often refer to technologies and products, but innovation can also happen elsewhere. In the clinical research field, this is especially true for process innovation. We’re currently trying to reduce our clinical evaluation timeline by 50% without impacting the project budget and quality.

Of course, advancing technology is also critical to helping us achieve our innovation goals. For example, digitization in IVD clinical research in China is relatively behind, but we’re catching up. This year, we’ve started several digitization efforts across our team, including an electronic data-capturing system in our clinical trials and a new clinical trial management system to help us digitize our paper-based documents. Our statisticians and data scientists are also investigating opportunities in Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms with our clinical data.

What kind of team are you excited to build?

The word that comes to my mind is bamboo because it has attributes that a great team carries—it’s flexible, resilient, and grows quickly. The regulatory environment for IVD clinical research in China is extremely dynamic; in terms of requirements, cost, and timelines, it’s very different than even five years ago. And because this trend will probably continue in the next decade, a flexible and adaptive mindset is the key to staying competitive in this market.

In terms of resilience, IVD clinical research in China can be very complex and nerve-wracking. Our team needs a strong support system—with DBS as our foundation—so we can deliver under pressure.

And we also need to grow quickly, just like bamboo does—and just like our industry. We have a narrow window of opportunity to develop and grow a leading-edge clinical research function to catch up to the drastic growth of China’s IVD industry, so it’s especially exciting that in 2020 our Clinical Affairs team doubled in size.

What does the future hold for your team?

I don’t have a crystal ball, but I’m certain of the demand for clinical-based research in China’s IVD industry. So we’re looking at all kinds of ways to innovate to meet that demand, from global multi-center trials and real-world evidence studies to overseas clinical data and the digitization efforts I mentioned.

How do we prepare and get ready for what comes next? One thing we’ve been advocating for in the Clinical Affairs team is the concept of a “learning institute.” Essentially, we’d like to create a learning environment similar to an MBA program within our team, where team members with different industry and educational backgrounds can share knowledge and ideas, with a good mix of hands-on work and classroom training.

Interested in joining Dong and the rest of the Beckman Coulter team? Check out open roles across Danaher or join our talent community today.

October 5, 2023
Get to Know: Henri Sund, Senior Manager, Assay Development

For organic chemist Henri Sund, coaching an amateur football team helped him discover a passion for leadership. Through mentorship and the Danaher Business System (DBS), Henri nurtured his talent, and now leads his own team of scientists as a senior manager in assay development. Below, Henri discusses his journey from research assistant to team leader, how DBS empowered him to take on a mentorship role and how he’s guiding his team through the transition to a hybrid work model post COVID-19.

What do you do at Radiometer?

My two main responsibilities are to lead my team and to secure continuous development of tools and workflows for the R&D department here at our site in Turku, Finland. I manage a great team of nine chemists and scientists who develop dry chemistry-based test kits for our immunoassay product line. More specifically, it’s the test cartridges that hospitals and other health care providers use in a Radiometer immunoassay device—similar to a coffee pod or an ink cartridge for your printer. My team members work on new product development so they really make a difference in providing caregivers with point-of-care (POC) solutions to make fast and accurate diagnoses.

We have project managers who are responsible for the progress of each project; my job is more focused on the team itself. I make sure they have the tools and support they need to do their jobs effectively; I keep an eye on their workloads and I mentor them on how to build and grow their careers further.

Our big focus right now is automation and digitization. We’re looking for opportunities to streamline processes and eliminate “muda”—a Japanese term meaning “wasteful” that we often use within DBS. We want to remove unnecessary manual steps to make better use of people’s time. We’re also upgrading equipment to make it compatible with the current systems for analyzing and utilizing data. We already gather tons of information, but we’re still laying the groundwork to make that more organized and easier to use.

What led you to this role?

I basically started my professional career here at Radiometer. I studied organic chemistry at the University of Turku, and while working as a temporary research assistant for the Department of Biotechnology we were collaborating with Radiometer on some projects. It was motivating for me as a young chemist⁠ to get to contribute to something new and to have support and mentoring from the team. They invited me to do my thesis work here, and after I finished that I officially joined the team in 2010.

Early on, my goals were very research-oriented, in part because I admired my mentors so much. I was working with these widely known experts in the field, and I wanted to be just like them! But over the years, I started getting more interested in management. At one point, I started coaching amateur football as a hobby, which taught me a lot about what to do and what not to do, working with people from different backgrounds and keeping them motivated. Then in 2017, I became laboratory supervisor for our organic chemistry lab, which is a cross-functional group⁠ that includes both Operations and R&D.

During those earlier years, I got to better understand the DBS tools, like Problem-Solving Process and Situational Leadership, and that led me to a sort of an “aha!” moment. I realized there were a lot of shared values with what I’d learned as a coach. So I started to think the manager path might be a good fit. My own managers suggested different trainings to help me prepare for a leadership role and see how I would like it, and then last year this opportunity came up.

Even though I’d been preparing, I was hesitant at first. I’ve worked in assay development my whole career, but as an organic chemist in a research team. This role also meant managing people in biochemistry, biotechnical engineering and other fields—which aren’t my areas of expertise. I wondered, “Can I really pull that off?” I wanted to make sure I could create the trust I needed to fully support people. I decided to go for it, and I’m very glad I did.

Tell us more about that. What’s the transition been like?

It’s been a lot of me learning—about my team members, the details of their work, and the kinds of challenges they face. We did a lot of one-on-ones, especially in the first year, to help us get to know each other. Of course, every relationship is different. There are some associates I’ve worked with for years—so we had to figure out the dynamics with me leading the team—while others I was meeting for the first time.

Because I was focused specifically on organic chemistry until last year, I’m not always the person to give my associates the answers or tell them what to do. I ask a lot of questions; it’s more about thinking through together how they might solve a problem. We’ll find someone in their area they could talk to, or I’ll give them insights from my experience that might apply. Whenever I can help by sharing something I learned in a similar situation, not just specific tasks, but navigating challenges and ups and downs, those are the most rewarding moments for me.

How have you and your team navigated the challenge of remote work since the emergence of COVID-19?

Like most companies, we’ve been through a lot of change in the past couple of years because of the COVID-19 pandemic—but of course, that doesn’t affect everyone the same way. If you’re doing research in a lab or working on our Production team, you probably don’t have the option to work from home often. With this new role, I’ve been able to work remotely, although I’ve always been mostly on-site.

The last year was a bit hectic just because I was learning so much that was new, but I do have the freedom to decide where and when I do a lot of my work. I still regularly work on-site to make sure I’m on top of what’s going on in our facilities and to help me stay connected with my team.

We’ve now officially moved to a hybrid model, meaning everyone is on-site at least two days per week. We’ve had workshops about different models for the future of work, and it’s been really interesting to hear how associates feel about their workdays and what the downsides and upsides are of working in person versus at home.

We’re thinking a lot about how we can make each arrangement work—scheduling meetings differently, for example, or aligning the days certain groups are at the office so they can collaborate more easily. It’s a very personal thing—how you respond to different situations, what you need to be productive. But at least for me and my reports, we’ve found a lot of value in flexibility, being able to fit work and family into the day. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what kind of possibilities these new models will bring.

As a manager, how do you help your team members grow their careers?

I’ve been very fortunate in my career to have great managers and other mentors who got to know me quite well, and when they sensed I needed support or was ready for a new challenge, made suggestions. I’m so grateful for that, and I try to do the same for my team⁠, in part by just sharing my own story and learnings. If someone is wondering about career progression, it’s quite natural for me to talk about how I started and that there was a long period of time where I thought I’d stay in the lab, or was stuck there, but then a different path opened and I started work systematically to achieve it. It raises a question for them, “Okay, what could my version of that story look like?”

One thing I avoid is telling them directly what I think they should do, because it’s easy to influence someone and I know firsthand how important it is for people to feel free to change their mind.

I know my team members might find it frustrating at times that I don’t just tell them what they should do. But it’s important to really listen—to pick up on clues: what kind of work do people do, what motivates them, what makes them feel alive. Then I suggest DBS tools or other areas of potential interest, but what’s exciting is letting it all play out.

You don’t have to know from the start where you want to go. Everything someone experiences and learns will play a role in helping them find their path, and it’s my job to support them on that journey.

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April 28, 2023