Global Head of Human Resources Life Science Services & Head of Human Resources North America at Milliporesigma

The Job Market:
What is your take on the current job market and impact to business overall?

The job market now is in a bit of a lull due to various economic factors. Depending on the industry the impact can be more severe; however, working in the Biotech/Life science space we are optimistic that the market will return and we will return to solid growth in 2024. The Covid headwinds are stronger than many pharma/life science businesses expected but once destocking and biotech funding returns the future is very optimistic!

Biotech Pharma:
What was your first-hand impression of the impact 2023 had on the biotech/pharma industry and do you see a change in early 2024?

2023 was a transitional year for many companies in the Biotech/pharma space – many came from a very strong 2021 and 2022 and the adjustments due the reasons above are still standing. I am very hopeful that 2024 will be the year that many companies return to pre Covid growth levels.

The Impact/Trends:
What do you feel has been your biggest contribution since joining Merck 6+ years ago?

Tough to say but I would either go with the various acquisitions that I led in the past couple years or leading the transition to offshore much of our HR operational work to the regional hub that was set up back in 2018.

What gets you excited to come to work?

The constant change – whether it’s helping define a new HR model, supporting the business in various transformations or just being a voice to represent the people of our organization!

Future Career Aspirations:
What would you like to accomplish at some point in your career?

Lead the People Function of an organization.

AI Impact:
How do you see AI impacting HR either now or in the future?

AI will have a major impact on HR (and other functions) now and in the future. As we get more comfortable with AI and start to really understand how this can benefit the organization I suspect we will see significant contributions. We already see this in the Talent Acquisition space and see the benefits from an efficiency perspective – this will expand across many of the pillars of HR in the coming years.