When I joined Johnson & Johnson in 2011, I was mostly relieved to have a permanent job in the competitive Brussels market, planning to complete two years in the corporate environment before going into the European Union institutions, where I thought my passion lay. I knew little about healthcare, even less about medical devices and diagnostics, the business I was asked to support as a junior hire. What reassured me, besides the wonderful team and supportive manager who took me into J&J, was the other half of my job - establishing a new policy capability on environmental risk and advocacy within our EMEA team, supporting our EHS and Supply Chain organizations. I felt more prepared for that, mostly because I had worked on environmental policy world in a previous job…
Fast forward 13 years and 7 jobs later, and I find myself here in Singapore, saying my goodbyes with colleagues around the world, who have been part of my J&J journey. Many would say that you can have multiple careers here, and they were right: the pathway since that first “double-hat” role has been exciting, winding, sometimes frustrating and exhausting, but never dull, and always rich with new learnings and personal growth.
As I took the decision to leave J&J, I had the unique opportunity to step back and reflect on the past years. I thought about what I invested in time, energy, emotion, and commitment to the company, but I was also trying to sum up what I gained - in what I call my “suitcase” of experiences. Here is a flavor of what "piled on" in the luggage, after 13 years...
📌 People management and talent development;
📌 Team restructuring and change management;
📌 Cross-functional leadership in issues management, disease awareness, market expansion and market access;
📌 Setting up new capabilities in external affairs and alliance development;
📌 Upending my life (and my partner’s!) in a career shift that took us to Asia;
📌 Learning and doing communications & public affairs in support of transformational medicines;
📌 Leading our government affairs team in one of the most complex markets worldwide;
📌 Rebuilding and accelerating J&J leadership and impact in one of the key multilateral fora worldwide;
📌 Serving as a regional chief of staff to drive team transformation, and setting up another “first” - building a new capability in AP in government affairs for supply chain, technical operations & risk.
None of these would be possible without the managers, mentors, sponsors, colleagues, and friends, who hired me, bet on me, partnered with me, challenged me, shared the good, bad, and ugly, and are now reaching out for those “final” catch ups ahead of my last day at the company. You know who you are - thank you! Keep making the "special sauce" that makes J&J the special company it has been for me and so many patients and employees (past and present) worldwide.
Now, with my suitcase in hand, it’s off to the next adventure…stay tuned!
Kudos to Alcon for fostering a culture of teamwork! Your commitment to associates and recognition as a Great Place to Work in APAC speaks volumes. Well done!