Lifesciences Professional

Petter Hansson has 20+ years of experience in the healthcare industry, from startups and SMEs to Fortune 500 organizations spanning roles and functional areas across sales, operations, manufacturing, customer service, and product development, which laid the foundation for a broad general management background with a strategic and value-focused mindset to business and leadership.

After almost ten years with Fortune 500 organizations, Petter went back to his roots in the past couple of years to the exciting and agile environment of startups and SMEs and currently leads a startup focused on providing a tinnitus therapy solution for a growing global condition that doesn't have a cure today.

Petter and Linda discuss the process for successfully scaling a startup and the challenges associated with growing all aspects of an organization.

Harel Shachar was born and raised in Israel and started his academic journey studying Biotechnology Engineering after three years of army combat service. He completed an internship program at John Hopkins University and graduated with honours.

Harel returned to Isreal to start a career in Life Sciences at Protalix Biotherapeutics. However, he soon realized that his natural abilities were underutilized and decided to pursue an MBA while working in the Health Care division of 3M.

He eventually moved his family to Canada in 2014 and has worked at FroggaBio and Baxter International in several sales, product and marketing roles.

In this episode, we'll discuss Harel's immigration journey to Canada and his recommendations for success in the MedTech industry.

Marcello Napol - Senior Vice President and General Manager of Healthcare in North America for Ecolab Inc., has worked for over 20 years in an industry whose ultimate goal is to improve people's lives. He has led some of the best businesses, products and teams within the acute, alternate, dental, drug delivery and infection prevention markets. 

In this episode, my discussion with Marcello will cover the tremendous changes in our healthcare system during his career and what role a leader should play in creating a sound business culture within their organization.

• Marcello's professional background.
• Building a great team during a talent shortage.
• "People are looking for opportunities to work somewhere that aligns with their personal beliefs and enables a better lifestyle."
• "Togetherness breeds culture, so how do you co-locate people differently than we have in the past?"
• Defining "fit" and the many aspects of diversity.
• Hiring, onboarding, training and mentoring.
• "There is no back office - everyone works for the customer."
• Career advice for aspiring leaders in the life science industry.

What is the current state of the healthcare industry today, and what is in store for it in 2023?

In this episode, Nils Clausen, CMEPP General Manager, shares his expertise, insights and thoughts on the industry's problems on a macro level in attracting and retaining employees, as well as creative ideas to resolve resource management issues. With over 25 years of experience in healthcare and being a part of big companies, Nils has valuable information he can share that applies to both the Canadian and US markets.

• Nils' professional and personal background.
• The problems with the healthcare system on a macro level and how to address these issues.
• Innovative ways to resolve issues on staffing.
• Tips on attracting and retaining employees in your organization.
• How to handle remote employees while improving their performance.
• Resource management issues in the healthcare industry.
• Nils shares what's next for them and their organization this 2023.

In today’s episode, Patrick Isada, Associate Director of Human Resources at Baxter Corporation, joins Linda. His perspective on what recruiters are looking for in candidates will truly interest you. He also shares with us the perspective of human resources professionals when they interview candidates and gives us some tips for more effective interviews.

In this episode:

• Patrick shares a brief introduction of his personal and professional background.
• How to stand out and get responses from recruiters.
• The right time to follow up or send a thank you correspondence after an interview.
• Things you need to be aware of when presenting yourself during an interview.
• The do’s and don’ts on resumes.
• How to answer the most common question in an interview – “Tell me about yourself.”
• The conversation on salary expectations from the viewpoint of a recruiter.
• Advice for individuals who want to get into the industry.

To attract and retain a talented workforce, it isn’t enough to just offer great compensation
and benefits. In our discussion with Tom Meevis, Vice President of Commercial Strategy and
Communications North America at Getinge, he shares his insights on what’s happening in
recruiting and talent management and gives advice to others who want to attract and retain
people in the post-Covid world. Learn how you can increase your retention and build a
positive culture within your company.

In this episode

• Tom gives a short background on himself and the work that he does.
• What quiet resignation is and his experience around it.
• He shares more about their company’s Great Retention strategy.
• Things they have implemented to improve the company culture for their employees.
• Tom’s advice for individuals who are looking to make role transitions.
• Strategies to attract and retain people.
• Examples of building a positive culture within your team.
• His secret ingredient for being very enthusiastic and passionate about his team.
• His top success tips for the industry or individuals.

Today I am talking to Owen Jones. Owen comes from the telecommunications industry and successfully made the transition into the medical device industry, and he has a lot to share about how he did that and what he did to become successful.

In this episode:

• Owen shares his personal and professional background.
• As a sales representative, the importance to respect the intelligence of various specialists and knowing how to approach them.
• Owen's advice on what set him apart from other reps.
• The role mindset plays in becoming a top performer.
• Owen's experience with a mentor when he started and how that person helped him become successful.
• The tools Owen recommends to reps.
• Advice to help individuals who get anxious meeting certain professionals.

Our guest today, award-winning Dental Hygiene Professor Jennifer Turner, is a renowned speaker, coach, and influential professional in the dental hygiene industry. Jennifer has been recognized as one of the most influential healthcare leaders to watch in 2022. She has worked with hundreds of dental practices across Canada supporting teams in change management, implementing clinical systems to elevate patient care, and more. In this episode, she shares her knowledge, expertise, and advise on planning your career and transitioning from one field to another within the industry.

In this episode:

• Jennifer gives us a short personal and professional introduction on herself.
• Impactful resources Jennifer used to have a successful career in the dental industry.
• Advice for people who would like to transition from the doing clinical work to branching out in different careers in the industry.
• The importance of having a plan for your career.
• Her thoughts on group dentistry as the future of the dental industry.
• Jennifer shares the state of staff retention and hiring in their company today.
• She shares what’s next for her and some words of wisdom from the listeners.

In this episode, Ileana Ibbett brings her insights, experience, and wealth of knowledge in the field of marketing. As a senior marketing and sales professional, she shares her experience of working in the marketing industry, how she has used the Challenger Sales Model, and her thoughts on why it’s so important to marry the two together. She gives advice on deciding if marketing is the career path for you, shares some resources that helped her succeed as a marketer, misconceptions around marketing, and advice for people around managing their careers. You wouldn’t want to miss this.

In this episode:

• Ileana shares her short personal and professional background.
• Skillsets that contributed to her success as a senior leader in the industry today.
• Knowing if marketing is the career path for you and some advice if you want to explore this industry.
• Ileana shares valuable resources that helped her succeed as a marketer.
• The importance of having people who inspire you to do your best.
• Advice for people around managing their careers.
• One of the biggest misconceptions around marketing.
• Ileana shares her thoughts on the Challenger Sales Methodology.
• She shares her plans for the future.

The dental industry is a complex place to work. Just like any other industry, there are certain characteristics and skills that can help dental sales representatives thrive. With over 20 years in the dental industry, North American Sales Manager Riley Nick shares the lessons he has learned over the span of his career and important pearls of wisdom on what it takes to be a successful and effective sales representative in the dental field today.

In this episode:

• Riley shares a short background about himself, his career, and his experience.
• The story of how he ended up working in the dental industry.
• Common mistakes dental representatives make in the industry.
• Characteristics that make the best representatives stand out from the rest.
• Top skills, attitudes, and behaviours that are needed to become effective sales representatives.
• Riley’s take on the future of the dental industry.
• Skills that dental representatives need to develop to stay ahead of their competition.
• His thoughts on the sales training that is happening in the dental industry.

Welcome to the Lifesciences Professional podcast, THE podcast for aspiring sales representatives and current leaders interested in recruitment and business growth strategies, industry news, hiring trends and interviews and career tips. 

The Lifescience Professional podcast hosts candid conversations and helpful discussions from industry CEOs, Founders, and Leaders and talks about all things medical devices, dental, biotech, Medtech, all things Lifesciences.

The Lifesciences Professional Podcast is a show designed to share my passion for the Life Sciences industry along with guest leaders from the medical device, dental, biotech and start-ups who will share their journeys, career advice and sometimes funny stories along the way."