Learn more about life at Dechra

My first job was summers working at a day camp. Working with kids is fun, full of learning and opportunities to lead. I started as a junior counselor, and over the years grew into the role of 'Unit Leader' responsible for the daily activities of ~30 counselors and 200 campers. In a day camp unexpected things happen all of the time, and I learned not only to be a "can-do" problem solver, but also to have fun. You can be both professional and enjoy what you are doing. Attitude is key. After college, I spent the first couple years in commissioned financial services. I realized that my work habits were not developed enough to make the money I wanted. This led to me taking a procurement position at the shipyard in my hometown. As a 6th generation shipbuilder, this was not an unexpected career path. Working in a highly effective procurement department within a fortune 500 company gave me tremendous experience in the fundamentals. I learned exactly what world class purchasing systems should look like. After a few years in varying buying roles, I was offered the opportunity to transition into leadership and became a supervisor over the life-cycle group. After almost a year, a recruiter reached out to me asking me to consider a purchasing manager position building out a manufacturing site. After 5 years in the 'family business' it was scary to consider giving up a great career path to go work at an new company. This leap into the unknown became a huge confidence builder, as I realized how much I had learned in my career already. My skillset was exactly what they needed. This decision and my success led me to later make future moves, next to a human healthcare company, and then to Dechra.

Our team develops manufacturing forecasts & purchase orders for our internal and external manufacturing partners. We are also responsible for the logistics of ensuring the product is safely picked up, transported and stored in our warehouses. Supply Chain is often the communication path between multiple departments. We have the benefit of collaborating with finance, quality, contracts, regulatory and manufacturing teams across the globe. A lot of what we do is about people, and what I enjoy most is building relationships to solve problems.

I enjoy learning and finding ways to continuously improve. I have found that the more things you learn, the more areas of business make sense, and the more connections you can make - both with people and between processes. It is a remarkable talent to see how all the different pieces of a business fit and flow together. I also find that it is extremely rewarding to share what you have learned with others, and help boost them and their careers to the next level. Our business couldn't be where it is today if not for the learnings of those who came before us. I also continuously look for ways to find win/win solutions. I find that win/lose mentalities lack the creativity to problem solve and look for opportunities to build better longer lasting partnerships.

Be Curious. A lot of people are 'lucky" - but what I have noticed is that the best opportunities arrive when we are curious and pay attention to what is around us. Learn something that doesn't directly relate to what you are doing. Many of my chances came because I was open to learning more about something, and then was prepared to take advantage of the opportunity when it arrived. Curious people tend to build stronger relationships, partly they ask genuine questions. They tend to understand things more, because they ask until they figure things out. I also find them to have better attitudes and be more fun to work with.

In the early days of the pandemic, PPE usages skyrocketed as we did everything in our power to keep our providers safe and treating patients. Many of our suppliers limited products to the last rolling 12 months of consumption, so we had significant supply constraints. Together with a cross functional team, we developed protocols which ensured all of our providers would be protected and we could remain open to treat patients. We didn't have an ERP system, so we built one from scratch to track use & resupply across all of our locations. This is when I began providing 'dad' jokes as an incentive to my colleagues to provide the data we needed to keep our tool working. It was a small dose of fun in a very difficult and stressful environment. I am extremely proud to have had the opportunity to solve these challenges during my time there, as well as thankful that my previous work experience had provided the skillsets I needed to support and solve the challenges we faced.