1. What is your position at Bioton?
I am the Operations Director.
2. What do you do at Bioton?
At Bioton, I am primarily responsible for ensuring the manufacturing continuity of our products and thus the availability of these products for our patients. I supervise the work of production plants (Department of Biotechnology producing active substances and Department of Finished Forms producing sterile medical substances in the form of cartridges and vials), technical team responsible for the efficiency of production lines and the team responsible for ensuring occupational health and safety and compliance with environmental regulations.
3. What was your path to the current position?
A long, long time ago… when I was still studying biotechnology at the Warsaw University of Technology, I joined the Bioton team. The opportunity to work for, back then, the fourth largest recombinant human insulin producer in the world was a tremendous honour and a source of pride for me. I started out as an operator in the Biotechnology Department which at the time was still a team resembling more R&D than the production team. For many subsequent years I was directly involved in the production of active substance – recombinant human insulin, working directly on production shifts as an operator, technologist and shift manager, and later as a production manager and director of the Department of Biotechnology.
I assumed the position of Operations Director in May 2019.
4. What aspect of your work are you most proud of?
I am proud of the many major and minor successes that we have achieved together at Bioton over this time. Production process optimization resulting in improved efficiency, increased scale of production or construction and launch of new production lines are just a few examples of these achievements. I am proud of the team of associates who also made these successes possible. My greatest satisfaction comes from knowing that this work is meaningful – we are helping millions of people with diabetes.
5. What inspires you at work?
People from whose experience, creativity and commitment I draw energy to work and from whom I constantly learn. New challenges, keeping you from falling into a routine and spurring you on.
6. What advice would you give to people who are at beginning of their career path?
Don’t be afraid to try, to fail, to learn from your mistakes. Learn from the experience of your colleagues, ask questions, and don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know something. Teamwork gives great deal of satisfaction and allows you to achieve goals that seem unattainable on the surface.