Where We Work: Our global hub in Zurich
An international group of R&D and marketing specialists work together to better serve patients around the world
September 10, 2024
It’s no coincidence that our Global Innovation and Development Hub is located right next to Zurich Airport.
“It was very intentional to have an office here, very close to the airport, because we’re a global company and this is a global hub,” said Laura Luchini, regional head of global clinical trial operations in Europe, Middle East and Asia, and co-chair of the Zurich hub. “It’s kind of a natural crossroads for our company.”
Opened in 2021 in a cosmopolitan business complex known as The Circle, the Zurich hub was created to connect international talent to help accelerate the development and delivery of our medicines and vaccines. It brings together nearly 300 employees across 10 functions, from clinical trials to commercialization.
“The importance of having all those functions together is that this naturally breaks the silos that normally exist in a company,” said Luchini.
“We have a very interesting office setting that facilitates people coming together and interacting a bit more informally, and this helps build the business connections that will advance their work.”
A flow of ideas
Working in an office that’s part of a major transportation center means there are plenty of opportunities to interact and collaborate with colleagues from around the world.
“When we were designing the space, one of the things we really wanted to capture was this idea that, being part of an airport, we have this flow of people,” said Lara Wolfson, AVP, head of high throughput analysis statistics and member of the hub leadership team. “So many people from our company come through here, so we wanted to make this a great place for them to have their meetings, but also a great place for the people who work here to interact with all these different colleagues across the company and benefit from their knowledge.”
Diverse perspectives
In addition to bringing together experts from a variety of specialties, the Zurich hub unites people of many different cultural backgrounds and nationalities.
“We have a population here in the Hub that represents the population of patients we serve,” said Luchini. “We serve a variety of communities all over the globe, and by having those communities represented here, among our employees, we’re able to better understand the perspectives of our patients. And this enables us to ensure that what we’re delivering is of real value.”
