When career change equals career growth

One thing is incredibly clear: we are living through a time of profound change. On a macro level, it involves adjusting to the reality of COVID-19 and current social movements, while on a more personal level, it’s about managing work from home, remote education for school-aged children and social distancing. 

“Diverse experiences allow you to become a more agile leader who can manage through change,” Owen said, “and that will always be important because this industry changes so frequently.”

Owen’s career began at AstraZeneca where she was a pharmacist in manufacturing. Although her initial plan was to remain in that part of the industry, she found herself drawn to other aspects of the business.

“My mind was set on dispensing and formulating pharmaceuticals, and the notion of marketing and selling never really occurred to me. As I learned more, the commercial space began to sound more interesting,” she said.

To shift careers, Owen was faced with a crossroads; she would need to learn an entirely new field and earn her master’s degree in Marketing to be competitive in the marketplace. She decided to take the chance to see where it led her. 

After three years, Owen transitioned to Johnson & Johnson, where she became a primary care and hospital sales representative. Over the next 25 years, she remained at J&J and challenged herself consistently to leave her comfort zone. That led her to opportunities in multiple therapeutic and business areas, including commercial sales, marketing, R&D, digital governance and corporate development, and included moves between two continents and across both the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors.

Owen’s career growth -- through a lattice instead of the typical career ladder – proved to be a strength for her. Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Giovanni Caforio has a similar perspective about pursuing opportunities to expand his knowledge: “I believe that, particularly as you begin to grow and develop as a professional and then as a leader, you have to have a really broad base of experiences. I’ve always asked myself, ‘What is it that I have not done?’ and looked at that as an opportunity, not as a challenge.”

Last fall, Owen joined BMS to lead a global integration in markets across Europe and Asia. The chance to replicate her success in another company, with a different business model and while it was in the midst of a merger, was an exciting prospect. Her decision was not made lightly and involved balancing her long-term career objectives with the needs and opportunity for her U.K.- and U.S.- based family. 

As she evaluated her options, Owen called on her mentors for their insight and their thoughtful, honest feedback. “It’s important to have mentors who can give you an objective view, coupled with their unique perspective of your professional and personal needs,” she said. 

Today, as a manager and mentor herself, Owen encourages her colleagues to embrace the career lattice mindset and to consider lateral moves that offer differentiating experiences and allow them to grow their skillsets, become better-rounded and collaborate with a diverse pool of professionals.

For Owen, one theme stands out: If you embrace change, take risks and push yourself to learn, your career will pivot in unexpected ways.