Career Series

Fourteen Years, Countless Lessons. There are moments in your career that imprint themselves so deeply, they shape how you lead, collaborate, and even see yourself.

Fifteen years ago, on May 31, 2010, I walked out of Genzyme for the last time, right in the middle of the Sanofi acquisition. I did not know it then, but I was about to begin one of the most defining chapters of my career, completely by accident.

When my boss left Genzyme for a new role, I was promoted to lead the Commercial Assessment team, a group that might best be described as an internal consulting think tank. We were a small, mighty band of analysts who provided due diligence for Business Development, New Product Planning for…

They say sometimes the biggest leaps happen when you least expect them. For me, that leap happened in Las Vegas.

Ever agree to “just help out for a bit” and suddenly find yourself steering the ship? That was me.

If you had asked me in my twenties whether I was prepared to sell pharmaceutical products for a living, my answer would have been a confident, and slightly incredulous, “Absolutely.”

There are pivotal moments in every career when it becomes time for a change. For me, that moment arrived when a recruiter convinced me, I was absolutely perfect for the role of Regional Sales Professional at Cavendish Farms. This company specialized in frozen french fries.

Even as graduation capped off years of study from Boston College, I entered the job market knowing my education would only get me so far. Unless you’re a born entrepreneur (which I wasn’t at the time!), you start on the bottom rung and work your way up, discovering that initial career steps are…