For our Employees Spotlight series our new Product Manager for the PrecisA Monoclonals portfolio, Joel Svensson, will share his thoughts on why he decided to join Atlas Antibodies, what his role looks like, and what he is looking forward to in the future. Keep reading to get to know Joel.

Hi Joel, could you list five hashtags that describe your personality and interest?

Joel:  #MarketAnalysis&Strategy #People #Education #Sales #Data

Do you have any hobbies, and if so which ones?

Joel: I like road cycling and as an amateur road cyclist, I prefer going for medium to long rides during the spring and summer around the Stockholm islands. Before Covid, I used to travel with friends to the Canary Islands and Mallorca to cycle every year. This was usually a training phase before “Vätternrundan” which is the world’s largest exercise bike race.

Another interest I have is hiking. My girlfriend and I and our Siamese cat Caesar have explored a lot all over Sweden, from towns in the south to the mountainside of Abisko. We love great food and never want to miss out on a great seafood restaurant. This summer we traveled around Sweden’s largest island Gotland in my parents’ motorhome. I also used to play the drums in different bands in my spare time, however, nowadays I spend most of my time with my little family.

Could you shortly summarize your professional background?

Joel: Ever since I was a child, I have tried on different sales roles, selling everything from eggs to newspapers. Later, I moved to Uppsala to study biomedicine and acquired a Master’s degree in biomedical science in 2010.

After graduating, I worked as a sales and education specialist at a small OTC company and then moved on to Stryker Corporation where I remained for about 9 years. Stryker is a large player in the orthopedic implant industry and there I started out as a product specialist and then moved to the marketing team as a Nordic Product Manager.

One of my personal goals is to combine working with big data and marketing, a field that is growing in popularity every day. To understand how to work better with data I decided to acquire a data scientist certification in 2020.

What made you want to come and work with Atlas Antibodies?

Joel: I decided to join Atlas Antibodies as I wanted a new challenge in my work life. After having some initial conversations with the chief marketing officer Maria Hjortsmark, I found this job to be a very good fit with what I was looking for. Coming from a big organization to a small growing company, felt very exciting.

Furthermore, I have a great interest in managing marketing, structure, and product development together with robust data and this company seemed like a good place to nurture that interest. Another reason why I wanted to join Atlas Antibodies was the opportunity to work as a sponsor of product development projects, which is very exciting to me and something I have not done in my previous positions.

What have you been doing during your first months as a product manager?

Joel: Initially I have focused on working with the marketing team on establishing Key Selling Messages, identifying customer needs, exploring sales and product data, as well as being part of categorizing our antibody products according to research areas. This will allow us to create more targeted marketing campaigns and combined product packages. It also enables data intelligence follow-up on product and sales data.

In addition, I have explored the market through PubMed data, listened to the R&D people teaching me about products and applications, and explored our different product development processes. I have also had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people! This company is very “research-heavy” and it’s a great feeling to be a part of that. I really like the culture here and I learn a lot from different people every day. 

What are you looking forward to the most in your new position for the future?

Joel: I look forward to taking part in the commercialization process from a marketing perspective, exploring new opportunities in the market, identifying customer needs and expectations, and then offering them something different or better with our unique and broad portfolio. Working together with R&D on target selection and development and learning how we best move forward is an interesting and challenging task for me as a product manager.

If you could describe the culture at Atlas Antibodies in 3 words, what would they be and why?

Joel: Research focus- The company is based on a group of very skilled research people. You see their knowledge being put into practice in ongoing and upcoming development projects. It’s great to listen to and learn from them!

Friendly (Openness)- The people working here have been happy to share their expertise and experience with me and I really feel everybody is open to new ideas and focused on growing the business.

Pride- the HPA is in the DNA of this company and there is a lot of pride in being part of a Swedish company that is based on a foundation that provides researchers all over the world with highly validated antibodies and access to a wealth of data.

Thank you, Joel, for sharing your thoughts with us.