Straight Talk Special Issue: Life Sciences & Healthcare - 26

CSL Behring is a lot like IT in general - a
behind-the-scenes utility that's sometimes taken
for granted.

Blurring boundaries

Like most people who've been in IT for a long
time, I've seen the nature of our work change.
Early in my career, I was more focused on
learning the technology and implementing it. I
really didn't have a good understanding of
how manufacturing worked or how the
business leveraged the technologies that we
were implementing.
Today, the lines between IT and business are
blurring. Technologists and business folks are
often one and the same. IT is no longer a
support function but is integral to the
business. In fact, increasingly, having a pure IT
department or even an IT person isn't that
relevant. Going forward, you'll still have your
cloud providers and your pure technology
companies. But for most industries and
businesses, you're not going to have a pure IT
function anymore.
That means for somebody entering the field -
and for those of us who've been in IT for
decades - it's crucial to know the business
that you're in. You have to know your business
customers
and
understand
how
the
technology will impact the entire business.
Knowing technology is no longer enough.

A common thread

That said, you do need to know the technology
- which is always changing and becoming
more complex. When I started my career, the
types of technology we employed were
relatively few. We were mainframe- and
fax-based.

26

Over time, the variety of technologies we
oversaw burgeoned, with the introduction of
networking and email and the early adoptions
of things such as containers and virtualization.
Today, we're focused on how to enable the
business through such things as automation,
which can help us get our products to patients
faster. With all the innovation happening
around cloud computing, Big Data, and
connected healthcare, we're getting to a point
where our patients can see a difference in the
technologies we bring to market.
But the thing that connects it all is the people
behind the process. Without the right people
in place to manage and deploy these new
technologies, none of this would work. So the
common thread that I've seen throughout my
career is all about having the right people to
deliver the right technologies.

The talent hunt

That means always looking for new ways to
attract and retain talent. For example, we work
with universities to bring young talent into our
company.
We've started an MBA rotational program in
which graduates do six-month rotations
through different areas of our business. At the
end of four such rotations, we decide where in
the company each one of the graduates fits
best and will have the greatest impact. And by
then, they have a good understanding of
several different areas of the business, which
they can either collaborate with or take a
leadership role in, depending on where they
end up.
Straight Talk Special Issue: Life Sciences & Healthcare

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