“I get to continue the promise of medicine and my job allows me to be part of something bigger,” says Hamid Parsa.

Hamid’s interest in life science motivated him to get a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and he also has an Executive MBA from Stockholm School of Economics. He wanted to get into production in the chemical industry, but fate brought him into the field of sales, describes Hamid.

I’ve been lucky to be able to fall into an industry where I use chemical engineering together with sales – the best of both worlds.

As a chemical engineer he worked on an offshore oil rig and on one of his days off he got chatting to somebody new.

“He said I’d be a natural in sales and he ended up offering me a job. The rest is history,” he says. “I’ve been lucky to be able to fall into an industry where I use chemical engineering together with sales – the best of both worlds.”

No single day is the same

Today Hamid’s job title is Vice President for Business Development and Sales at the global CDMO Cambrex, covering Europe for the company’s drug substance business.

“I lead a team of business development professionals as they engage clients throughout the region. We are lucky to be able to work with customers who have assets from pre-clinical all the way to the commercial phase and I enjoy helping them bring their medicines to market,” he says.

No single day is the same, he adds. “I interface with customers each day to understand their status quo and targets. We discuss and collaborate on how we can support their molecule’s journey and work to overcome challenges together.” 

And helping clients succeed is definitely the best part of this job according to Hamid. “Our values include building deep customer partnerships through expertise, quality, regulatory excellence, and responsiveness. I really try to live those values as I work with our customers.”

Challenges include when a customer is forced to think short-term due to funding constraints. “But we can work with that and support short-term solutions and continue to develop long-term solutions for future growth. We always strive to find the right balance,” he says.

More of a partnership

In order to succeed within this kind of role, Hamid says that having the ability to maintain a holistic view of any situation is pretty vital, “in order to be able to make the right tools available at the right time for our customers.”

“I would say employers are looking for people who understand chemistry, engineering, and industry requirements. This makes for more productive relationships with clients, more of a partnership than just a vendor/client relationship,” he adds.

Skills like responsiveness and flexibility are incredibly important, continues Hamid.

“These are key to our clients because in drug development, time is of the essence. Nothing is certain, and we need to be agile in order to help a molecule succeed.”

When it comes to his own success factors he says that Cambrex views success through the lenses of regulatory compliance, milestone completions, experience in the market, and the expertise of their employees. “Customer experience is something we value very highly, and we make sure we stay focused on that from start to finish,” he adds.

Do whatever you’re doing as best as you can, and doors will open.

Hamid’s best advice to someone interested in a career in sales in the life science field is to “get into the industry however you can and take all the chances you see”.

“And don’t be discouraged if someone says you don’t have enough experience. Do whatever you’re doing as best as you can, and doors will open. If you have confidence, you will become a great asset!” he concludes.