#RisingStars | Jana St Louis

Please introduce yourself and what you do

I’m Jana St Louis and I’m a Global Marketing Manager in HIV Treatment at ViiV Healthcare. In my most recent role, I was an Omnichannel Manager in Vaccines at GSK.

As Global Marketing Manager, I support our global commercial strategy and create promotional materials for other countries to use in their markets. 

In my Omnichannel Manager role, I led the digital strategy for our brand, which included introducing new tools and proposing updates to content to improve customer engagement. 

I’ve been in the world of pharmaceutical marketing for over 5 years now, starting my career at Eli Lilly working across diabetes, immunology and oncology.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I appreciate that I’m able to be creative, while using my scientific background from my degree to make an impact on patients. Being in marketing allows you to collaborate with so many different teams, which is a great opportunity to build relationships and learn from others. The variety in marketing makes every day unique and exciting!

What was your route into industry from education?

I graduated from Brunel University with a degree in biomedical sciences and started to apply for marketing positions during my placement year. Like most people, I had no idea of the different opportunities the industry had until I’d researched and spoken to others!

I completed a placement year at Eli Lilly as an Associate Brand Manager in Diabetes. This gave me the solid foundation to understand the scope of the role and realise it’s what I wanted to pursue further. I felt excited to open this new chapter in my career, that if not for my placement year, I may not have experienced. After graduation, I was accepted onto Eli Lilly’s graduate scheme, which allowed me to gain experience across different therapy areas and further improve my understanding of marketing.

Did you always aspire to work in pharma?

Pharma wasn’t part of my initial plan! After graduating, I had the intention to return to university to pursue a medical degree. It was until I had a conversation with our campus career advisor, for my placement year, that she took me through all the other roles I could apply for across pharma. It was certainly daunting initially to apply in an area I knew little about, but the support from my career advisor equipped me with examples of successful CVs and interview practice.

Early on during my placement year, I realised I wanted to continue working in pharma when I supported my first congress - it was such a rewarding feeling to see my vision come to life and be seen by healthcare professionals!

Has your experience in pharma been what you expected or has it been different?

Before joining the industry, I had very little exposure to what marketing roles entailed. A surprise for me was the dynamism of the role and the depth of different skills I could develop through managing various projects. I feel that all my roles have allowed me to be truly innovative, which I wasn’t initially sure I could get in pharmaceutical marketing. I’m also learning so much by transitioning from a UK-specific role to a global marketing position.

What are your future aspirations with your career in pharma?

I’d like to develop in various marketing leadership roles, as it’s definitely a passion of mine but I’m very open to seeing where future opportunities take me! I feel very energised when I bring innovation, solve problems and work with others. I'm excited to continue this in my future roles. 

What tips would you give a new starter interested in getting into pharma

1. Relationship building: Networking and building relationships has been critical to my development. My advice would be to lean into opportunities to meet others and actively learn from them.

   
   

2. Maintaining a growth mindset: Being open to constant growth and learning new things has helped me a lot. Be aware of where your blind spots are, and understand that personal development is a constant.

   
   

3. Research & curiosity: Keep your mind open to the environment outside of pharma and how that might affect the industry over time. Having a broader, long-term understanding of the market may set you apart from others.

   
   

4. And lastly, but most importantly – believe in yourself and what unique skills you can bring into the industry!