This is for folks considering Alkermes. Personal thoughts on some of the folks you may work with.
Worked at Alkermes from Nov 2011 – Nov 2019. Forced to retire for medical reasons. During that time the company changed…a lot. And not always for the better. The changes were probably, to some extent, inevitable as the company grew in size. I’ve been gone for 2 years now and have very little insight into changes since then but assume they are on the same path as when I left. But there were some really great people I worked with back then that are still there…and I’m hopeful…and confident…that they’re still great people to work with.
At the top of the list is Jesse Jones. He’s currently the Senior Regional Director for the West…pretty much all Vivitrol sales west of the Mississippi river. I first met Jesse in Oct ’11 when I was interviewing for the job as a Territory Business Manager. Liked the guy immediately. Open, genuine, intelligent, empathetic, funny and on-top of his profession. He asked the predictable interview questions, but we spent 90 minutes just talking…very natural and easy, but with a purpose. Got the sense that he really wanted to know who I was and was willing to share who he was and what he was looking for. After he hired me, he was actively involved in my on-boarding and training, but never in an obtrusive way. He always let me dictate how engaged he was…if I needed help, he was there. If not, he wasn’t. The first 6-8 weeks or so I had tons of questions…never worked in pharma before and had no background in Vivitrol or the disease state. Back then the on-boarding process wasn’t very extensive. They didn’t send me anything before training and training was pretty skinny. The idea was to give the new hire enough to get them going and then train them in the field. Looking back, I feel sorry for Jesse and his wife because I had lots of questions…at all hours of the day and night. It was pretty common to be on the phone with him until 1:00am discussing Vivitrol, addiction, selling, the territory and every other aspect of the job. There was never a time when he lost patience or seemed agitated…though that would have been perfectly understandable.
And that’s the way he treated me for the next 4-5 years I reported to him…if I needed some help, he was there. If not, he trusted me to do my job. And he genuinely cared about me and my family. First quarter and second quarters I was there, did pretty well. Finished at 145% or so above target. When it came time for payouts, somebody in Sales Ops decided to cut my bonus…on their own…without talking to anybody on the Sales side. When Jesse found out he was furious…called Sales Ops and asked WTF. Answer - “He didn’t earn it. He hasn’t been there long enough to have earned it.” Jesse wouldn’t accept that BS and got his boss involved, but, to no avail. Sales Ops wouldn’t budge. Jesse tried everything he could before telling me anything. But the way he told me is a great example of the kind of leader he is. He called me and set-up a lunch with me for the next day. Nothing out of the ordinary…we had lunch about once a week anyway. But he wanted to tell me in-person instead of over the phone. That, by itself, doesn’t make him a great leader, but it’s just an example of how the guy thinks about his responsibility as a leader. He thought it was important to give me the crappy news face-to-face instead of over the phone. A year into the job I moved from outside of KC to St. Louis. Jesse helped with the move…he drove across the state with me, loaded up the U-Haul, drove back and then helped unload everything. And, having been married 35 years at the time, we had a LOT of stuff, so his help we desperately welcome, and he was genuine with the help…didn’t expect anything in return. Over the years he was always there to help out…again…not overbearing just on the sidelines ready to help when asked to. Very seldom did we not agree on an approach to an account, which made my job a lot easier. When I had a chance for a promotion the only thing holding me back was that I would no longer report to Jesse. Not that I was suspicious of the new boss, but I was 55 years old and knew how lucky I was to work for a boss like Jesse…and how unlikely it was the new boss would match up.
Next is Greg Keck, the VP of the Addiction Division. Greg is the epitome of “sly like a fox”. Tall, in shape and possessing a Hollywood-level southern drawl, it’s easy to dismiss him as an average kind of guy…your mistake. If I remember he started his sales career with mobile homes or RVs or something like that. First foray into pharma was selling some foot fungus treatment. Fast forward 20-30 years and he’s leading Alkermes into addiction with the launch of Vivitrol…a launch and growth story that presented the classic “J” shape growth in sales and revenue. During that time there were lots of changes in leaders above and beside Greg. He didn’t just survive the changes, he thrived through them. Not that he enjoyed all of them…I’m sure he didn’t…nobody would have. But he values the company. He values the product and most importantly, he values the people around him. He reached out to me after I got screwed on comp as outlined above and expressed his frustration with it and appreciation for my contribution. Months later we were at a meeting and he pulled me aside to apologize again. No need to, it wasn’t his decision, but he felt it was important. Like Jesse, Greg has a talent for identifying quality and building a team.
Shannon Smith – VP, HR. Shannon handled my disability\retirement process, which was a pretty scary time for me. Imagine you’re 57 and your boss tells you your performance is unacceptable and he’s going to get HR involved. All sorts of negative thoughts and worries. But Shannon couldn’t have handled it better. Made sure I understood it wasn’t just a performance issue, it was a medical one. Assured me I wasn’t about to lose my job and outlined all the options. Explained the processes and stayed engaged throughout the entire episode. I don’t know what role she played, but in every case where an HR issue was unclear to me, it worked out in my favor.
Some other great folks I enjoyed working with…
James Groves
Melissa Grey
Michelle Williams
Lisa Toth
Lori Bush
Steve Georgiopoulos
Peter Coletti
Aaron Hanson
Kevin Lorenz
Kirt Hyles
Marc Sullivan
James Squires
Joanne Kommer
Sandra Bianchi-Martinez
Jeff Armstrong
Lonny Hurley
Matt Anderson
Travis Williams
This being CafePharma, a legendary cesspool filled with immature, cowardly, trolls…emboldened by anonymity and weak moderation…I fully expect the flames to start. I can only speak to my experiences and realize others may have a different perspective. But if it ventures into the standard CP rant please recognize it for what it really is…weak-ass BS that should be immediately dismissed. These are good people and good leaders. If you have a chance to work with any of them, do it.
Worked at Alkermes from Nov 2011 – Nov 2019. Forced to retire for medical reasons. During that time the company changed…a lot. And not always for the better. The changes were probably, to some extent, inevitable as the company grew in size. I’ve been gone for 2 years now and have very little insight into changes since then but assume they are on the same path as when I left. But there were some really great people I worked with back then that are still there…and I’m hopeful…and confident…that they’re still great people to work with.
At the top of the list is Jesse Jones. He’s currently the Senior Regional Director for the West…pretty much all Vivitrol sales west of the Mississippi river. I first met Jesse in Oct ’11 when I was interviewing for the job as a Territory Business Manager. Liked the guy immediately. Open, genuine, intelligent, empathetic, funny and on-top of his profession. He asked the predictable interview questions, but we spent 90 minutes just talking…very natural and easy, but with a purpose. Got the sense that he really wanted to know who I was and was willing to share who he was and what he was looking for. After he hired me, he was actively involved in my on-boarding and training, but never in an obtrusive way. He always let me dictate how engaged he was…if I needed help, he was there. If not, he wasn’t. The first 6-8 weeks or so I had tons of questions…never worked in pharma before and had no background in Vivitrol or the disease state. Back then the on-boarding process wasn’t very extensive. They didn’t send me anything before training and training was pretty skinny. The idea was to give the new hire enough to get them going and then train them in the field. Looking back, I feel sorry for Jesse and his wife because I had lots of questions…at all hours of the day and night. It was pretty common to be on the phone with him until 1:00am discussing Vivitrol, addiction, selling, the territory and every other aspect of the job. There was never a time when he lost patience or seemed agitated…though that would have been perfectly understandable.
And that’s the way he treated me for the next 4-5 years I reported to him…if I needed some help, he was there. If not, he trusted me to do my job. And he genuinely cared about me and my family. First quarter and second quarters I was there, did pretty well. Finished at 145% or so above target. When it came time for payouts, somebody in Sales Ops decided to cut my bonus…on their own…without talking to anybody on the Sales side. When Jesse found out he was furious…called Sales Ops and asked WTF. Answer - “He didn’t earn it. He hasn’t been there long enough to have earned it.” Jesse wouldn’t accept that BS and got his boss involved, but, to no avail. Sales Ops wouldn’t budge. Jesse tried everything he could before telling me anything. But the way he told me is a great example of the kind of leader he is. He called me and set-up a lunch with me for the next day. Nothing out of the ordinary…we had lunch about once a week anyway. But he wanted to tell me in-person instead of over the phone. That, by itself, doesn’t make him a great leader, but it’s just an example of how the guy thinks about his responsibility as a leader. He thought it was important to give me the crappy news face-to-face instead of over the phone. A year into the job I moved from outside of KC to St. Louis. Jesse helped with the move…he drove across the state with me, loaded up the U-Haul, drove back and then helped unload everything. And, having been married 35 years at the time, we had a LOT of stuff, so his help we desperately welcome, and he was genuine with the help…didn’t expect anything in return. Over the years he was always there to help out…again…not overbearing just on the sidelines ready to help when asked to. Very seldom did we not agree on an approach to an account, which made my job a lot easier. When I had a chance for a promotion the only thing holding me back was that I would no longer report to Jesse. Not that I was suspicious of the new boss, but I was 55 years old and knew how lucky I was to work for a boss like Jesse…and how unlikely it was the new boss would match up.
Next is Greg Keck, the VP of the Addiction Division. Greg is the epitome of “sly like a fox”. Tall, in shape and possessing a Hollywood-level southern drawl, it’s easy to dismiss him as an average kind of guy…your mistake. If I remember he started his sales career with mobile homes or RVs or something like that. First foray into pharma was selling some foot fungus treatment. Fast forward 20-30 years and he’s leading Alkermes into addiction with the launch of Vivitrol…a launch and growth story that presented the classic “J” shape growth in sales and revenue. During that time there were lots of changes in leaders above and beside Greg. He didn’t just survive the changes, he thrived through them. Not that he enjoyed all of them…I’m sure he didn’t…nobody would have. But he values the company. He values the product and most importantly, he values the people around him. He reached out to me after I got screwed on comp as outlined above and expressed his frustration with it and appreciation for my contribution. Months later we were at a meeting and he pulled me aside to apologize again. No need to, it wasn’t his decision, but he felt it was important. Like Jesse, Greg has a talent for identifying quality and building a team.
Shannon Smith – VP, HR. Shannon handled my disability\retirement process, which was a pretty scary time for me. Imagine you’re 57 and your boss tells you your performance is unacceptable and he’s going to get HR involved. All sorts of negative thoughts and worries. But Shannon couldn’t have handled it better. Made sure I understood it wasn’t just a performance issue, it was a medical one. Assured me I wasn’t about to lose my job and outlined all the options. Explained the processes and stayed engaged throughout the entire episode. I don’t know what role she played, but in every case where an HR issue was unclear to me, it worked out in my favor.
Some other great folks I enjoyed working with…
James Groves
Melissa Grey
Michelle Williams
Lisa Toth
Lori Bush
Steve Georgiopoulos
Peter Coletti
Aaron Hanson
Kevin Lorenz
Kirt Hyles
Marc Sullivan
James Squires
Joanne Kommer
Sandra Bianchi-Martinez
Jeff Armstrong
Lonny Hurley
Matt Anderson
Travis Williams
This being CafePharma, a legendary cesspool filled with immature, cowardly, trolls…emboldened by anonymity and weak moderation…I fully expect the flames to start. I can only speak to my experiences and realize others may have a different perspective. But if it ventures into the standard CP rant please recognize it for what it really is…weak-ass BS that should be immediately dismissed. These are good people and good leaders. If you have a chance to work with any of them, do it.
))))