Employee Profile: Eric Hardy – Manager of Data Management

By Robin Brodrick

Eric Hardy, Manager of Data Management at Veristat

Employee Profile: Eric Hardy – Manager of Data Management in Montreal, Quebec

Eric Hardy got his start at Veristat in July, 2013 as the Associate Manager of Data Management. He was promoted to Manager of Data Management in 2014. He works in Veristat’s Montreal office.

What was your first job?

Eric’s first job was working for his father as a Grocery Store Clerk. His first job in the industry was as a Research Assistant at a small biotech company.

What was your first impression of Veristat?

That it was a small company that is growing. After a few weeks of working here he noticed that sometimes it’s difficult to change small business processes. He felt that we wanted to become a larger company, but were having a hard time getting rid of the mentality that ‘everybody does everything’ like in a small company.

What is your favorite memory of working at Veristat?

The first international company meeting in September, 2014. It was very nice of Veristat to bring out all of the Montreal employees and have them come to Holliston. There were some panels where people discussed specific topics and there was a town hall meeting where the latest achievements were presented and the future of the company was discussed. It was held at The Warren Center in Ashland, MA and was a very nice group experience.

Veristat’s First International Company Meeting

Veristat’s First International Company Meeting

What do you find most challenging about working for Veristat?

The fact that my direct supervisor is in a different office. When you don’t meet your supervisor a lot it’s a different kind of relationship because it’s on the phone.

What do you wish other people knew about Veristat?

It’s a very good company that is open minded and listens to its employees.

What do you think will change about Veristat in the next five years?

The number of employees will change because we are constantly growing. We are opening a third office in San Francisco and also growing the Montreal office.

What is it like to be a Manager of Data Management at Veristat?

It’s a very interesting position because many people are remote, but all work closely together. I mentor many levels of Data Managers from very junior to very experienced. I mentor by answering questions, providing advice, delegating, and asking employees to do things that they haven’t done before.

Employee Profile: Arlene Lund – Senior Project Manager

By Robin Brodrick

Arlene Lund

Employee Profile: Arlene Lund – Senior Project Manager in Montreal, Quebec

Arlene Lund has been working for Veristat as a Senior Project Manager since August 2014. She works in Veristat’s Montreal office.

Montreal, Quebec

What was your first job?

Arlene’s first job was in a hospital emergency room. Her title was Nurse’s Aid, but she got to be involved in everything under the sun since she worked the evening shift with only one nurse and one MD.

What was your first impression of Veristat?

Starting with the interview process, Arlene found it refreshing that everyone still had their personalities intact. In her experience, many companies in this industry expect you to check your personality at the door when work starts. She also liked that even though everyone seemed really busy, they still maintained their sense of humor and merged as a team to get the work done.

What has surprised you most about working for Veristat?

The large amount of work that Veristat has in today’s economy. Arlene thinks that this is a good problem to have as a mid-sized CRO.

What do you find most challenging about working for Veristat?

The exact same thing: the sheer amount of projects going on. Arlene comes from a clinical background where she had full scope projects and would work on a maximum of four projects at a time. At Veristat she works on two full scope clinical programs and another program that has ten projects in it. She has needed to learn new ways to work and to organize herself. Arlene says that this is another good problem to have.

What do you think will change about Veristat in the next five years?

The number of employees that will increase. The clinical study work will also keep growing.

What industry or department trends do you see?

Arlene finds the pharma and CRO industries to be cyclical. Sponsors decide to take all the work in-house. Then they decide to outsource the work to a bunch of CROs. Next, the sponsor enters into preferred partner agreements, followed by working with smaller CROs, and then the sponsor takes everything back in-house again. Arlene thinks that we are nearing the end of the cycle with Sponsors and large CROs working under preferred partner agreements. Therefore, sponsors will switch to working with multiple smaller CROs again soon.

Arlene also believes that it will be interesting to see what happens with risk-based monitoring. If sponsors buy into it then monitoring as we know it will be in for a drastic change.

What do you do for fun?

“Anything from the sheep to the needle” – Arlene Lund

When Arlene is not at work, she is an avid fiber artist (a.k.a. she’s a knitter). She teaches, designs, knits, and sells finished products and patterns.