Success through commitment

Bernd Krones
Group Product Manager for Business Unit Primary Care Marketing

’I’ve always wanted to do at least two things simultaneously. That’s what prompted me to study with the Cooperative State University in Mannheim and Abbott in Ludwigshafen.

I started in 1999 in research and development as an IT coordinator. Efficient information processing was already a top priority there. I was appointed an assistant to senior management in May 2003, a position that gave me a good overview of the various functional divisions at Abbott. It was an exciting time, because Abbott has grown so much over the past ten years and as a result, the business was expanding all the time. I also had the honor of organizing the Ludwigshafen visit of Abbott’s Board of Directors, the top management entity worldwide. In July 2004, a new opportunity as a financial analyst was able to lure me to the financial division in Wiesbaden. I was delighted with the fast pace of my career.

In October 2005, I took on a position as head of Demand Management for the Pharmaceuticals and Nutritionals business. As part of continuous process improvement, my team worked on enhancing our sales and business planning and laid the foundations for an upcoming certification. Abbott consistently offered me opportunities to pursue an interdisciplinary career. In the summer of 2007, I was able to switch to product management in Primary Care – more new challenges and new colleagues. I have been in charge of marketing for the Business Unit as Group Product Manager since November 2008.’

Antony Kurumundayil
Marketing Research and Market Assessment Analyst

’I have been with Abbott for four years and already had three different jobs. I never get the chance to be bored. Abbott really keeps its promise of challenge and personal initiative.

After having got my degree in biotechnology over five years ago, I started as a product engineer for lab diagnostics in Wiesbaden. I was responsible for the manufacture and in-process testing of HIV test reagents used on the PRISM lab diagnostics platform. After three years of experience in production and evening courses in business administration, I switched to production planning in February 2007. The new position involved coordinating the supply of plasma to our European production facilities. After getting my business administration degree in June 2008, I applied for a position as a Marketing Research and Market Assessment Analyst for the regions of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India.

I have been in this job since October 2008, supporting all Abbott Diagnostics business units with market research data and analyses of existing and new products. Abbott gives me a range of possibilities to take on new challenges and to realize my ideas , and I’ve been able to improve my professional skills on an ongoing basis. Every job at Abbott demands a high level of responsibility and the ability to comprehend complex issues quickly. The domestic and international operations need an open, flexible attitude, but more than anything else, working here requires a capacity for interdisciplinary teamwork. I’m looking forward to the next round of new challenges in my career at Abbott.’