Valerie Gill is our Associate Director – Planning CSCI based at our headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. She joined Perrigo's Procurement Centre of Excellence in August 2020 and below she shares with us some of the reasons why she joined our team and what it was like to start a new role during the global pandemic!
What is your background and experience, tell us about you! Before joining Perrigo last August, I worked in the beauty industry, based in London. I’ve always worked in supply chain and really enjoyed my time there, leading great teams and working closely with the business, raising the voice and importance of supply chain. I held various planning & project roles but then in more recent years I was a Supply Chain Director. I am originally from Dublin and we decided as a family to move back here last year, despite the pandemic! It is wonderful to be back home working in a company as international and ambitious as Perrigo.
What attracted you to join Perrigo? What really motivates me in any role is working with people across different backgrounds, sharing ideas and collaborating to bring improvements both for our teams as well as the business. Perrigo has that in abundance! Joining a supply chain team with a global office in Dublin and a presence in all European markets was a key factor in attracting me to joining Perrigo. I love that I now spend every day working both with our central teams in Dublin as well as with our supply chain colleagues across different countries.
What made you think the role with Perrigo ticked more boxes than roles in other companies? As an organisation the process of joining was so open and positive that I knew from the first conversations I had that this was a company I wanted to be a part of. The role I have on the Central SIOP team is a new one, focused on creating a centre of excellence for Demand Planning for the CSCI business. The time of joining was really key in attracting me to Perrigo as the team are on an important journey, implementing IBP (integrated business planning), and that was really exciting to be part of that, having an international scope and putting great practices and ways of working within our supply chain in place.
What were you most excited about before you joined us? I was really looking forward to joining an experienced, talented team that have a clear road map ahead of them. Between them there is a wealth of experience both in Perrigo and different industries. I think this helps give different perspectives and makes for a great working environment. I was also very excited to be working in a lovely new office in central Dublin, but that time will come, and I look forward to finding out where to get the best coffee!
What has surprised you in your first 30 days? Everyone I met were so incredibly friendly and open, willing to share their experiences and find ways to work together. I needed to understand how each market worked and their processes, this would not have been easy if everyone was not so generous with their time.
How have you found the experience starting directly from home? Starting remotely in a new company is of course a strange experience, however, it was incredibly easy and smooth from the start. My manager was super organised and mindful of the experience since he had also joined remotely, so from day one I had all my equipment and could log on and begin to see people face to face. I was introduced to lots of people with a good level of inductions planned in those first weeks, so I had different people to ask questions to as well as get a feel for the culture and ways of working, this was helpful. I could not have asked for more really.
What has been your highlight so far since joining? Last October we started virtual workshops with the markets in small groups, focusing on our tools and processes and I think my best day (s) are some of the early sessions that we had. Together within our team we had set up some great ways of working with our tools using segmentation, which is a key driver for success in our supply chain, and there were some real ‘aha’ moments of how powerful this could be when we shared this with the markets.
Why would you recommend Perrigo to other potential joiners? Perrigo is a company with self-care at its heart, as well as ambition to grow. During this pandemic there has never been any doubt that our wellbeing as employees comes first, this has been clear since I joined. The ethos of self-care has never been more crucial, and I think Perrigo has the right approach, the ambition then follows.
What is your favourite thing to do outside of work? As a mother of two boys under 5 life is busy and active once the laptop is closed, and ensuring we have a balanced family lifestyle is the best way to stay energised and happy. I try to carve out some quiet time on my own most days, I love to work on the garden, practise yoga or to just go for a walk while listening to podcasts - my new favourite is about the origin of words, it’s incredibly interesting and relaxing at the same time!
We are always looking for passionate, dedicated people to join our teams at Perrigo. Take your next career step today and check out our live vacancies!