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Sobi welcomes Lena Bjurner as Chief Human Resources Officer

 
Lena, can you tell us about your new role?

I recently joined Sobi as CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer), leading our people agenda and related responsibilities as well as HR initiatives around the world. I am very happy to join a company with such a clear and engaging purpose – to transform life for people living with rare diseases. 

What qualities are most important in this role?

I believe it is important to have a genuine passion for people - and business. At Sobi this means being truly human centric. Our reason is the patients and it’s the people who make the business by making critical medicine available to our patients. By being genuinely interested in people you also build trust, which is key for any leader, particularly in this role. You also need to know the business, be curious about the world around us as well as how it’s impacting our organisation and our people, now and into the future. On top of this you also need to be bold as many of the challenges and opportunities ahead do not have clear solutions, yet we still need to move ahead, learn and develop.  

What do you think will be the most challenging part of your role?

Most companies experience a lot of rapid change right now and Sobi is no exception. Changes are driven by multiple global trends and events such as digitalisation, demographic changes, war, climate change, an economic downturn and more. With all the volatility and ambiguity surrounding us, we need to develop new ways of working and embrace a culture of trust, flexibility, speed and inclusion to attract, develop and retain the people we need in order to stay successful and drive sustainable growth.

For HR this means that we must continue supporting our people and the organisation with current needs and at the same time figure out ways to focus on ensuring successful future development with a true human-centric perspective. We know that engagement comes from working for organisations that care for people through an innovative and inclusive culture, with great leaders who are supporting people growth.

What makes you come to work every day?

I love to be challenged and to work together with others to make a difference for the better. I felt very welcomed in Sobi from day one. To get the opportunity to engage in the purpose of helping people living with rare diseases towards a better life is truly rewarding. I look forward to positioning Sobi for the future - together with my colleagues in HR and the rest of the organisation.     

Sobi welcomes Lena Bjurner as Chief Human Resources Officer