Liam Hartigan

Hi, I’m Liam, Senior Director for Supply Chain and Logistics.

Teva is a very progressive company... with a relatively young workforce who are interested in opportunity and personal development. We work with a portfolio of high-end respiratory products, which present their own challenges, both technical and compliance-related. So there’s never a dull day here at Teva Waterford. The work is always interesting. 

I started in 2001 as New Products Introductory Manager for aerosol products. It was a completely new role, so I had free rein to develop the position. If we were selling products in the UK and France for example, it was my job to launch the range in Germany. This meant I had to organise the operational launch to get the right products to market at the right time.

The role evolved because it required more project management work within the operations, engineering and quality teams. I also started to support the Research & Development (R&D) division, which is co-located on the Waterford site, making sure the right amount of Development & Exhibit batches were manufactured at the right time to support Development work and Product stability studies required for new Product Licence applications.

In 2008 the Senior Planner for aerosols was promoted, so I took on that responsibility, which required me to learn more about the Planning & Supply Chain side of the business while still keeping responsibility for new product introduction. Two years later I was promoted to Supply Chain Manager and  the Senior Leadership Team and from there, I progressed to Senior Director for Supply Chain & Logistics. In this role I have a wide portfolio of responsibility and a great 12 strong team that manage Planning, Logistics, Artwork & Data, Operational New Product Development and New Product Introduction.

All my qualifications are science or engineering based... I graduated in 1986 with a B.Sc(Hons)  degree in Biochemistry. I did a Master’s in Bioengineering 15 years after I left college.

With STEM training, you never lose that technical ability and you can always find an application for it... particularly in the respiratory industry because the way our products work very much depends on scientific principles.

For our products to be effective, patients have to get the right dose of medicine delivered to the lower part of the lung. In order for that to happen, the respiratory device has to deliver the medication at the right particle size and at the right speed to reach the lower lung when inhaled.

I would say that my role is now 100% business based; it is about the Supply Chain, Customer Service Levels and meeting the needs of the market. But when I’m in a production meeting talking about the process for making a medicine batch for example, I still understand the discussions thanks to my STEM background.

My colleagues at Waterford are also very supportive which is important... We have an amazing culture of Teamwork & cooperation here. Teva is heading in the right direction and the future looks exciting. Everyone at Teva Waterford invests in our vision to become the most innovative, trusted and efficient supplier of Respiratory products in the industry and wants to build a sustainable future for themselves at Teva

Key to the success of Waterford so far has been teamwork and collaborative working... we work closely with onsite R&D and play a big part in early product development and then commercialisation.

We also care deeply about what we do; we know where our medicines go and whom they serve, so we make sure everything we do is of the highest quality standard.

I don’t have asthma, so I don’t know what it’s like to live with that chronic condition, but I know it can restrict a patient’s lifestyle very much and threaten their health and in some cases can be fatal. Therefore, we know that behind every patient is a story, a family, a struggle. These challenges inspire us to find solutions to the medical problems people face. 

Outside of work... I am a keen cyclist and try to get out on my bike at the weekends.  My range is about 60 kilometres but this extends to around 120 kilometres if I take part in an event. I’m not in a club, but I do team up with colleagues at work sometimes who enjoy cycling. I also like listening to music, and spending quality time with family