Kaija Illikaninen
What is your current job title and in which location do you work?
I work as a field-based Strategic Account Manager in Finland, and since I cover the whole country, I get to travel from north to south. I live in Helsinki and our office is in Espoo.
What does your job entail on a day-to-day basis?
That depends on my agenda. If I have customer calls, I usually leave home very early, travel to the meeting and return home late afternoon or early evening – other days I work at home. Office days are spent attending meetings, addressing my marketing responsibilities, working on projects or planning future activities.
Tell me about your career journey in AstraZeneca
I started in 2015 as Key Account Manager in Respiratory, working with different brands. In 2017, I moved to Oncology focusing specifically on lung cancer and breast cancer. I take part in a number of company projects and I also represent field force personnel in our consultation committee.
What do you like best about working in NoBa at AstraZeneca?
The people! I have a fantastic team around me. But there are also so many opportunities at AstraZeneca to develop yourself by getting involved. If you want responsibility, just ask and you’ll get it. This gives me the little ‘extra’ that I want with my job.
How do you feel about being part of an organization that is pushing the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines?
As a company we have ambitious goals, but I’m confident we can deliver on them. In Oncology we have the ambition of downgrading cancer from a life-threatening disease to a chronic disease and this gets me up in the morning. We can do this. Not today, but if we work hard enough, maybe tomorrow. What’s for sure is that I know I’m part of a brighter future, doing a job that really matters.
