Discovering Passion on the Early Career Path: Nnenna Kalu and Youssef Jouichate

For the exceptional and passionate young professionals we look for at BMS, an early career can be the foundation of the legacy you want to cultivate. Perhaps a little intimidating at first, the opportunity to challenge one’s self — to grow and discover new strengths — is often life-changing.

How do you find the inspiration and courage to learn and ultimately succeed? How do you channel that passion and take those first steps, especially if it means relocating to another country? We asked recent hires Nnenna Kalu, Associate, Commercial Leadership Development Program, and Youssef Jouichate, Specialist, Cell Therapy Manufacturing Sciences & Technology, these questions along with how a desire to find meaningful and interesting work brought them to BMS.

Both were featured guests on our BOLD Innovators podcast — BOLD (Black Organization for Leadership and Development) is one of BMS’s eight People and Business Resource Groups, open to our entire global workforce to foster inclusion and strong employee engagement, and drive business results.

Big Steps

Nnenna’s journey began in her home country of Nigeria. After discovering an intense interest in science at a young age, she decided she wanted to be a doctor. To further her education her parents sent her to a boarding school in the UK when she was just 11 years old. But she never forgot where she came from.

Through these conversations she began to understand the impact people like herself could have. “Coming to the US is when I realized that healthcare is so much bigger than I thought it was. This really opened my eyes to working in biopharma, insurance and prior authorization.”

Her path to BMS started with an internship, and when it came time to work full-time, BMS was a top choice. She was excited to learn that the projects and initiatives she worked on as an intern were coming to fruition. “That was the deciding point for me, so when I received an offer, I jumped on it.”

For her internship, Nnenna joined the Worldwide Value, Access & Pricing team — a critical part of the BMS pipeline that ensures patients have access to the medicines they need. Now she leads marketing initiatives for underrepresented minorities as part of the US (Cardiovascular) market expansion team.

Joining a company that values passion as one of its brand attributes meant Nnenna was surrounded by colleagues who shared that passion for transforming patients’ lives through science.

In addition to discovering a calling where she knew she could make an impact, Nnenna was also drawn to the inclusive culture she found at BMS, an environment where women are encouraged to succeed.

“Just seeing the number of women in leadership positions, I thought it must be an environment where work-life balance is greatly encouraged. No one feels held back and I thought, 'this is it!'”