Brent Serson

About me

I was born/grew up in: Born in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. Grew up in Kingston, Ontario, Canada 

I now live in: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada 

I completed my training/education at: Wilfred Laurier University - Bachelor of Business Administration. Chartered Accountant signation.

What I do at work

As Director, I help create a vision for how we will work with our key government and institutional customers to help patients get better care. I work with my colleagues from different parts of our organization. This brings the medical, sales, marketing, and patient support areas together. Our aim is to develop a better understanding of the needs of patients. This helps make us be more efficient as we work with our customers and results in better patient care. 

I combine leadership, analytical, science, financial and strategic skills to work with teammates and customers. STEM has been key into better understanding how to organize complex information and create better solutions. I work in English. As you grow your career in a company, it becomes more about the financials and people. Having a background in STEM helps you understand the numbers and relate to people of similar disciplines.

My career path is

This is not at all what I thought I would do when I was in high school. My goal in high school was to keep all my options open by staying in STEM courses, as they were the pre-requisite for many university programs I wanted to enter. I did a co-op program at university and found it helpful to understand what the options were. The options available in high school are different now given how our globalized economy has shifted and still does. After I received my Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), and then obtained my Chartered Accountancy (CA)I worked in financial management for a while. Then I moved into the pharmaceutical sector. I have had many different roles at Amgen, which have led me to where I am today.

I am motivated by

Working with very talented people with a similar vision to help patients is what gets me most excited in my job. I enjoy the stories of patients whose lives, and their family’s lives, were changed for the better by the medicines and solutions we bring. My diverse background (finance, marketing, strategy, and sales) is used in my role and with the people that I work with. This is very satisfying. 

How I affect peoples’ lives

My career is very fulfilling! I help our company create solutions and medicines that allow patients with terrible sickness have access to medicines that help them live a better life. Without these solutions, they would likely not be able to access this care. Individuals in our society that live a better life have stronger families and we have a stronger society.

Outside of work I

I enjoying sports, coaching and spending as much time with my family as possible. I also volunteer on various not for profit boards. 

My advice to others

Our global economy is shifting and changing all the time. The career options you see now could be different in the future. It is very important to make sure you get a strong STEM background to maximize your options and career opportunities.