Erica Da Pian Appointed US Marketing Manager for PQE Group
December 14, 2023
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PQE Group is a leading provider of quality solutions for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, with a global presence and expertise in various regulatory and compliance areas. The company is a women-owned Contract Quality Organization and Complete Quality Solution provider for GCP, GLP, GMP & GDP areas in the Life Sciences.
PQE Group has a long history of supporting companies of all sizes and exceeding compliance standards. The company is dedicated to creating value for its customers by putting its multidisciplinary teams and knowledge at their service, allowing clients to achieve and maintain compliance with the latest regulations and contributing to creating a safer medical device and pharmaceutical environment. With over 15,000 successful projects completed and 1400+ medical device and pharmaceutical clients served worldwide, PQE Group delivers turnkey quality solutions while focusing on exceptional cost-effectiveness and the highest quality of care. PQE Group specializes in areas including Regulatory Affairs and Strategy, Quality Compliance, Third Party Audits, Data Integrity Assurance, Digital Governance, Qualification and Engineering, and Laboratory Excellence. PQE’s global imprint allows for a “Glocal” approach which is focused on utilizing local support to achieve global success. Since 2011, growth has been exponential, today reaching more than 2,000 employees in 44 offices worldwide and, in addition to Italy, offices in countries including China, Japan, India (two offices), Israel, Russia, Poland, Germany, Belgium, Spain (two offices), Switzerland, Great Britain, the United States (five offices), Mexico, Brazil, France, Canada, Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
Erica Da Pian has been with PQE Group since she was a university student; she has grown along with the company, serving in numerous positions and recently, she was named Manager of US Marketing. BioBuzz caught up with Erica to learn more about how she landed this new role and what she’s most excited about.
Reflect a bit on your career path up to this new position – how have your previous experiences at PQE Group prepared you for this important role?
I have been with PQE Group for my entire career. I met Gilda D’Incerti, our CEO and Founder, in 2015, while I was studying at University and Gilda gave me an internship opportunity for my three-month summer vacation. At that time, there was not really an official marketing department so I helped with marketing activities. Also at that time, PQE Group had offices throughout Europe but it was not nearly as global as it is today and because I speak German, Spanish, and English in addition to my native Italian, I was able to work well with our subsidiaries throughout Europe. I continued to work for PQE Group part-time during my last two years of school, and following graduation, Gilda hired me as a full-time employee, one of only 200 at that time.
As a full-time PQE Group employee, I worked in various departments. I spent one year in Spain, doing administrative work including recruiting and office management. When we opened our offices in Mexico and China, I was also able to travel to those countries to help open the offices. And in 2017, when we opened our first office in the US, I spent six months in Washington, DC, helping establish and support the growth of our US initiatives. PQE Group gave me the chance to travel around the world helping open new subsidiaries; I took the knowledge I gained and applied it to each new office.
My job was not fully defined back then and I was involved in different areas. In 2018 I returned to work in Italy. Back then, the marketing and communications department was very young and very small. Thomas Carganico, who is now VP of Strategic Business Development, Marketing & Communications, asked me to help plan and organize PQE Group’s 20th anniversary (by that time, we had 500 employees!). I then continued to work with the marketing and communications department; I was responsible for corporate event planning and social media. Now, five years later, Thomas has offered me the opportunity to move to Mexico City (more on that later) and take on the role of US Marketing Manager. I’m super excited and very grateful!
What do you do in your role as US Marketing Manager?
As the US Marketing Manager, I am responsible for developing and managing PQE Group’s marketing strategy for the US in accordance with our headquarters marketing team, and I collaborate closely with Debbie Kaufmann, PQE Group’s Senior Manager of PR and Communications for the US & Canada, on communications activities. I also manage all the events, including exhibits at conferences in the US and internal events that occur throughout the US; and I continue to manage social media strategy and content on a global basis.
There are other aspects to this role: I coordinate marketing and technical campaigns with Debbie and participate in relationships with US associations and organizations to help grow and enhance the PQE Group brand throughout the US and Canada; I train and mentor interns and younger resources to help them learn and understand how PQE Group works and help them grow in their jobs; I maintain good relationships with our sales force to support sales activities by providing sales materials, support campaigns with clients, and offer assistance as needed. And importantly, I maintain strong relationships with our US subsidiaries (we now have five, in Rockville, MD; Chicago, IL, Raleigh, NC, Buffalo, NY, and Boston, MA, with others in the planning stages) to facilitate communication and ensure we are on the same page regarding strategies and objectives.
You’ve been with PQE Group for your entire career. What do you think this new position holds for you with the company?
Before I was more focused on specific aspects of marketing (social media, content, events) but now, as I’ve had the chance to move to Mexico City and work with the US and Italy, I find myself completely involved in the multi-cultural environments that I adore. I see myself growing in other aspects of marketing management; growing as a manager in general, acting as a resource for new employees that are hired in the US, focusing more on marketing management and global panoramic growth. I still continue to collaborate with different cultures, working with the US, living in Mexico, and collaborating with my colleagues in Italy and other PQE Group subsidiaries around the world – that is part of my story. I’m Italian, I lived in Spain, Washington, and now, Mexico. I spent a month in China when we opened that subsidiary. Communicating within cultures is very important to me – I love seeing how different cultures can collaborate and literally create a bridge within cultures. This is one of my most important goals.
It sounds like Gilda made it possible for you, starting from a very young age, to travel around the world and build an array of new experiences and capabilities. You must be very grateful!
I really love the fact that I met Gilda when I was still a student at university. I was very young and she gave me the opportunity to write my own story; she opened up so many possibilities for me. Literally, at that time, my dream was, and still is, to travel the world. Gilda made that dream a reality – a dream to learn different cultures, to see, firsthand, how work is done in different countries, and to meet people and establish relationships with people around the world. This has allowed me to grow substantially!
Of course, back then Gilda really did not know me; she basically bet on me and gave me an unbelievably wonderful opportunity. Since then, I have taken on everything I could with each new challenge Gilda has given me. There have been many times I was afraid but at same time excited because I knew the challenge she gave me would make me grow. I’m incredibly grateful for all that Gilda has given me, and for the fact that she decided to invest in me and my future. And as a result, this is the kind of manager I want to be.
As I imagine my future as a manager, I will model myself after Gilda; truly getting to know those I work with, believing in peoples’ potential, and giving them the chance to discover their right path, which I believe everyone will arrive at if they are allowed to explore their ideas and grow in the right direction.
How else do you see your future?
That’s a very good question. I see myself in living Mexico; to me, it is home. I felt this from the first time I came here with PQE Group. It was my first intercontinental journey where I traveled alone and the experience was very impactful, very cathartic; I even commemorated it with a tattoo! The moment I arrived in Mexico City — July 25, 2016 — I decided I would one day move here and now, seven years later, it’s actually happened.
And while Mexico is now my adopted home, I want to continue to travel, and in particular, travel for business. This is not only something I do, but who I am! It is so important to me to collaborate closely with other cultures and immerse myself in different environments. So I will live in Mexico and travel to Italy often – to visit PQE Group headquarters, my family, and friends –and continue to travel elsewhere for PQE Group. I will continue to grow my role as US Marketing Manager, and hope it leads to other senior level positions with the company. I’m very excited about the growth and expansion of PQE Group, which has given me so many chances to learn, grow and discover new realities.
