With Tia Bush moving on to another role with Amgen Inc., Thomas Seewoester takes her former position as vice president of site operations for Rhode Island and Woburn, Mass. Formerly Amgen’s executive director of manufacturing, Seewoester has been with the company – which develops and manufactures medicines for serious illnesses – since 2001.
PBN: Which skills that you acquired as executive director of manufacturing do you think will serve you well in your new role?
SEEWOESTER: In each role I have had as an executive director, I stepped into areas and functions that were largely new to me. I had to learn from others – quickly. Extending visibly a great deal of trust, listening to the experts and including them in my strategic thinking became a way of leading. I trained my skills of concise and simple explanations to a variety of audiences and found if people understand why we are doing things, they are very motivated to follow you and figure out the how on their own.
PBN: What kind of changes did Amgen see under Tia Bush’s leadership?
SEEWOESTER: Tia came back to Amgen Rhode Island for a second time, taking the role of vice president of site operations in the summer of 2016. She instilled a thinking as one team and acting with urgency when forward-moving, transformational change is needed. Tia re-established a strong connection to local communities and government and became a recognized role model for women in leadership positions.
PBN: What kind of changes do you anticipate are coming up for the company?
SEEWOESTER: Amgen is constantly finding innovative ways to meet our mission to serve patients. We are a forward-thinking company, striving always to be ready for industry changes – or driving them. We pioneered a next-generation biomanufacturing plant in Singapore and are now building it again in Rhode Island, but this time with a new, modular construction technique that will be the first time it’s deployed here. Both next-generation facilities have a high degree of equipment flexibility and allow Amgen to respond to changing demands with increased agility and speed at which a medicine is available for patients.
PBN: So, what is the status of the company’s next-generation biomanufacturing plant in West Greenwich?
SEEWOESTER: Construction of the new plant began in September and is steadily ramping up. The new plant will be mechanically complete in 2019.
PBN: What kind of opportunities will the new plant open up for the company and the community?
SEEWOESTER: A next-generation biomanufacturing plant incorporates multiple innovative technologies into a single facility. Due to its highly flexible, modular design, we can build it in half the construction time with approximately one-half of the operating cost of a traditional plant.
Next-generation biomanufacturing plants require a smaller manufacturing footprint and offer greater environmental benefits, including reduced consumption of water and energy and lower levels of carbon emissions.
The new plant’s equipment is also portable, smaller and disposable, providing greater flexibility and speed when manufacturing different medicines simultaneously. … The plant is expected to create approximately 150 additional highly skilled manufacturing positions and approximately 200 construction and validation jobs.
Susan Shalhoub is a PBN contributing writer.
