Pharmaceuticals: Jobs Landed

Stacey VanLeeuwen has been promoted to Sale and Operations Planning Supervisor for Perrigo, a leading pharmaceutical supplier.

VanLeeuwen is now responsible for developing demand forecasts that help the company make informed production, material supply, capacity planning and financial outlook decisions. She will be working at Perrigo’s Allegan, Michigan location.

VanLeeuwen joined Perrigo in 2008 and most recently served the company as an Inventory Analyst where she was responsible for minimizing inventory carrying costs, salvage and obsolescence.

VanLeeuwen earned a bachelor’s of business administration in integrated supply management from Western Michigan University.  She currently lives in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Erik Sijtsma has been hired as Internal Auditor for the Global Internal Audit team for Perrigo Co.

Sijtsma will contribute to the execution of the company’s annual internal audit plan. Sijtsma will be working at Perrigo’s Allegan site.

Sijtsma brings to Perrigo seven years’ experience in public accounting and internal auditing for manufacturing businesses in three different countries.

A native of Britsum in the Netherlands, Sijtsma now resides in Jenison, Mich.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Hogeschool Zuyd and a master’s from Vrije Universiteit in  Amsterdam.

Jon Brown-Larsen has been promoted to Financial Analyst for the Liquid Value Stream at Perrigo’s Allegan site.

Brown-Larsen is responsible in this position for providing financial analysis for the company’s liquid pharmaceutical products division.

Brown-Larsen has 20 years’ experience in financial analysis and cost accounting with several West Michigan manufacturing companies.

He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in business administration from Grand Valley State University.

Ira Wormack has been hired as Service Desk Operations Analyst for the information technology and services (IT&S) team for Perrigo Co. Wormack is now responsible for providing first level technical support to Perrigo employees. He will be working at Perrigo’s Allegan, Mich., site. Wormack has more than 20 years of experience providing various levels of IT support, specifically for international financial markets. Wormack earned bachelor’s from DeVry University. He currently lives in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Wayne Kline has been named SAP Release Manager for the information technology and services team at Perrigo Co.

Kline will be responsible for ensuring the reliability of Perrigo’s Systems Applications and Products.  He will be working at the Allegan location for the company.

Kline has worked for 22 years performing technical and application development responsibilities with Perrigo’s IT&S department.

Darrin Garris has been hired as Information Technology and Systems Project Manager at Perrigo. Garris is responsible for managing various IT projects while working out of the company’s Water Street office in Allegan.

Garris has 15  years experience in information technology and services. Prior to joining Perrigo, he worked with EDS, Rock Financial, Johnson Controls and Stryker.

Garris earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Oakland University and is certified as a Project Management Professional.

Originally from Lake Orion, Garris now lives in Holland.

Amethyst Smith has been hired as Legal Counsel for Perrigo Co.

As Legal Counsel, Smith is responsible for working with the company’s prescription drug business segment. She will be working at Perrigo’s Allegan site.

Smith previously practiced law as a senior-level intellectual property associate at Schiff Hardin LLP in Chicago.

She also teaches pharmaceutical patent law as an adjunct professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Smith holds a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, a master’s degree in chemistry from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Michigan.

A native of Perry, Mich., Smith now resides in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Jessica Thompson has joined Perrigo as a tax analyst.

She assumes responsibility for tax preparation, special projects and tax planning.  She will be working at Perrigo’s Allegan, Mich., location.

Thompson previously was a senior tax associate with BDO USA, LLP, based in the company’s Grand Rapids office.

A native of DeWitt, Mich., Thompson now resides in Jenison.

Perrigo has hired Britt Tasker as senior talent acquisition consultant for its Human Resources team.

Tasker will work with internal customers to design and implement talent acquisition processes that identify and bring in exceptional candidates to work for Perrigo.

He has been recruiting and leading recruiting teams in the life sciences field for the last 10 years at Fortune 250 and privately held organizations.

Bruce D. Johnson has been named vice president Consumer Healthcare Research and Development at Perrigo Co.  

Johnson will lead new product development for Perrigo’s U.S. consumer healthcare business based in Allegan, Mich. He also will have responsibilities also at research sites in New Jersey and India.

Johnson joined Perrigo in 2005 and has since played a critical role in the company’s Analytical Research and Development activities for both the United States and abroad.

Johnson holds a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree (cum laude) from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota.

He is a resident of Byron Center, Mich., and a native of Sioux City, Iowa.

Christopher Roop has joined Perrigo Co. as vice president of corporate development. In this role, Roop will be responsible for identifying, evaluating and pursuing acquisition targets that complement the company’s strategic growth objectives.

Roop joins Perrigo from the investment banking industry where he spent several years advising healthcare companies on mergers and acquisitions. With a focus on pharmaceutical company clients,. Roop played a central role in all aspects of advisory assignments including idea generation, valuation, due diligence and transaction negotiations.

He earned both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He and his wife have recently relocated from New York City to Grand Rapids, Mich.

Jennifer Lee has been hired as corporate benefits specialist for the Human Resources group for Perrigo Company.

Lee will manage certain benefit plan vendors, serve as the key U.S. employee point of contact for domestic benefits at the company. Lee will be working at Perrigo’s Allegan, Michigan location.

Lee brings to Perrigo five years of experience, previously working as a compensation and benefits specialist in the education industry.

Lee earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Resource Management from Western Michigan University and a Master of Science degree in Administration with a concentration in Human Resources Administration from Central Michigan University. Lee is from Mattawan, Mich., and currently resides in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Kinn Chan de Velarde has been hired as regulatory affairs project manager for the scientific affairs team at Perrigo in Allegan.

Chan de Velarde is responsible managing from-beginning-to-end new and current over-the-counter regulatory files with the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in order to expedite getting Perrigo products to market.

Chan de Velarde brings to Perrigo 19 years of related experience.  Eight were in an academic lab setting conducting various kinds of research. She spent the other 11 years working in the pharmaceutical industry in drug study, microbiology, project management and regulatory affairs roles.      

Chan de Velarde earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and a Master of Science degree in Microbiology, both from the University of Michigan.  She also holds a Master of Business Administration in Strategic Marketing, International Business and Economics from the University of Chicago – Booth School of Business.

Chan de Velarde is from East Lansing, Mich., and currently resides in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Paul Tharrett has been hired as a production engineer at Perrigo, a leading pharmaceutical supplier in Allegan.

Tharrett will provide engineering support for two liquids value stream work centers at Plant 5.

He brings to Perrigo six years of engineering experience. He has implemented and supported lean manufacturing concepts at the plant level in the automotive industry.

Tharrett earned a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Business Management minor from Kettering University, graduating magna cum laude.