In this months installment, we put a spotlight on John Valdes. John joined us after completing his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania and has been with Nuvera for just over two years. Take a look to see how he got to Nuvera and his go to karaoke song.
What led you to this career? While taking my MBA, I had the opportunity to work with Gilead Sciences and I jumped at it because of truly novel medicines they’d developed. It was a bit different from the public health work I did in the Philippines, where pharma companies actually got a pretty bad rap in my professional circle. But during my summer at Gilead I met a lot of passionate, patient-centered professionals whom I grew to admire, and showed me the tremendous impact I could make through a career in pharmaceuticals. So when I came back for my second year of MBA, I focused my job search on pharma and pharma-focused consulting companies, and that led me to Nuvera.
Do you have a hidden talent? What is it? I can crack the knuckle on my right thumb over, and over, and over again… indefinitely.
If you could snap your fingers and become an expert in something, what would it be? I would love to be a polyglot! I only speak two languages but I wish I could speak more. Being able to parachute into a random country and thrive by effectively communicating in the native language would be dope.
What’s your go-to karaoke song? On a business trip in 2015, took me 48 hours and multiple layovers (including an overnight delay at JFK due to a snowstorm) to go from Manila to Lima, Peru. It was my first time to fly alone. My first night after touching down at Lima, still drunk on jet lag, my officemates took me out to karaoke and I sang Champagne Supernova by Oasis. It’s been my song ever since.
Who would play you in a movie about your life? An East Asian man, I’d hope! Should go without saying but you never know how Hollywood producers might mess that one up, right?? I’ve been told multiple times across years and continents that I look like Ryan Higa. I could probably play him in his biopic.
