Stephanie Haverstick, Vice-President Quality and Compliance

Always New Challenges

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"There are always new challenges here. There's always a new product to put out. The regulatory environment is always changing. Nothing stays static. Everything changes in a year.

"So what I'm doing right now, in a year is going to look completely different, and that's just the way it is. And honestly, that's what keeps you interested in your job."

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My Job

MY JOB

Title: Vice-President of Quality and Compliance
Key Tasks & Responsibilities:
- ensure that regulatory requirements are met for products, facilities and equipment
- develop new strategies for regulatory compliance
- help develop quality standards for new products
Years: 5
Supervises:
- Director of Quality Assurance
- Director of Laboratory Services
- Regulatory Affairs Manager
- Administrative Assistant
Works with:
- Vice-President of Operations
- Vice-President of Information Technology
- Vice-President of Finance
- Vice-President of Sales
Reports to: Chief Financial Officer at Leiner Inc. (parent company) TOC

Work with Everybody

Work with Everybody

In this position, I have to be able to work with everybody. I need to work with the sales department, helping them understand our regulations, our company direction, etc.

I also have a lot of interaction with our customers, both in contract manufacturing as well as in the retail side of the business.

This position really touches everybody. Because of all of the different people I deal with, my office is definitely one of the more busy offices.

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Worked My Way Up

Worked My Way Up

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I grew up in this company from the ground up. Doing that, you learn a lot of different disciplines, and you don't necessarily get that if you've always stuck to a certain role.

"You need hands on experience. You need your technical background and educational expertise as well, but you need to grow up in the industry and get your hands into a whole lot of different scenarios to really get a grasp on how to handle the business aspect."

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Hands-On Leader

Hands-On Leader

We work as a team and though I'm the team leader, the one who's setting the direction, I'm not the person who's doing all of the daily things. But it is my signature on the final result.

People are often surprised at how many times they'll see my signature on things. I sign all of our internal procedures and our internal validation reports.

I'm still very much hands-on and very much involved in the direction of that aspect of our business.

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Project Teams

Project Teams

When we take on a new product to manufacture, we set up project teams to monitor all of the different aspects, from development on through to the point where it actually hits the shelves.

I'm usually on that team because it requires cross-functional understanding of things. If I weren't on the team then all three of my people would have to be, because they know elements of their own areas, but not necessarily how it functions with other areas. So it's a lot easier for me to be part of a project team.

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Where I Work

Where I Work

I work at Vita Health. We deal in both over-the-counter pharmaceuticals and Natural Health Products. We do private label manufacture for retail clients like Shopper's Drug Mart, Wal Mart and Loblaws, making their house brand pharmaceuticals.

Our other business is in contract manufacturing, working with some of the branded clients doing development work on their products. We do Bayer's "One-a-Day" line for instance.

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About Me

ABOUT ME

Background
- grew up in small communities
- married with two children
- now living in St. Norbert area

Interests/Activities
- relaxing at the lake
- boating/kayaking with family
- reading TOC

Like to Relax

Like to Relax

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"In my time off I like to do nothing. I like to go to the lake, go kayaking, swimming, on the boat. I just like to be outside relaxing.

"I like to read. I just like to do things that are relaxing and take very little thought."

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About Manitoba

About Manitoba

The lakes around Manitoba are great. They're beautiful. I'm not so fond of the mosquitoes but you have to take the good with the bad.

I also like the pace here and I like the people here. People tend to be a lot friendlier, probably because they have a little bit more time in their day and time to be friendly.

In other areas they're rushing around with less time for the little things.

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Growing Up

Growing Up

My father was in the army. I grew up in a place called Petawawa in southern Ontario until I was 14 and then my father left the army and we moved to Thompson Manitoba. I lived there until I went away to school.

Thompson was an interesting, smaller community and very closely knit. There were a lot of outdoor activities around, which was great. Their lakes are only twenty minutes away. It was a lot quieter, a lot slower paced. It was nice in that sense.

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Planned University

Planned University

I think because my parents recognized the importance of a good education, I don't really remember a time where it was even a question of whether or not I would go to school after high school. It never occurred to me that I wouldn't go to university.

So my parents pretty much did whatever they could to ensure that I would go to university and progress from there.

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About Winnipeg

About Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the perfect size. You get all the benefits of being in a city, with none of the pitfalls of having to commute for an hour and a half to your workplace. Your day pretty much ends when it ends and you're back at home in short order.

That aspect of it allows you to have a little bit more personal life than you would if you were in a metropolitan area such as Toronto, spending hours commuting. That's why I like living here.

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My Day

MY DAY

8:00 am: Arrive, check and respond to email and voice mail
9:00 am: Monthly financial meeting - video conference
10:00 am: Validation Steering Committee meeting
11:00 am: Check and respond to email
11:30 am: Review Vendor Classification file
12:00 pm: Lunch break
1:00 pm: Executive strategic planning meeting - business review
3:30 pm: New product development meeting - conference call with LA head office
4:30 pm: Go home!
9:00 pm: Check and respond to emails at home using my Blackberry

"In between all of these events there are also phone calls, emails and people coming to me with questions and issues to solve." TOC

Business Travel

Business Travel

I didn't used to travel a lot but in recent years I've had to go a little more often - maybe 6 times a year. A lot of our customers are based in Toronto and our head office is in L.A. so there's no way that I can get away with not travelling.

Also, all of the different regulatory agencies and industry affiliations are centred in the east as well. So I have to make some trips out there just to stay in tune with the industry.

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Unpredictable Days

Unpredictable Days

I've come to accept the fact that the day that I think I'm coming in to, is unlikely going to be the day that I leave. My day is not my own.

My day is mentoring somebody through whatever problem they've been presented with or developing corrective action plans.

So no matter how well I plan ahead, there are always distractions and interruptions to that plan.

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Managing Email

Managing Email

I'm now a slave to email. Email has become a fantastic business tool, but it's also a complete time consumer. Where someone would pick up the phone before and ask a quick question, now will write a half a page email, which of course requires a written response.

You have to consider what you're going to write in an email too because the written word does not come across in the same manner as the verbal word. You have to be sure what you type can't be taken any other way than how you mean it.

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Fast Paced

Fast Paced

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Our pace is very fast here. Things are always changing. There's always a problem to be solved. There's always an issue to develop a plan for.

"Business needs change daily. We have regulatory constraints, regulatory environments that are ever changing, product offerings changing. It's just a very quick paced environment."

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Many Meetings

Many Meetings

My days are loaded with meetings. More and more as I become involved with the strategic direction of the company, meetings take up a good portion of my day. We practically have to call a meeting to call a meeting!

I find that the higher up I go, the less actual work I'm able to put out. I used to put out papers and dissertations and various different reports. I no longer have the time to do that. I can just basically guide somebody along to do that for me. I do miss doing those kinds of things.

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Me and My Job

ME AND MY JOB

Likes
- the challenge of being part of the management team
- the pace
- problem solving

Challenges
- managing the interpersonal dynamics of a large staff
- keeping correspondence under control
- communication gaps between the Canadian and US offices TOC

Keeping Life Balanced

Keeping Life Balanced

Balancing my home and work life can be difficult but fortunately, my husband is self-employed so he has a lot more flexibility in his schedule. I take our son to the sitter and he takes our daughter to school and I pick them up.

So my day has to end at 4:30. If I have to be here later, I'll call him and he'll make that accommodation but the trade off is I don't call in sick when my children are sick. He takes those days.

That also means there are a lot of nights where I'm working on the computer from home. So it's a hard thing to balance. It can be done, but it's tough.

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Time for Play

Time for Play

The work environment here is good. We like to have fun. We know there's a time to do business, but we also know there's a time to play. There's a social committee that sets up different events throughout the year.

We don't want people just tied to their desk, trudging away. They're not going to be the most productive people. If they can't express themselves and let off some steam then you're not going to get the best out of them.

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Work Chose Me

Work Chose Me

I don't know that I actually chose this line of work. In university I studied microbiology, which is more genetically focused. My first job and all of my summer jobs leading up to full time employment just happened to be in quality assurance in the food industry.

Quality assurance is quality assurance. It's all the same principles - all logic and common sense and you can apply them anywhere. There may be some specifics that differ because of the products you're dealing with, but the basic principals are the same.

It just made a lot of sense to me. I enjoyed it.

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Thrive on Pressure

Thrive on Pressure

This is a very high pressure job. I'm responsible for people's jobs and livelihoods in addition to being responsible for the daily business and the compliance aspects and getting the sales out the door.

But I thrive on that aspect of the job. I don't think I'd be in this position if I didn't. I don't think anybody could be for any amount of time.

I'm also very driven and very focused on details. In the compliance area, details are very important, so being able to focus on them is absolutely critical.

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Very Bossy!

Very Bossy!

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Well, I'm very bossy. That's true! I am very bossy. I like to be in control and obviously the higher up the chain you are, you have more opportunity to be in control of a situation and not having to worry about how people are dictating things be done.

"You have more opportunity to listen to input and guide that into the direction that you see it going."

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My Resume

MY RESUME

Education
Accredited in Quality Management System Audit Accredited, Lead Assessor Training: ISO 9000
1989-Present: Various Training Courses & Seminars, including Food Labelling, Food Safety and Crisis Communication, Total Quality Management, Laboratory practices and technology courses
1989: Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, University of Manitoba
1984: First Year Science, University of Ottawa

Experience
2000-Present: Vice President Quality & Compliance, Vita Health Products Inc. Winnipeg
1999-2000: Director of Quality, Vita Health Products Inc., Winnipeg
1994-1999: Quality Manager, Vita Health Products Inc., Winnipeg
1992-1993: Quality Control Supervisor, Vita Health Products Inc., Winnipeg
1991-1992: Laboratory Analyst, Vita Health Products Inc. Winnipeg TOC

Other Critical Skills

Other Critical Skills

People Skills
You need to be able to listen and to accept advice at times as well. You have to recognize when someone has more expertise in an area than you do and be willing to accept that so that you get the best solution in a situation.

Business Skills
In this position basic understanding of business financials is critical. You have to be able to understand your balance sheet and the effects on your bottom line.

Communication Skills
Communication skills are critical regardless of the level that you're at in a company. Writing is extremely important with so much being done by email nowadays.

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Critical Technology

Critical Technology

The technology that helps me most in my job is the computer. I use programs like Word to generate reports and Excel and PowerPoint to analyze and present information. And then of course there's email. So the computer is a critical tool for me.

I also now use a Blackberry. It allows me to be in constant contact with work, which sounds like a bad thing when I'm on vacation, but it prevents coming back to a nightmare. I don't come back to three hundred unopened emails and if any critical projects are on the go when I leave, I can still be in contact and write back instructions.

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Problem Solving

Problem Solving

A degree is very important in this position because you need a solid scientific background. But equally as important are life skills. You don't learn common sense in school. School teaches you facts and how to deal with facts. It doesn't teach you problem solving and thinking outside of the box to say, "You know what? Regardless of what this is showing me, it doesn't make sense and it won't work in the real world."

There's a big difference between theory and application. You need the technical background for the theory, but you also need to have a logical approach to a situation and understand all the external influences other than the science, that are going on.

I'd suggest people get hands-on experience to learn how to solve problems.

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Industry Experience

Industry Experience

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"In order to be part of the executive team for the pharmaceutical industry you need to have at least been involved in this industry for five years.

"The regulatory environment is very specific and in order to be able to apply good strategic plans etc. you have to have a good sound knowledge of the regulatory environment you're in."

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Technical Skills

Technical Skills

Technical skills are extremely important. We are dealing with pharmaceutical products and you need to have a good background in science, not only to formulate products but to analyze the products, to understand product improvements, the effect that slight changes would have on a product formulation.

All those sort of things require a technical background. You have to be able to explain your product and put together product monographs and scientific information for the regulatory authorities to evaluate your product.

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My Future

MY FUTURE

Stephanie sees challenge and growth in both her career's and her company's future. She hopes to go back to school for her Masters in Business Administration once her children are a bit older and she has more time.

In the meantime Stephanie will continue, with the other Vice-Presidents, to manage the company until a new CEO is in place. It's a challenge she's enjoying and learning a lot from. TOC

Challenging Career

Challenging Career

I'm at a challenging level in my career because our executive team is much more involved in the running of the company and making decisions about the business. So I'm focused on ensuring that I understand all the aspects of the business in order to make proper decisions.

I have been considering doing my MBA, to further my understanding of the business aspects of my job. Life is too busy to be considering doing it right now, but in the next five years I may go for it. I think it would certainly help me here, and anywhere that I might go.

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High School Preparation

High School Preparation

For a career like mine, you need to have all your sciences. Take chemistry and chemistry electives, such as organic chemistry if they're available to you. Physics is also helpful as well as basic biology.

You also need advanced math. You really need to load up on the science courses and the math courses to be successful in this area.

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Start at Ground Level

Start at Ground Level

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"In Manitoba there are a lot of pharmaceutical companies. There's a lot of opportunity. And we are starved for people.

"The thing is though, people need to understand that they have to start at the ground, and sometimes that's hard to accept when you're graduating from university.

"But there's a reason for that. You need to understand the ground before you can move up the stairwell a little bit."

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Nice Place to Be

Nice Place to Be

When I started here, having a quality system wasn't really a requirement. It was just becoming a requirement. Now we have a very well defined quality program and corrective action planning tools and things that we would never have even dreamed of when I started.

It takes a long time to implement a fully developed program. But now we're at a point where we're in continuous improvement mode as opposed to putting the infrastructure in place. We're now able to say, "I'd like to have that. Let's work toward putting that in place." as opposed to, "We have to have that and have it by tomorrow."

It's a nice place to be.

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Useful Links

MORE INFO

Manitoba's Health Care Products sector is growing rapidly, with many companies expanding their product lines and their customer bases. As a result, they are always looking for more trained, experienced people.

To do work like Stephanie, a science background is necessary. It's not critical to have university - college programs are also very good. They're often more hands-on than the university. In addition to college or university, industry specific training courses like those that HCPAM, the industry's association, offers are always valuable.

In addition to science and technical skills, Stephanie also recommends concentrating on developing your problem solving and critical thinking skills because that's what's going to take you above and beyond bench work . TOC

Job Market Info

Job Market Info

The links below take you to federal and regional government information on employment, education, salary ranges and long range prospects for this career.

The official name for Stephanie's occupation is "Senior Manager - Goods Production" and its *NOC code is 0016.

Job Futures 2000

Manitoba Labour Market Information

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

*Each occupation has an official name and unique number called the 'National Occupational Classification' code or 'NOC'.

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Education

Education

Not assessed for Useful High School Subjects in Job Futures.ca

University of Manitoba
Faculty of Science
Asper School of Business

University of Winnipeg
Faculty of Science
Administrative Studies (Joint with Red River College)
Management Certificate (Continuing Ed)

Red River College
All Programs
Then go to:
Applied Biopharmaceutical Processing
Applied Pharmaceutics
Applied Biology
Applied Chemistry
Business Administration
QA/QC in Pharmaceutical Industry

Collège Saint Boniface
Faculté des sciences

Brandon University
Faculty of Chemistry
Business Administration

Assiniboine Community College - Brandon
Business Administration
Business Finance

University College of the North - The Pas/Thompson
All Programs - PDF
Business Administration - page 24
Management - page 79

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Industry Association

Industry Association

The Health Care Products Association of Manitoba (HCPAM) focuses on the development of the Biotech and Pharmaceutical Medical Device industry in the province.

They provide training, networking and information on many issues and programs that create opportunities for better market access and the achievement of quality standards.

(Stephanie Haverstick is currently Vice-President of HCPAM)

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Related Careers

Related Careers

Related careers from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada web sites:

Director, Quality Control - Chemistry (Science Managers - 0212)

Production Supervisor - Pharmaceuticals (9212)

Manufacturing Manager (0911)

Pharmaceutical Chemist (2112)

Chemical Technologists and Technicians (2211)

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Professional Associations

Professional Associations

Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association

Non-Prescription Drug Manufacturers of Canada

Natural Health Products Directorate (Health Canada)

Manitoba Quality Network

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