Jan Christmann Finds Way to Contribute to Global Health as an IT Professional

Q: What drew you to your field, and how did you come to work at Gilead?

My work with computers started as a hobby with the first Commodore PCs in the 1980s. In the early 2000s, I turned my hobby into a profession and gained experience in several different industries. In 2013, a former colleague was searching for a new team member for Gilead IT in Germany and I was looking for a job in an international environment.

I’m based in Munich and part of the local IT site support team. I have specific responsibilities for Germany, Switzerland, Romania and Russia; and I support Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and South Africa. I perform a variety of tasks, including end-user support, server and conference room configurations, and hardware purchases. I also hold regular meetings with business partners to understand their needs and provide guidance to our local IT colleagues in the countries we support. I enjoy the opportunity to work with and teach others about cutting-edge technologies in the ever-changing field of IT.

I see myself as a part of the whole. With each person I support and each project I complete successfully, I contribute to Gilead’s mission . It’s not only about what we do, it’s how we do our work together. I find it exciting how much my work varies from day to day, and I really enjoy the international way of working, supporting our colleagues in other countries, working globally as one IT team and interacting with colleagues from different cultures.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?

I always liked the idea of being an IT professional who can put things in a language people understand and take away their fear of technology. Over the years, I’ve developed the skill to transfer technical knowledge to colleagues in an easy and understandable way. I love being the one to train our colleagues on new technologies Gilead is implementing – in this way I’m able to use my skills to help many people across the company do their jobs more efficiently and enjoyably.

Jan Christmann’s work in IT helps keep Gilead employees connected and contributes to global health.

Q: How would you describe the company’s culture?

Gilead is a very open and accepting community. All the people I’ve met around the world have been easily approachable and friendly. In my experience this is somewhat unique, as I haven’t always found this to be true at other companies.

Q: Tell us about a time you really felt the impact of your work.

I especially feel the impact of my work when I deliver trainings. In this setting I can positively impact our employees’ day-to-day experience with IT. As an example, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, I provided hand-tailored trainings about modern workplace technologies to our colleagues, which we heard was particularly impactful as people were transitioning to working remotely.

I also feel the impact every time we support a move, an expansion of an office or when we open a completely new affiliate – like in December 2021, when I contributed to opening Gilead’s affiliate in Romania. With a global and cross-functional team, we achieved this together in just 10 months.

Q: What makes you feel valued as an employee?

I feel valued by getting the chance to work on projects with high visibility, and when we receive direct appreciation from colleagues and leadership – for example, when we support teams representing Gilead at health conferences. In this global and cross-functional environment, I’m the face of IT for our colleagues and help them meet their goals, so in the end we can all play a role in helping patients. Plus, I really enjoy always having an inspiring story to tell when people ask me where I work.