New AVR site representatives
The AVR holds site representative elections every two years. In the elections held at the end of 2016, eight site representatives retained their seats on the AVR Board and were joined by three new people.
Marion Eckert-Krause certainly hit the ground running. She joined Roche in July 2015 as a Quality Risk Manager in Chemical Development, rapidly made a name for herself and successfully stood for election. After training as a practice nurse and gardener, she studied biology and waste management, then worked for several years in field sales before moving to internal sales via key account management. She spent nearly ten years in sales operations before earning a doctorate in medicine. Since then, she has worked in quality management.
She has seen her fair share of reorganisations in her working life, but says that these have furthered her professional development. This is one reason she is keen to get involved in the AVR, as she explains: “I feel it's very important to provide positive support to staff during change processes.” For example, she wants to focus on “survivors” – the employees who have to shoulder a reorganisation after those affected by it have departed.
Marion Eckert-Krause is married and has two adult children and two grandchildren. A disciplined endurance athlete, she is a passionate nature warden and is learning to hunt. She also devotes some of her spare time to voluntary work.
When trained chef Frank Schwarb chose to do an apprenticeship as a chemistry process operative at Roche's former Vitamins division (now DSM), his colleagues assured him he would be there until he retired. He moved into training, where he was responsible for design and development. In his spare time, he completed training courses in IT and business administration. After being affected by a restructuring exercise, he moved to a small pharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for developing and rolling out a GMP training strategy. He also trained as an adult educator at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland in Basel. His diligence and flexibility paid off. Frank joined Roche in 2010 in Parenterals, Basel, before transferring to Rocephin Packaging Support in Kaiseraugst, where he works in training and documentation and is involved in various projects. “For me, the social aspect is an absolute priority,” he says, explaining his motivation for getting involved in the AVR. He has already gained experience of committee work in company organisations such as the fire brigade and the sports club.
Frank Schwab is married and has two adult children. He enjoys jogging, cycling and fitness training for relaxation, and is also very keen on water sports and skiing.
Ralf Geertsen is the new AVR site representative for Roche Glycart (RICZ) in Schlieren, replacing Erwin van Puijenbroek. A molecular biologist with a PhD to his name, he began his Roche career at Penzberg, Germany, in 2007. Before moving to Biosafety (Safety, Health & Environment) at Roche Glycart in Schlieren in 2015, he spent eight years at Roche Diagnostics in Rotkreuz. It was there that he encountered and joined the AVR Central Switzerland branch. In his project work, Ralf has lots of contact with staff and knows from his own experience that “When it comes to occupational safety, employees have plenty of questions and are grateful for support”. Particularly in Schlieren, which was expanded last year and where the 180 or so employees are soon to be relocated to a new building, AVR-related issues will be part of daily business. In addition to the traditional AVR events, the agenda also includes launching various benefit activities and reaching out to more employees, particularly those with an international background.
Ralf Geertsen is married and has three adult sons. After hours, you'll find this outdoor sports enthusiast cycling, climbing, skiing or diving – when he's not playing the trombone in a big band.