Magnified featuring Nicole Selenko-Gebauer

In the “Magnified” series, we take a closer look at the life experiences & career journeys that have shaped AbbVie’s leaders. Meet Nicole Selenko-Gebauer, AbbVie’s vice president of global medical affairs. Her curiosity, love of complex problems, and willingness to embrace life’s imperfections help her find harmony between a career leading one of AbbVie’s largest R&D teams and a busy home life with five children.

As a young girl growing up in Austria, what inspired you to pursue a career in science and medicine?

The first inspiration was my mother. She was a biology teacher and was passionate in her teaching. She didn’t teach according to the books, but to the latest scientific articles that she brought to her classrooms. I remember she was proud that in her classes everyone was listening – which I did not believe as a child and sometimes visited her lectures just to check. Indeed, she was inspiring several of her students to go into science. I grew up with her passion and curiosity, and I know I have a lot of her in me.

My brother is a biochemist, so he got that infusion, too. My father was a businessman. I always say that I think I got my passion for science from my mother and maybe the interest in how organizations work from my father.

I had a plan to study biochemistry because I really liked to learn how cells and things function in organisms. I went to the university to apply to the program and saw scientists working in a lab. At that moment – I was 17 or 18 – I knew that wasn’t where I saw myself and I decided to study medicine, where I could connect science with a human touch, connecting with people.

After finishing my studies, I trained first in immunology specializing in monoclonal antibody characterization and then clinically in dermatology. I had the opportunity – as an immunologist in dermatology to build an outpatient clinic for bio-immunotherapy. Novel medicines like targeted biologics were available in clinical studies and later approved in plaque psoriasis. Given my special expertise I worked closely with pharmaceutical companies and at one point the opportunity presented itself to join the industry, so I took the leap.

Now I lead the global medical affairs team, our company’s largest group of physicians and scientists around the world. Our role is to be the clinical medical counterpart to our development and commercial teams, partnering with clinical gravitas on our pipeline building the bridge to real world use and treatment practice. We connect science to patients’ needs in the real world, further defining how to use medicines by answering core clinical questions. This is what we do across geographies around the world.

Was this your career plan?

I notice a common trait when I’m part of leadership discussions with other women. We speak about the bright side. The positives. We talk about being bold. About believing in ourselves. And it is important to do this to help each other grow and advance. But we also need to talk about the difficulties. It’s true that for all leaders there are struggles and sacrifices made.

Women have a unique set of challenges, and there isn’t one right answer to the tough personal and professional challenges that we sometimes face. We are told we can have it all, and that’s true to a certain extent. But 1+1 still only equals 2. The more we do, the more we stretch ourselves, and that means not everything can get the same amount of our time and attention. We make choices. Having courage to talk about this and to share our experiences is extremely valuable.

I will also say that men play a hugely important role in this conversation – both in supporting their partners and in role modeling at home and at work. I am extremely fortunate here at AbbVie in that the men are my partners, and we speak eye-to-eye. There is mutual respect and appreciation for our diverse backgrounds, no matter the gender.

You are a mom to five children, from ages 4 to 20. How do you manage a busy family life with a busy job?

I have many colleagues at different places in our organization who have special and sometimes challenging private situations. I do not see mine as special, nor do I believe I am better at how I manage it than anyone else.

For me, it means accepting that it’s not perfect. We have a wonderful family that is lively and diverse, demanding and direct. I don’t want it to be different. But it is not always easy. Between my teenagers and my 4-year-old, we are never at a loss for drama. Sometimes there is chaos at home, and I feel really tired. At times I choose to just say, I can’t do everything.

I have also surrounded myself with people who support me. I have a husband who has been flexible in his career so that I could fully pursue mine. I have parents who helped care for our children at different times. I’ve had mentors, both female and male, who have encouraged and motivated me. And I work for a company where I can bring my whole self to work, where I know my unique contributions and views are valued. It is the combination of all this support that has allowed me to keep growing, as a person and as a leader.

 

Learn more about Nicole