Head of Culture and Communication Philippe Arnez strives to align company values, behaviors, and the brand to reflect its purpose.
Philippe Arnez joined the LS CancerDiag team in 2019 and celebrates his fifth work anniversary in July 2024. His journey to the company has taken him from Switzerland and France to Finland through Peru, from corporations to SMEs. Through his experiences, he has realized that creating a sense of belonging is what drives him in organizations. It took both positive and negative experiences for him to discover his passion for company culture, organizational health, and creating a positive impact. To Philippe, managing change always starts with managing the people.
Philippe Arnez was born in Bern, Switzerland, to a Swiss mother and a Bolivian father. He studied at ETH Zürich, the Federal Institute of Technology, which is currently ranked as the 7th best university globally and is the Swiss flagship for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Philippe initially pursued a bachelor’s degree in chemistry but realized that was not his desired career path by the time he started his master’s studies.
“I enjoyed doing lab work but found it to be a bit isolating. I realized that I preferred working with people rather than on solo projects. In addition, the intense competition within top university research groups didn’t resonate with me. So, I decided to explore other fields of study and was fortunate to find that my university had recently introduced a master’s program tailored for individuals with a science background who were interested in pursuing leadership roles in business. I switched to this program and graduated with a Master of Science in Management, Technology, and Economics. This gave me a basic understanding of the business world, complementing my scientific knowledge.”
Philippe completed his required internship at the European multinational aerospace corporation Airbus in Toulouse, France. He worked with the Airbus A380 aircraft line, gaining hands-on experience in global logistics and supply chain management. After graduating, Philippe continued working in procurement, transitioning to the beverage industry for a global corporation for almost ten years. During this time, he helped establish a global function based in Switzerland, which eventually led him to the corporation’s subsidiary in Lima, Peru. Throughout his career in strategic and operational procurement, Philippe learned many things from scratch, but the most important lesson was understanding the impact of corporate culture on everyone in the company.
“During this time, I had the opportunity to travel and learn from various people and cultures, which greatly expanded my perspective. Being fluent in Spanish and familiar with the culture due to my Bolivian heritage, I took on the role of procurement for the Latin American region; this was a natural career progression for me. However, the most valuable learning experience came during a significant organizational change when the company was acquired by its biggest competitor while I was working in Lima. The acquisition brought about considerable change management issues, and the work environment became less agreeable. Many individuals struggled with the new business models and lost their sense of belonging. This experience made me realize that effective change management is essentially about managing people.”
” The most important thing is how people show up in the work place, the behvaiours that are fostered, and how people treat each other.”
After his time in Peru, Philippe decided to take a break and travel the world with his Finnish wife. They eventually settled in Finland not least due to its appeal for raising small children and the high quality of life. In 2019, Philippe joined LS CancerDiag as a business allrounder and assist in commercializing the DiagMMR product.
“A role in a biotech start-up wasn’t necessarily what I was looking for, but it made sense and was a good opportunity. It was exciting to delve into the internationalization of LS CancerDiag’s business within the start-up environment. This involved market research, identifying market entry strategies, and participating in start-up programs. It became clear that expanding beyond the Finnish market was crucial for the company, as global markets were essential for such a specialized product. In the initial stages, my main focus areas were on business development, supporting the operations, but also writing grant applications and reaching out to investors in the efforts to raise capital. We were also keen on becoming part of the international start-up ecosystem and gaining insights from other European start-ups.”
In late 2019, the company had developed robust business plans for the coming years. However, the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 changed everything. With urgent global health concerns taking center stage, testing for hereditary cancer risk was no longer a top priority. Commercial pilots and research collaborations were canceled due to restrictions. LS CancerDiag also encountered new challenges related to COVID-19, such as organizing remote work and effective online collaboration as a laboratory-based company. The imposed break prompted the company to reconsider its focus and strategic targets, leading to a shift in priorities towards exploring the US market.
“During the pandemic, we focused on researching the US market as our primary target. We thoroughly examined the regulatory and operational landscapes and identified some weaknesses in our branding. In the US, our brand name was strongly associated with direct cancer testing, which gave investors the wrong impression of our services. Additionally, the name was tricky to spell, and the abbreviation LS was not well-known. As a result, we initiated a rebranding project with a US-based marketing agency. We are proud to announce that our new brand will be launched soon, and I’m incredibly excited about it!”
Philippe started as Chief Business Officer at LS CancerDiag. In this case it meant a very generalist role, taking care of a wide variety of topics, also depending on the priorities during different stages of the company. Since then, the company has evolved; his role has become more focused on culture and communication. Shaping the company culture and leading the rebranding project have been Philippe’s responsibilities in recent years. He aims to build a supportive work environment and a strong brand and company identity. To achieve this, involving the staff is essential, and Philippe has initiated both projects by facilitating company-wide workshops to define the values that underpin the brand and behaviors. Additionally, he offers company culture definition workshops as a freelance coach to other companies.
“My passion is connecting words and actions to company culture and the brand to ensure coherence within an organization. Everything should embody the company’s deeper purpose, its raison d’être. Even small details, such as the visual brand elements in the workplace, play a crucial role in making people feel like part of the company. Simple things like company-branded coffee mugs help bring the brand to life, both externally and internally. However, the most important thing is how people show up in the work place, the behvaiours that are fostered, and how people treat each other.”
As LS CancerDiag moves forward, Philippe will maintain his focus on internal and external communication, particularly related to the company’s entry into the US market. It’s important to keep the Finnish team and the upcoming US efforts and staff connected and engaged to ensure effective teamwork.
“It all comes down to good and frequent communication to cultivate a strong sense of belonging and unity, no matter where our people are based.”
