Meet a Veevan: A Strategic Partner — the Key for being an Account Executive
Meet a Veevan is a series that looks at the employees who bring us life. We spoke to Adam Miller, Commercial Enterprise Account Executive for this edition. A family health crisis drove Adam to seek a position with an innovator and leader in life sciences where he could apply his tech sales experience and gain a sense of purpose.
What is your personal and professional background and how did you get to Veeva?
Adam: I studied economics at a school in Indiana where there was a budding tech scene, which led me to put down roots here. I had the good fortune to ride the wave of a startup tech company that grew from 15 to 100 people and served many industries, including life sciences. As the founders prepared to sell the business, I began to look at my next career move.
At the time, I was deeply impacted by what had transpired in my own family. I have two brothers who suffered from a rare blood disease. From the day they were born, I spent considerable time helping them at the hospital. Fortunately, a new drug therapy was released early on that eliminated the need for multiple blood transfusions for my brothers. This experience impacted me profoundly, and I felt compelled to dig into the life sciences space and see where I might put my tech sales background to work and focus on this industry. I began my research, but I wasn’t just looking for a company; I was trying to find a leadership team with a purpose that reflected on the company and what it was doing. That’s how I found Veeva. Before I even worked here, I bought stock in the company. It took me a year to find and obtain a sales position, and I have been here for three and a half years, working in Indiana with a Veeva shared office space in the vicinity.
As a commercial account executive, I see my role as a strategic partner. My job is to do what is right for the customer and the people involved. When I first joined, the role also involved building a footprint in the industry. Now, with Veeva’s significant market share, the role has morphed to be more about providing efficiencies with the tools they have purchased, orchestrating within Veeva to make this happen, and protecting what Veeva has built by assuring value recognition. Listening and showing empathy helps the customer feel that Veeva is partnering with them. We have to be aligned with our clients in a trusted relationship to meet their goals to better serve the final end-users: the patients. The servant-leader approach suits me well as I am not accustomed to being in the spotlight. Being quick to listen and slow to speak, and showing humility is a common way of acting on our team.
What’s unique about the work environment and culture at Veeva?
Adam: Leadership is an overarching theme when I think about the Veeva culture. It’s one of servant-leaders. Having worked with other leaders, teams, and companies, I have seen what not to do and really learned the difference it makes when leaders are there to serve you and the company first. Servant-leaders look to their teams for advice, discuss complex challenges, and respect your input.
I also have to credit Veeva’s trusted name, which is critical to our customers. Veeva’s customers want to work with Veeva, and it completely changes how you can work with customers and what you can achieve together.
On an industry level, it really helps that Veeva is focused squarely on one industry. I came from a multi-sector environment, so I really see the difference. Veeva’s industry focus allows it to innovate with vision in a language that is specific to its customers. This amount of expertise is a huge benefit. Added to this, the speed and quality with which Veeva moves to make product changes are beyond anything I expected.
You have to be nimble and give time and effort to work here. You also have to be willing to help team members outside of whatever you are doing. We take calls for each other even if we have a lot on our plate. We think like owners vs. employees in how we deal with any challenges that arise.
We handle substantial accounts, and customers can be understandably demanding. It’s critical to learn to lean into stress. Spending time with my new wife and growing family and a new pastime, fishing, helps me calm down and keep a level head.
How will Veeva help you grow?
Adam: Veeva helps me grow every day as I am being challenged to be responsible for something that matters. Many jobs you could take are just jobs you take to make a living. At Veeva, I have a sense of purpose. But, along with this comes the responsibility of owning large accounts and a sense of urgency to perform. I came to Veeva with almost no industry background but was able to get into the groove within six months thanks to the resources available to learn the industry. It’s important to know that, with hard work, it’s possible to become part of this highly complex life sciences sector coming from the outside. Veeva works with us to design our path and metrics for professional growth. It’s all part of captaining your own ship. I look forward to stepping into a leadership role when the time is right.
What would you say to someone who was thinking of working here?
Adam: Veeva is a healthy company that cares about what it produces — solutions to challenging problems.
When deciding where you want to work, alignment of purpose matters. Veeva takes this beyond the company’s purpose to a personal level — tying your strengths and values to the work you are doing and making it a priority to advance your career and personal life. If you get hired at Veeva, you can be confident that you have already done something special as the standards are very high, and you will be surrounded by the best people that you won’t easily find anywhere else.
