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Philips is a huge organization, but the Chennai hub feels more like a startup

Juliane Gerlach, Financial Business Systems Analyst


Over the next few years, Philips’ Chennai hub will establish seven Centers of Excellence throughout the world. As part of this development, we are seeking to hire and relocate talented individuals across multiple functions to create a strong, modern and innovative hub in Chennai, India. Juliane Gerlach is one of the Chennai site’s 300 current employees, but over the next 12 months that number will increase to around 1,000. Read what Juliane has to say about working for Philips, and discover what life is like here.
 
My name is Juliane Gerlach, and I am one of 300 people currently working at Philips’ hub in Chennai. Over the next 12 months we’re looking to grow our operations by hiring or relocating as many as 1000 talented individuals across multiple departments. I’m feel very lucky to work here, and fully believe in what we are building.

“In Philips Chennai, we are helping Philips standardize its processes while making cutting-edge health tech products.”

I first joined Philips in Andover, Massachusetts, when I was fresh out of college. As a foreign student in America it can be a challenge to find an organization willing to sponsor you, but thankfully that wasn’t a problem for me. I started as a Financial Analyst and now, not even two years into my career, I’m here in Chennai as part of a team within FP&A. I’ve held different finance roles and moved across the globe, which has helped me grow professionally.

“Philips’ innovations touch the lives of millions of people, and to know that my work contributes to something so big is a matter of pride.”

Working in Chennai has been a life-changing experience. Philips is a huge organization, but the Chennai hub feels more like a startup. We're all working together to make things happen and there’s a definite family feel. Since everyone here is fairly new to the organization, we are all going through the same experiences and learning curves, and we are all happy to offer support and advice. We have an open culture where people’s opinions are heard and valued, so everyone feels accountable and is willing to take ownership.

At first I was a little skeptical of how it would be to work for a service providing organization, especially at a phase where it was still setting up, but because everyone is in the same boat, we work together to bridge knowledge gaps. I haven’t experienced the hiccups that generally happen during this stage of a company’s development.

One of the most motivating things is that ambitious people can progress quickly; I’ve only been here for two years, and already I’ve been given opportunities that I never would have expected after such a short period of time. Every day my efforts enhance not only my own development, but also play a part in enhancing Philips’ overall offering, and that’s immensely satisfying.