In the field of pharmaceuticals, Ross Bjella doesn’t run a conventional company. DDN is one of the smallest outsourced service providers in life sciences.
However, since becoming president in 2006, Bjella has challenged his employees to create a solid client base with specialized services to facilitate rapid growth, even among much larger life science providers.
The result has been a doubling of the company’s annual revenues, the launch of two new life science companies and the creation of new services such as regulatory and licensing consulting, data management and IT consulting.
One thing that sets DDN apart from competitors is the varied nature of its clients, Bjella said. Bjella wants to develop a base in all pharmaceutical segments, including brands, generics, biologics and medical devices. As a result, no single market makes up more than 15 percent of the company’s client base, he said.
Bjella also sought out aggressive expansion in the global market, specifically in parts of India where he foresaw generic companies looking to expand their products to the United States.
Bjella lives by and encourages his employees to “pay it forward.” Part of that philosophy means each employee is given a paid day off to work a volunteer event at a local charity, which has generated positive feedback from employees, he said.
A larger charity committee also was formed to help organize corporate participation among DDN employees for various programs, including Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, local food pantries and homeless shelters.
Address: 800 Woodland Prime,
Menomonee Falls
Web Site: www.ddnnet.com
Industry: Life sciences – outsourced
services provider
Revenues: $50 million
Employees: 100-249
