Gyan Bhatia | Key Account Manager–EMEA
Q. What is your current role at Penumbra?
Since January 2023, I started a new role as Key Account Manager for the EMEA region. This is a strategic role focused on growing the business and supporting service development in regions and centers with high-volume ischemic and hemorrhagic work. It also involves identifying and developing regional and international key opinion leaders – whilst collaborating with them through various partnerships and projects.
Q. What drew you to Penumbra?
As a degree I studied Medical Engineering, which for sure made me want to work for a med device/tech company. I was a research assistant on a bigger project looking into clot characteristics through microfluidics, which is when I realized working and developing my career in stroke, pulmonary embolism, and deep vein thrombosis was a must for me. I wanted to work for a company that not only had the best innovation, but also a deep conviction to the cause. This is where I realized early on from watching online videos of Penumbra colleagues in Alameda and talking to the UK team during the recruitment phase that Penumbra was the one.
Q. What aspects of your job do you enjoy most?
I love working cross-functionally and collaborating with different colleagues and departments internally, and externally in the hospitals. Helping my colleagues develop and grow their region, support their hospitals, collaborate with their physicians, and build strategies for their market is a lot of fun. I always want to find areas outside of the lab to partner with the hospitals and physicians in a meaningful and productive way. Lastly, traveling to different countries and cities within Europe is also a huge factor of my role that I’m fond of.
Q. Describe yourself at age 10. What career aspirations did you have at that age?
Food, food, and… more food! As a kid, I wanted to be a chef. I’m from an Indian family where any social gathering was based around masses of unbelievably mouth-watering food. Nowadays, when I take friends to visit my parents, we call it The Bhatia Banquet. There’s something quite fun and unique about spending a Saturday prepping food to host a dinner party for my friends.
Q. Describe a travel adventure that you’ll never forget.
The Tao Sailing Expedition in the Philippines. This was a not-for-profit organization to help support local fishing villages on the Palawan Islands. The purpose was to help build toilets and showers, as well as schools and training courses.
This was a four-day sailing expedition from El Nido to Coron via the South China and Sulu Sea, stopping off on islands en route. Although we had some crew on board to look after around 10 of us, we were actively encouraged to help fish when crossing the channels, cook, clean, and set up the huts when we reached these small fishing villages, hours away from any town or city. It was honestly breath taking to see the natural beauty of the Philippines. The coral and marine life was out of this world.
This trip was also a bit of a digital detox, not having your phone or watch for four to five days. So, if you wanted to know the time, it was either before or after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Simple things in life!
Q. What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I love my music and DJing. When I was around 15, after saving up some money from jobs, I bought a pair of turntables, speakers, and a box of second-hand records. As a hobby, I used to run a couple of music events, booking musicians from around the world, and started a small record label. Now, I love listening to jazz, ambient, and a lot of electronic music. Sadly, I didn’t go to Glastonbury Festival this year, but for sure hope to be back soon!
