Cytiva’s Shivani Nadarajah, Senior Director of Human Resources for APAC, describes the region’s biopharma workforce as transforming at a pace that outstrips traditional hiring methods. Her strategy emphasizes internal movement, AI-assisted skill development, and an end to rigid career progression models, signaling a broader shift in how life sciences firms must approach talent management.

Nadarajah’s own career path illustrates this departure from convention. After ten years in supply chain—where she sourced materials for wind turbines—she transitioned into HR, calling it the right professional fit. That background influences her leadership: she insists on grasping business needs before designing people strategies. At Cytiva, which employs over 15,000 staff across 40 countries, this means adapting global policies to APAC’s diverse markets.

Her role requires reconciling two competing demands: maintaining corporate consistency while accommodating local differences. The APAC biopharma sector is expanding quickly, with nations like Singapore, India, and South Korea leading advances in drug development and biosimilars. Yet local conditions often conflict with headquarters directives. Nadarajah addresses this through frequent travel and virtual engagements, ensuring regional perspectives shape broader company decisions.

Building confidence over corporate ladders

Her leadership is built on a single principle: reducing dependency on individual expertise. Instead, she focuses on cultivating internal talent for greater responsibility. “My goal is to [ensure they do] not need me in the future and really build that expertise and that capability here,” she says with a smile. This is particularly vital in APAC, where technical ability is strong but employees often lack confidence in promoting their skills. “How do you find your voice?” she asks. She believes career success should not be measured by how quickly someone climbs the corporate ladder, but by how broadly they develop throughout their journey.

For Cytiva, internal mobility provides the solution. More than 60% of positions are filled internally, allowing employees to gain cross-functional experience. Nadarajah rejects the idea that career success depends on rapid promotion. “It’s not, ‘How fast can I climb the ladder? It’s, ‘How many different experiences can I get as I move through my career?'” Exposure to different functions, projects, and challenges helps create leaders who are better equipped to handle uncertainty, something she believes every organization will increasingly need.

This approach reflects a larger industry trend: hiring alone cannot match the pace of change. The biopharma sector is being reshaped by scientific progress, evolving customer expectations, and the rise of AI. Nadarajah argues the focus must shift from whether companies can recruit fast enough to whether they can develop talent quickly enough. In her view, the industry’s biggest challenge is no longer attracting talent. It is developing people quickly enough to keep pace with rapid scientific advances, changing customer expectations, and evolving business needs.

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AI-proof skills matter most now

The challenge extends beyond technical training; it involves cultivating skills AI cannot replicate, such as relationship management and flexibility. In a region where collaboration spans functions, nations, and cultures, these interpersonal skills are becoming as essential as technical knowledge.

Nadarajah’s hiring philosophy has also evolved. While technical proficiency remains critical, especially in biotechnology and biomedical science, resilience, comfort with uncertainty, and adaptability now rank highest. Traditional career paths are fading, replaced by continuous adaptation.

Each APAC market presents distinct obstacles. Talent shortages persist across the region, but solutions differ by country. Nadarajah’s strategy avoids a uniform approach, instead relying on localized engagement and flexibility. The unanswered question is how Cytiva will expand these customized methods across a globally dispersed workforce.

Local talent pipelines for critical roles

Despite the emphasis on internal mobility, targeted recruitment remains necessary in APAC. Singapore and South Korea face acute demand for specialized roles in bioprocessing and advanced manufacturing, where expertise in single-use systems and automation is essential. Cytiva addresses this by collaborating with local universities and research institutions to build talent pipelines. In Singapore, for example, the company partners with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) to identify and develop graduates whose skills align with industry needs before they enter the workforce.

India’s biosimilars expansion creates different priorities. The sector’s rapid growth has led to high turnover in regulatory and quality assurance roles, where experience often matters more than formal qualifications. Nadarajah’s team counters this by offering accelerated certification programs in collaboration with industry groups.