Sam Gill to drive growth in evolving sector across Australia and New Zealand
Sam Gill to drive growth in evolving sector across Australia and New Zealand
SYDNEY, January 30, 2023: Ongoing growth within the life sciences sector has led global workplace strategy, design and construction leader Unispace to make a key new appointment to its Australia and New Zealand team.
Sam Gill has been appointed as Unispace’s Head of Life Sciences for the ANZ region, based in the company’s Sydney office. He joins Unispace from Johnstaff, where he was a leading head contractor within the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry in Australia.
Mr Gill’s new role will see him working alongside other industry specialists in the Unispace Life Sciences team, including Chris Edwards, based out of Auckland, and Debbie Leyland, based out of Brisbane.
“This newly created role bolsters Unispace’s investment in the life sciences sector both in ANZ and globally,” Emma Forster Mitrovski, Unispace CEO, ANZ, said. “Sam has spent most of his professional career working in the life sciences sector, with a particular focus in this area over the last eight years. He specialises in the construction and delivery of research laboratories and pharmaceutical production facilities including clean rooms and biocontainment facilities.
“We are thrilled to welcome Sam to our growing team, and we’re excited to see how he can support Unispace’s continued growth in this evolving sector. Unispace brings a unique end-to-end solution to the life sciences sector, we offer our clients a purpose-built model to control risk and cost, while ensuring design and delivery excellence.”
Mr Gill’s experience in the life sciences sector across Australia and New Zealand has seen him work with major players such as Baxter Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, AbCellera and Phebra.
Project highlights have included the delivery of the PC3 Ebola Laboratory at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the award-winning expansion of Phebra’s NSW facility which included manufacturing, packaging, research, laboratory, and administration components.
Mr Gill said his new role with Unispace represented an opportunity to “be part of something new and exciting as it grows, but with the security and backing of an established global business”.
“Through my background delivering life sciences projects, such as laboratories and clean rooms, I deeply understand our client requirements and drive an effective construction process,” he said. “The Unispace Life Sciences team has an exciting growth projection and being able to help shape that growth was a real driver for me in joining Unispace.
“In addition, Unispace’s investment in life sciences through the purchase of BioPharma Engineering last year really shows its intention to be a leader in this rapidly evolving sector, and I’m looking forward to being a part of that. Having a global network of experts to bounce ideas off and learn from, particularly across key regions such as Europe and the Americas, was also just too good an opportunity to pass up.”
The acquisition of Ireland-based BioPharma Engineering (BPE), which became BPE, A Unispace Life Sciences Company, in 2022 further bolstered Unispace’s technical capabilities to lead additional project types including laboratory, research and manufacturing facilities, and supported the firm’s expansion in this sector globally.
“The life sciences industry delivers critical solutions from bringing products to market to creating new vaccines, medical devices and other pharmaceutical and biotechnology innovations that help tackle the world’s most urgent challenges,” Ms Forster Mitrovski said. “Never has the importance of life sciences been more visible, especially in the last two-and-a-half years.
“This is driving the demand for world-class facilities that support the technical experts and talent and keep companies on the leading edge.”
Mr Gill agreed, saying the worldwide focus on biotechnology in recent years had led to a renewed emphasis on the local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals.
“Pre-covid, the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals within Australia and New Zealand had slowed, but in recent years there has been a real push from the community for these items to be made locally once again,” he said.
“Coupled with the fact that, worldwide, the rapid growth in biotech start-ups has seen tens of billions of dollars invested into the sector, which has resulted in huge demand and competition to attract the best talent, there is now a real push to give the brilliant minds in this sector some really amazing workplaces.
“Unispace is in a unique position because we have been in this business for over 10 years, creating workplaces to empower employees and help companies attract and retain top talent. As this becomes a growing focus for companies in the life sciences space, Unispace is perfectly placed to help companies who are looking to change the way they design their research and manufacturing facilities to give their people the best environment to succeed.”
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ABOUT UNISPACE
Unispace is a global strategy, design, and construction leader creating people-centric spaces for a rapidly changing world. Unispace’s world-class strategists, designers, and project managers work together as one single, unified team. Our goal: to create spaces that spark brilliance, deepen connections, foster a sense of belonging and propel success.
For more information Unispace Life Sciences, click here.
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