MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: TROELS RAHBEK-CLEMMENSEN

Could you tell us who you are and what it is that you do?

My name is Troels and I am originally from Denmark. While I have lived in the US since 2016, I only moved to Charlotteville in the Summer of 2023. I am a Business Planner with Microsoft, which means I work on Pricing and Packaging of software products, and I focus specifically on products in Healthcare.

What do you love most about the work?

I love how tangible this role is and that the work I do immediately has an impact on our products and product strategy. Besides from that I work with a bunch of great people, which always has been an important factor for me.

How did you arrive at this point in your career? What’s your backstory?

I have had to pivot a couple of times to get here, and each time figure out what are the transferable skills I can leverage. I originally have a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Copenhagen, which I used to think I was going to use to go into research in a pharmaceutical company. I moved to Columbia University in New York after my PhD to work as a Postdoctoral Researcher and while I was there, I was exposed to Management Consulting, which made me pivot away from Academia and Research. I then joined the Boston Consulting Group and spent the past 4 years in consulting focusing on our Tech practice and our Pharma / Life Sciences practice area. But after 4 years of doing a mix of Strategy and Operations work and having to travel most weeks for work, I realized I want to work on projects in Tech where I could be closer to the products and get more ownership, so in December of 2023 I left consulting for Microsoft. 

Has there been a light switch moment, a turning point, professionally &/or personally along the way? 

There have been a few light switch moments. Among other things, I have learnt to not be limited by what is perceived as the traditional next steps / path for a given role, but if I am interested in going into a new direction, it is important to identify what I can bring to the role. It might not be direct topic knowledge, but it can be transferrable skills that I have acquired in my previous work.

What are you currently working on, excited about, looking forward to?

As I am new-ish to Charlottesville I am excited to get increasingly rooted here and see what options are here for experiences. I recently started playing Badminton in Slaughter Rec Center with some friends and I am looking forward to getting better.

What are you reading these days?

I just started All The Lights We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. It's fictional story taking place in France during the Second World War. It was recommended to me by many different people and so far it is living up to expectations. 

Anything we missed that you might care to share (closing thoughts)?

I look forward to meeting you all, whether for a break in the lunch room or a coffee at JBird.