Espen D. Kateraas has spent more than 16 years in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and biopharmaceutical industry. He started his professional career with Eli Lilly & Co. in Europe in 1993 where he helped establish the company's operations in Poland as Customer Service Manager. He also worked for Lilly in the United Kingdom in a cross-regional demand management role.
Espen joined St. Jude Medical Inc. in Vienna, Austria, in 1996 as Product Manager and was later promoted to Global Product Manager working out of Los Angeles, California, where he helped launch several products. In addition, he helped in the development, launch and marketing of other important cardiac devices, such as the Frontier Bi-Ventricular Stimulation Device.
In 2000, Espen joined Becton Dickinson & Co. as Senior Manager Worldwide Marketing and helped build and manage the BD Immunization Team - a global business unit focused on the development, sales, and marketing of safe injection devices. He also helped manage the company's Influenza and Biodefense preparedness activities.
After six years with BD, Espen joined Bavarian Nordic as Vice President and Managing Director. Between 2006 and 2009 he helped set up Bavarian Nordic's Washington, DC operations in support of the company's partnership with the US Government to develop a safe and effective third generation smallpox vaccine. He also helped profile the company's sales and marketing activities in the Middle East and South America.
Espen received his BBA from Pacific Lutheran University and studied at the National University of Singapore as well as the Institute of European Studies in Vienna, Austria.