You may follow them on LinkedIn, but who are the Invenia Group team and what are they really like? Get to know the people behind the profiles in our ‘Meet the team’ series.
Lewis Wilson is an Executive Search Consultant at Invenia Group, working with early-stage ventures in the gene therapy space. You may know that he helps start-ups developing gene and single cell therapies build their executive teams; you may not know that he also has a pilot’s license and loves The Fratellis more than most…
You can watch the interview here or read the whole conversation below:
To start off Lewis, can you introduce yourself?
Hi, I’m Lewis. I’m a Recruitment Consultant here at Invenia Group.
What drew you to the recruitment industry?
One of my friends started here a while back and introduced me to the job and what he was doing on the day-to-day. It intrigued me enough to come in and see what it was about, and I’m loving every second of it.
What are your day-to-day roles?
So, I work with early-stage gene therapy companies, generally right at their formation, helping them build out their executive teams. So it’s quite exciting, I get to meet some really interesting innovators in the field and it always keeps me on my toes from a scientific standpoint.
What drew you to the gene therapy industry?
These companies are really trying to change the world for the better, trying to cure the incurable diseases, so being able to speak to these founders – these people at the cutting edge of science – every day is quite inspiring. And, being able to assist them with getting the top guys to be able to achieve their mission keeps it interesting.
What’s the best part about your job?
I think we’ve actually got a really good culture here. I come into work and just have a really good laugh as well as getting the work done. Currently, we’re working towards a holiday incentive (location to be confirmed) so there’s quite a lot of elements outside of work that we get to enjoy too.
How do you use the company’s flexible working?
I work predominantly with clients who are based in the US, lots of them on the West Coast where there’s a big biotech hub. These guys are 8 hours behind us here in the UK so the benefit of the flexible working here is that I can come into the office later on in the day and then finish a bit later after speaking to clients on the West Coast.
What’s something people don’t know about you?
So most people don’t know that I’ve been flying planes since I was 14. Generally just small aircraft, but the more time upside down the better, really.
If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be?
Sadly enough, this would have to be a fictional character and it would have to be Harvey Specter from Suits. I just think he’s an unbelievable guy – really charming, smooth, really good at his job – and of course, he’s the best closer in New York so what more could you want?
What do you have on your toast?
I don’t really eat toast that much. I used to see my mum eat sliced banana on toast, which is probably what put me off because that just seems grim.
What’s on your bucket list?
I’ve actually always wanted to fly around the world in a small aircraft, just with a bit of auxiliary oxygen and a big fuel tank in the back, see how far I get.
Who’s your favourite artist?
For my last ‘Spotify Wrapped’, I was in the top 0.001% of Fratellis listeners in the world. Apparently, everyone’s gone off them, but I haven’t.
Follow us on LinkedIn to see the rest of this series and – if you’d like to join the Invenia Group team – email your CV to info@inveniagroup.com.
