Name: Handan Yildiran
Title: Head of Post Market Surveillance, Systems & Processes
Company: Coloplast
Please introduce yourself
My name is Handan Yildiran, I am 38 years, and I hold a MSc in Medicine and Technology (Biomedical Engineering) from the Technical University of Denmark. I have been working at Coloplast since I graduated 11 years ago, and I just returned to Denmark (Coloplast Headquarters) after working abroad in Costa Rica since 2020, where I took on my first leadership position. I was born in Turkey with a Kurdish background, spent my childhood in Norway, and moved to Denmark at the age of 12, ultimately living in five countries throughout my life. If I could choose a superhero power, it would be to teleport. Not only to speed up travelling around the world, but also go back in history and delve into different diverse cultures and their history.
How did you imagine your career when you were around 20 years old?
I did not know where I would be, but I certainly made decisions based on my interests. I have always had a curiosity about the “why” and “how” of things, as well as an analytical and systematic approach to problem-solving. When selecting a career, I chose a career where I knew it would be impactful, but also meaningful. Back then, I thought the only path would be an Engineering department with an Engineering diploma. However, my personal interests led me to engaging in many extracurricular activities, where I explored broadly and built networks. These activities got me closer to the commercial and business aspect of engineering, as I was involved in entrepreneurship activities. I knew that with my outgoing personality, I wanted to be surrounded in an environment that fit me as a person. While I am good at making decisions based on data using my technical knowledge, I enjoy working with people seeing the “bigger picture” and understanding how our business works.
What does a day in your life look like in your current role?
I work in an enterprise leadership role today, where I lead a diverse team working in multiple areas and supporting the entire organization. The areas are critical quality processes and systems that support our global operations, ensuring both safe and compliant products. It is crucial that my team and I work efficiently, are aligned with all stakeholders, and ultimately collaborate across different regions, cultures, languages, and time zones. Throughout my career at Coloplast, I have gained experience from various positions. Today, I combine these in my daily work, being from manufacturing, project management, and generally understanding how our processes and systems works to serve the entire organization. Using both hard skills and soft skills, my current role is to support and bring my team forward, ensuring that we walk in the same direction aligned with the overall objectives.
Describing a day in my work life, I do prefer a slow and early morning start, to navigate through priorities and everything in between, that would usually get lost in a busy environment. Every team member has different needs and perspectives, and I try to adapt to find the right approach to support them in their individual growth. I have daily check-ins and meetings (both aligning with the team and the management), but in general my current goal is to strive for better way of working, aiming to optimize and standardize.
What motivates and excites you the most about your career path and the leadership position you hold?
The most important thing is that I like what I do. I know that I bring my upmost skills and motivation every morning when I arrive at the office. I know that I have a positive impact at Coloplast, and that gives me a sense of accomplishment every day. My management supports me and my work and ideas that I bring to the table, and Coloplast has provided me opportunities in my career that I had never imagined at the age of 20. I have had the best moments seeing people grow in the company, receiving their feedback, and providing “psychological safety” to the team dynamic. These are the elements that motivate me in my current role.
Share with us the biggest lessons you learned on your journey to where you are today.
The importance of work-life balance. Although I may not be there yet myself, because my motivation and personal ambition add more hours to the work aspect. But I have learned not to underestimate that the brain needs rest and to slow down.
Tell us about a role model who inspired you to become the leader you are today.
All women juggling multiple roles, whether being a mother, wife, employee, leader, provider, caregiver, or simply trying to meet the demands of society today, are inspirational. My mother, without an education, taught me everything I know about hard work, structure and being organized, but most important showing kindness and compassion for people. My female leaders have showed me the important of authenticity, integrity, and empathy. Especially, one female leader stands out, and has transformed the way I perceive leadership. She does so with strength, commitment, confidence, and compassion – and with just few words she can change my perspective on things, making me reflect on my approach to become a better professional.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, or to other young female students today, what would it be?
The future may be unknown for you but ask yourself today “What is your superpower?”. Do some self-reflection, ask around, and sometimes the answer might not be found in a technical book, but something you are naturally gifted with.
Additionally, there is no “one path”, as you create your own path with all the decisions you make in your life.
How do you see STEM education shaping the future?
The field of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics is indispensable to be able to tackle the global challenges of tomorrow.
It is crucial to promote a mindset of innovation, and teach the younger generation to contribute to the economy by working with technologies, new products, and industries.
Why is it important for you to promote diversity and inclusion within STEM?
I hope to inspire young professionals with my own background and story. I have throughout my university life and work life been an advocate for diversity and inclusion in general, whether it was fighting for better student opportunities through different councils, building multi-disciplinary teams in entrepreneurship, or choosing a field myself where women are not well represented, I am a believer that with people from different backgrounds (regardless of gender, social background, different experiences), that we can challenge the status quo and build better solutions in the future.