Lupin Research Park, India
Lupin researchers
Biotech manufacturing at Lupin
A great mix
A premier quality of lifeand proximity to his wife’s family recently lured New Jersey native Tom Merriam and his growing young family to Naples. What the Harvard Business School graduate and former McKinsey & Company consultant didn’t anticipate was remaining as greatly involved in major global business operations as he was before he left the fast-paced Northeast. As strategic initiatives director for Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Merriam is among two dozen executives at its corporate office location in Naples, including company CEO Vinita Gupta. Lupin, which opened its headquarters in Naples in 2014, is the 32
third-largest pharmaceutical company in the U.S. As ambitious professionals, Merriam and his wife had a plan. “We always told ourselves, ‘When we’re young, we’re going to put the pedal to the medal, but when it’s time to settle down and have kids, we’ll step back a little bit,’” says Merriam, 34, who moved with his wife to Naples in August 2019 to work at Lupin. Their first child was born months later. “Maybe I didn’t step back so much because I took a job as the right hand to the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company,” he says. Lupin, which employs about 25,000 people globally, has earned a reputation for cultivating long careers. That’s due in part to a professional culture that values employees and promotes a
sense of ownership, Merriam says. As the corporate hub, the Naples office skews toward more tenured executives, but it also features strong collaboration with young and rising professionals, Merriam says. “It’s a great place to learn because you’ve got this great mix,” he notes. Merriam and his wife hadn’t known much about Naples’ attributes prior to relocating, but the young couple soon discovered its golfing, shopping, culinary, and outdoor splendor. They also realized another major benefit Naples has over many large metropolitan regions: the cost of living. “My house here is roughly the same price as New Jersey, but I pay 40 percent of the property taxes and don’t pay any state income tax. That’s huge,” he says. “We love where we’re at, and we would love to stay here. The stars kind of aligned. I think that goes as well for our CEO and a lot of the other folks who are very important to the company.”
Prestigious address
The collaboration and mentorship that goes on between newbies and industry veterans often happen within a company’s own walls. Venture X, founded in Naples and now a global franchise, cultivates diverse business relationships between self-employed people who don’t show up at the same office every day and punch a timeclock. Venture X is a stylish, flexible, shared workspace launched in 2012 by Naples entrepreneur David Diamond and his son, Brett, where networking in a professional environment is part of the intrinsic appeal. “We attract a really diverse group of people,” says Amanda Custodio, community manager. “The collaboration that happens here organically is really rewarding to see.”
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