With 40 people in his department, Mark Stephens works on Exyte's biggest projects in Asia. "My team does the architecture, structure and site master planning for all our projects, and I oversee that as part of my role," Stephens says.

Many of these projects are biopharmaceutical laboratories and manufacturing facilities, where diseases are studied, and new medicines are developed. To design these effectively, the building is designed around the process. "We have smart and motivated process engineers here who know exactly what is done in such a facility, in what order, and which equipment is needed to do it. Then we look at: How do the people and material get in and out of the premises? Where do people work, what are their movement routes? It's like a really complicated puzzle," Stephens chuckles. "I really enjoy it."

He applies his knowledge and expertise as an Exyte Subject Matter Expert. But that's not all: he also researches and teaches to make the company better.

But this is only one side of Stephens job. The other is his role globally as a Subject Matter Expert in Biopharma and Life Sciences, with a strong expertise around QC/QA and R&D laboratories. He advises clients all over the world when they want to build a new facility. But advising clients alongside his impressive 30-year career doesn’t stop him from learning more. In fact, it’s the opposite. 

"The great thing about this job is that I get to do a lot of research. We are constantly looking for new materials, new equipment, and new techniques. I read a lot of technical literature, I do my own research and I also teach and develop our team," Stephens says.

This includes research into sustainable pharmaceutical plants. “Our customers are very motivated in optimizing their plants to become Net Zero when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions. So, we do a lot of research on how to reduce the carbon footprint through a smarter design of the building. It is another piece that makes the whole puzzle more complex.”

Exyte has the best people clients, the best projects, and the best products

As an employer, Exyte gives Stephens every opportunity to grow. He can work and research with the best experts in their fields. "I work with excellent people on some of the biggest and most complex projects in the world, with the best clients, the best projects, and also the best products. Our projects create products that improve quality of life for millions of people. It's incredibly rewarding." 

For him, Exyte is ahead of the competition: "From my knowledge and experience, Exyte is definitely the leader in what the company does. We have excellent engineers and a great team."

Stephens, who is at the forefront of developments, believes that the future of biopharmaceutical plants will increasingly be about being sustainable, but also about producing personalized medicine. "Instead of producing ten billion tablets, medicines will be tailored to individual patients. Of course, this changes the processes in a factory. It makes the puzzle even more interesting."