From the Lab Bench to Life Sciences Consulting: My Journey at L.E.K.
Hi, I’m Erik Landin. I started my professional journey in the world of science and academia, but ultimately found my home in life sciences consulting at L.E.K. I’d love to share how I got here, and the twists along the way—from cross-border swaps and secondments to learning German and settling in Munich.

A Science-Driven Start
I studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge and became interested in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry during my master’s project. That led me to pursue a PhD at the University of Bristol. It was a joint project with UCB Pharma, a mid-sized Belgian pharmaceutical company focused on neurology, which reinforced my passion for science and its application in health and industry.

I wanted to move into consulting as a bridge to get deeper into life sciences. L.E.K. really stood out because of its dedicated life sciences track for PhD and medical students.

From day one, you’re staffed only on life sciences projects. That was a huge part of the value proposition for me.

Before joining, I did a brief internship at IQVIA. But I made the move to L.E.K. and haven’t looked back—it’s massively expanded my understanding of the industry.

Kicking Off in London
I joined the London office in July 2021—our cohort was the first post-COVID, so the office was pretty empty! There were maybe 12 or 13 of us: interns and a few permanent life sciences hires like me.

Culture-wise, L.E.K. is a friendly place, and within life sciences, it’s especially international. We’re a bunch of science-minded people from around the world—maybe a little oddball at times—but we get along well. London’s a great place to start because it’s big enough to have a critical mass of people to learn from and connect with. I made close friends both within my cohort and those just ahead of me, and I still keep in touch with many of them.

A Euro Swap to Munich
After a year in London, I went on a “Euro Swap” to our Munich office. It’s part of a Europe-specific program, similar to the global swap, but it can be done a bit earlier. I wanted a bit of an adventure post-COVID, and I’ve always liked Germany—plus, my wife is half-German.

The transition was seamless. I closed my laptop in London on a Friday and opened it in Munich on Monday—same laptop, same diagnostics project.
Munich wasn’t on my radar before, but the swap turned out to be fantastic. I spent four months there, completely fell in love with the city, and started plotting my return the moment I got back to London.

My Secondment
After my consultant promotion, I was a bit exhausted and ready to try something new. I made it known I was open to a secondment—chief of staff, client-side, or internal. I was curious to see how the firm operates behind the scenes.

After a couple of months, I was asked if I could be interested in a secondment opportunity in the People team. It was more quantitative than a traditional chief of staff role and focused on strategy and analytics—essentially heading up analytics for the European HR team. Since we’re a people business, I found it incredibly valuable to see how those operations run.

I supported our European Chief People Officer while the head of people strategy and analytics was on sabbatical. It was a great seven-month stint that taught me a ton.

Back to Munich (This Time for Good)
After wrapping up my secondment, I made the move back to Munich—permanently this time. Even now, I’m still in the integrated European Life Sciences team, working with the same partners I built relationships with while in London.

L.E.K. supported my B1 German course when I got back to London, and I passed the B1 exam. That’s typically the level required for immigration, though it wasn’t necessary in my case. Since moving to Munich, L.E.K. has also supported me in passing B2—which is a level approaching fluency - and I have started using it at L.E.K. recruiting events and on German projects.

Working in Life Sciences at L.E.K.
The life sciences sector at L.E.K. is integrated across Europe. It’s part of our healthcare practice but runs as its own vertical, from associates to partners. We work only on life sciences cases—classic pharma projects like estimating drug revenue and patient reach, as well as diagnostics, manufacturing, and tools that support pharma.

I tend to lean more toward enablers and diagnostics. It’s fascinating work, and I think it’s a real advantage to specialize in this space. There’s so much depth beyond Big Pharma—midsize companies, tools, and innovations that drive the ecosystem.

Advice to Early-Career Consultants
If you’re interested in working across geographies or trying something different internally—apply early and show that you’re serious. Think about how a move might affect your personal life, and don’t hesitate to have those conversations with your team.

If you’re in Europe, the Euro Swap makes it even easier to get international experience early on. But no matter where you are, doing great work opens doors.