Venkata (Teja) Nandamuri, winner of the 2017 MAGNUS Catalyst Award for Top New Hire.
OTTAWA, April 19, 2017 – BioTalent Canada announced today that Venkata (Teja) Nandamuri, from RightBlue Labs in Toronto, Ontario is the winner of the 2017 MAGNUS Catalyst Award for Top New Hire. For winning, he will be awarded a cash prize of $1,000.
Teja Nandamuri is a Senior iOS Software Engineer at RightBlue Labs, a company developing monitoring systems that reduce illness, injury, and burnout among athletes. Challenges and delays with the iOS version of RightBlue Labs’ app were jeopardizing its product launch and expansion into the US market. Through Teja’s knowledge and dedication, he single-handedly created enhancements initially thought impossible to achieve within the available timeframe, positioning the company for a strong product launch in the US.
“We knew we needed an iOS developer, but budget was on the mid-end so we knew a genuine rock star would be hard to attract,” says Ronen Benin, Chief Executive Officer of RightBlue Labs. “With BioTalent Canada’s wage subsidy, we were able to increase the base salary and as a result find Teja. He turned out to be even more skilled and driven than we could have hoped for, so we’re absolutely thrilled. Applying for this subsidy is one of the best decisions we’ve made all year.”
As a national non-profit HR association for the Canadian biotechnology industry, BioTalent Canada works to ensure that the bio-economy has access to the talent it needs.
“Wage subsidies alleviate the two largest pain points plaguing small- and medium-sized biotech companies: finding capital and finding talent,” says Rob Henderson, President and CEO of BioTalent Canada. “It’s a pleasure to highlight the achievements young professionals make to Canada’s bio-economy as a result of this support.”
MAGNUS Catalyst Award applicants were evaluated along four criteria: Their contribution to their employer’s company culture and sense of innovation, their contribution to achieving of a team’s or company’s business objective and the degree to which they assisted their employer in overcoming a business challenge.
Teja was selected from award finalists announced last month which also included Michael Domenichiello from PriMed Instruments and Alysha Law from eSight.
“We would like to congratulate the winner and the other two finalists who are taking initiative and helping their biotech employers achieve success,” says Erik Simins, President and CEO of MAGNUS Personnel, the award’s title sponsor.
Wage subsidies offer solutions for both biotechnology companies, like RightBlue Labs, and new graduates by motivating employers to consider a talent pool they might have overlooked and helping young workers acquire the experience they need.
Since 2013, with the funding of Canada’s federal government, BioTalent Canada has injected over $6.8 million into Canada’s bio-economy while helping 168 biotechnology companies hire over 550 new graduates. According to BioTalent Canada’s latest report Opening the Door II, new graduates stay with their employer for about six months on wage subsidies, after which almost 85% keep full-time employment.
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About BioTalent Canada
BioTalent Canada is the HR partner of Canada’s bio-economy. As an HR expert and national non-profit organization, BioTalent Canada focuses on building partnerships and skills for Canada’s bio-economy to ensure the industry has access to job-ready people. Through projects, research and product development BioTalent Canada connects employers with job seekers, delivers human resource information and skills development tools so the industry can focus on strengthening Canada’s biotech business. For more information, please visit biotalent.ca.
About MAGNUS Personnel
MAGNUS Personnel is a highly-specialized headhunting firm operating in the Medical, Clinical Research, Life Sciences, B2B Industrial and Technology sectors. More than 150 Companies trust us to locate and engage North America’s most talented people for their businesses. We do this with Vigor and with Passion. We are relentless. We are MAGNUS. Call (844) 8MA GNUS or visit magnuspersonnel.com.
Media inquiries:
Fiorella Jansen-Nicorescu
Marketing & Communications Manager
BioTalent Canada
613-235-1402 ext. 229
[email protected]
Erik Simins
President and CEO
MAGNUS Personnel
647-932-9007
[email protected]
