Because for Us, It’s Personal
Many of us are patients, know a patient or have been impacted by a patient story. This deep appreciation fuels every decision we make and shapes who we are. By pushing ourselves to live up to our own potential, we are helping others live up to theirs.
Our Values
Transparency
We value collaboration. Trusting each other and tackling tough challenges can make a powerful difference.
Accountability
We do what’s right for our patient communities through quality decisions and owning our successes and failures.
Growth
We fiercely innovate and evolve to better ourselves, our communities and our patients.
A Day in the Life at Horizon
No day is typical at Horizon. Take a peek inside our work life.
Nicole Burns
Senior Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis
“I lead a team of finance professionals who are responsible for budgeting, modeling and analyzing financials. Because of Horizon, I’ve been able to balance my career and my family.”
Mom on the Go
8:15 a.m. The workday begins after I drive my kids to daycare. I love spending this time at the beginning of the day with my 2 and 4-year-olds.
Connecting With My Team
9:30 a.m. Every Monday morning includes a team priorities meeting and every Friday includes a team accomplishments meeting. Setting expectations for the week ensures the right support is provided to meet deliverables. And while it’s easy to focus just on our to-do lists, it’s really important to step back and celebrate our successes.
Partnering Together
10:45 a.m. The middle of the day can be spent in meetings with various business partners across the company, collaborating and working through projects.
It’s All About Balance
1 p.m. Once a month, I take advantage of one of my favorite benefits-an on-site professional massage. I appreciate that Horizon encourages and understands the importance of self-care!
Getting Ahead
3 p.m. I reserve the last two hours of the day to make progress on any tasks I am responsible for.
Family Matters
5 p.m. Every day I leave around 5 p.m. to pick up my kids from daycare on time. Seeing them light up when I walk in the door is always the highlight of my day!
Harrison Shutan
Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure
“I lead a team responsible for managing the core technical systems Horizon needs to support patients and grow our business on a global scale. My love for technology fuels my work every day.”
Food for Thought
7 a.m. While having breakfast, I plan for my day and check my calendar for upcoming meetings. My team is responsible for the systems behind the scenes that make the business tick. We know the systems we build and maintain are what allow Horizon to work as effectively as possible for patients.
Morning Joe
8:40 a.m. I arrive to the office and get settled in, sometimes it's right into meetings, other days I have time to grab a Mocha Frappuccino from the complimentary on-site Starbucks and catch up with my team.
Connecting Across the Globe
10 a.m. Each week kicks off with a staff meeting. One of the best aspects of working in Horizon's IT department is that we use cutting-edge technology every day. Part of my team is in Dublin, so my staff meeting is held in one of Horizon's state-of-the-art videoconferencing rooms. It’s a system that my team installed, configured and maintains.
What’s on the Menu?
11:30 a.m. For lunch, I almost always grab food on-site from whatever our rotating vendor is that day. It could be anything from pizza to sushi to Mediterranean.
Status Update
1 p.m. After lunch, I usually attend status meetings for ongoing projects that my team is working on. As a growing company, there are always interesting problems to solve.
On the Horizon
3 p.m. Toward the end of the day, one of my engineers and I are on a phone call with a vendor, learning about their capabilities and how they might benefit Horizon.
Heading Home
5:10 p.m. Time to head home.
Amy Wang
Director, External R&D
“I am a molecular biologist by training, with a passion for growing our pipeline. In my role, I use a blend of scientific knowledge and business development expertise to help Horizon execute our corporate strategy.”
Gearing Up
6 a.m. My morning starts with a workout on my exercise bike. It’s my way of waking up and getting energized for the day ahead.
But First, Coffee
8:30 a.m. When I get to the office, I grab a complimentary Starbucks latte from our on-site barista and go over my daily to-do list and priorities.
Teaming Up
10 a.m. Several times a week my team meets to discuss recent findings on potential opportunities. The best part of my job is the cross-functional collaboration with various experts in the organization.
Strategic Time-Out
1 p.m. I work on near-term projects and longer-term strategic initiatives for the search and evaluation team. I also spend time reading analyst reports, medical journals and checking database updates to source new ideas for our deal pipeline.
Anytime, Anywhere
3 p.m. I catch up with my West Coast colleagues and exchange project updates. Our technology system helps us stay in sync even though we are in different physical locations.
Homeward Bound
5:05 p.m. I leave to take the express train back to downtown Chicago, where I live. I love the flexibility of being able to finish up projects from the train or once I’m at home, when needed. Work-life balance is something I really appreciate about our culture.
Michael Lyons
Specialist, Product Communications
“I am a storyteller. I use video, social media and other communication channels to elevate the voices and experiences of those living with rare diseases.”
Starting With Social
8:30 a.m. Social media plays an important role in how we communicate and support patients and our communities. First on my list every day is to check our #RAREis Instagram channel and respond to comments or questions.
Staying on Track
9:30 a.m. Generally, my morning also starts with a meeting with marketing colleagues to align on communications efforts and to ensure we’re on track to reach our shared goals cross-functionally.
Power Hour
11 a.m. The communications team kicks off every week with our weekly staff meeting, which allows us to provide updates and come together to brainstorm new ideas.
Manager Minute
1:15 p.m. Every week I have a one-on-one with my manager, Amanda, where we talk about short-term and long-term career goals and progress. I joined Horizon as a summer intern, and have gained invaluable experience through the support and guidance I’ve received from leadership and my colleagues.
Action!
2:30 p.m. Today ends with a video shoot in our on-site recording studio, where we produce some of our video content.
Our Horizon Culture
Working at Horizon is more than a job—it’s about giving back, growing personally and professionally and affecting lives. Above all, it’s a passion.
The Horizon Employee Experience
The exceptional support we provide patients and communities equally extends to our employees. We offer industry-leading and award-winning benefits, compensation and rewards programs that positively impact all areas of our employees’ personal and professional lives.
Horizon is pleased to offer its employees a competitive, all-inclusive benefits program, to help integrate work, family and personal needs, including healthcare, dental and vision coverage, as well as financial security, wellness benefits and generous paid time off. Our family-focused benefits encompass paid parental leave, time off to care for and bond with a newborn or newly adopted child, and assistance in caring for senior family members.
Learning and Development Programs
Horizon supports and invests in our employees’ career development. From monthly manager check-ins where learning and development is top-of-mind, to formal trainings, mentoring and networking, we do everything we can to ensure our employees have the tools and resources to continuously grow professionally and personally. Additionally, we offer monthly instructor-led sessions, available to all employees on various topics, including developing Horizon’s core competencies, leading others and inclusive leadership.
At Horizon, we know that disease does not discriminate. We embrace the bold ideas of one another, foster a sense of belonging and value diversity. We attract and develop diverse talent because we believe that when people from different backgrounds and life experiences come together, we make lives better. Only through this inclusive behavior can we unlock the power of innovation and create unique solutions that meet the needs of the patients, caregivers and medical professionals we support.
Our internal inclusion network of employees is committed to advancing inclusion, diversity, equity and allyship in the workplace. Our employees work together to find diverse solutions for how to best enhance our culture, develop our employees, recruit diverse talent and better the communities where we live and work.
Our Board of Directors Diversity Policy can be found here.
At Horizon, we believe it is our responsibility to give back to the communities where we live and work. Learn more about our corporate social responsibility efforts.
Locations Around the World
Horizon has offices around the world and across various cities in the United States, where employees enjoy modern, state-of-the-art workplaces.
Illinois
Ireland
California
District of Columbia
Illinois
Our main U.S. operation is located on a beautiful, modern campus in Lake Forest, Ill., a northern Chicago suburb. Our global headquarters is located in Dublin and we also have office locations in downtown Chicago, Washington, D.C. and South San Francisco.
Staying True to What Makes Us Unique
Despite our rapid growth, our culture remains rooted in a personal, familial feel. Each employee at Horizon has a stake in the success of our company and knows their contributions are valued and rewarded. That’s why our employees consistently rate our culture as best-in-class, earning us several top global, national and local workplace awards.
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