Cathleen Friedrich, the Lead of our Sales Team, has been with BioAnalyt from its very beginning. Cathleen was born in Belzig, a beautiful small town in western Brandenburg, Germany. Belzig is famous for its millennium-old Burg Eisenhardt, where Cathleen’s parents got married. At the age of 5, she moved to Kloster Lehnin, another town in Brandenburg, where she grew up. She, however, continued to spend time in Belzig since her grandparents lived there. She often visited them during the weekends and holidays. Cathleen’s grandma had a garden with lots of fruits and vegetables. She enjoyed helping her grandma with the harvesting of potatoes, beans, onions, strawberries, apples, and cherries; and preserving food for the winter season. Cathleen hopes she will someday have her own garden to grow her own food. Her grandma, a cook, played a vital role in her life, and Cathleen fondly remembers learning how to cook and bake with her.

Cathleen currently lives with her family in Werder, Brandenburg. It is a lovely town with a small island and is very famous for its wine production and the “Tree Blossom Festival” (Baumblütenfest). The Tree Blossom Festival has been around since May 1st, 1879, and attracts several hundred thousand visitors to Werder (Havel) and its surroundings each year.

A glimpse of Werder (Havel)

Cathleen studied at the University of Potsdam to become a biology laboratory assistant. Additionally, she received a BSc in Business Administration from the University of Potsdam. Cathleen’s education gives her unique insight into BioAnalyt’s technology and business processes. She also spent a couple of years in New York and Sydney working on her English. These English courses were funded by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Potsdam under the advanced training scholarship ‘Gifted Support’ of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research program.

During her studies at the University of Potsdam, Cathleen did an internship at the department of our founder Prof. Schweigert. After her internship in 2007, she was offered a job at BioAnalyt. First, she worked on a project called NEOBRAIN, and later, on the development of our devices called iCheck. Cathleen was the first employee at BioAnalyt and we are very happy she is still a part of our family. She started off working in the lab, quickly progressed to managing the labs, then our supply chain and sales. Today she leads our Sales Team and heads our Partnership activities.

Cathleen and the BioAnalyt team at the Tree Blossom Festival

Cathleen ensures smooth engagement with our partners, while at the same time ensuring we reach our sales goals and thus sustain our business. “I am happy to be part of the BioAnalyt team. We have since the beginning been like a small family. It is not like going to work, but more like meeting friends. We often also meet after work to enjoy Tree Blossom Festivals, Oktoberfest, bowling, dinner, or just stay in a bar. The friendly work environment motivates me to stay with this team and to see BioAnalyt grow. Looking back at the last 14 years I remember many fantastic team events, which we regularly have. For example, in 2018 the whole team traveled to L’viv, Ukraine, for a wonderful weekend altogether. At work, we also engage with different and interesting people from all over the world.

Outside of her work, Cathleen loves to travel and learn about the history, culture, people, and food of other cities and countries. There a so many places around the world that she hopes to discover soon! At home, Cathleen enjoys cooking and time with her family. “Cooking for me is a time to rest and relax.”

Cathleen and the BioAnalyt team make ‘varenyky’, a traditional Ukrainian dumpling during a team trip to Lviv, Ukraine.

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