People at Sartorius: Muhamed Karalic

At Sartorius, careers often evolve across functions and geographies: Muhamed Karalic’s path is one example of how initiative can open unexpected opportunities. He moved from purchasing into international project work and now leads operations across multiple sites. Learn more about how curiosity, hands-on experience, and a people-first mindset shape careers and leadership at Sartorius. 

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From understanding processes to taking responsibility

When Muhamed Karalic joined Sartorius in 2013, he started his career as a purchasing specialist. Early on, he became known for asking the right questions and quickly understanding how systems and processes connect. That curiosity opened new opportunities and he grabbed them, moving on to international projects. 

He worked with teams across sites worldwide, supporting the rollout of new systems and helping standardize and improve processes across sites in the U.S., Europe and Asia. 

After several years in global project management roles, he made a bold decision. When a colleague retired, he seized the opportunity and took on responsibility in a production leadership role in filter production in Göttingen.  

“That was a lot of fun,” he recalls. “What helped me get into the role was that I already had relevant experience, process know-how, an understanding of systems like SAP, a strong network, and a good sense of key performance indicators from my previous roles.”  

What makes operations so special to him is the immediacy of impact. “In consulting or global roles, you depend on others to implement changes. Here, I can go to the team and say, ‘Let’s try this,’ and see whether it works already during the next shift.”  

Leadership under pressure 

Together with Muhamed, a new leadership style entered operations, which came in handy during a phase of particular pressure: 

I quickly dissolved the idea that a meeting with the boss is always something negative. I like to lead by example when it comes to communication and transparency. It’s important to me that everyone understands what is happening and why.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Muhamed’s style became essential – and his role changed in scale and intensity almost overnight. Demand for Sartorius’ products surged, production had to be ramped up rapidly to support biopharma customers, and many new employees joined in a very short period. 

“We were growing fast and knew we were part of the solution in the race for a Covid vaccine. There was a strong sense of purpose; everyone wanted to contribute. And together with customers and partners, we were successful,” he recalls. 

But almost as quickly, the situation changed again: Demand slowed after the pandemic and production had to be scaled down. “In moments like these, leadership becomes personal. Because for me my people are not just numbers in a system, I put them first, talk to them, hear their stories, understand their situations,” he states.

Balancing business needs with the real impact on people’s life – that’s the biggest challenge in leadership, I believe.

Leading a global team of experts in times of change

After a series of bold decisions, moving closer to operations, taking on responsibility, and staying when things became more complex and challenging, Muhamed today oversees a team of around 1,800 people – from the company’s headquarters in Göttingen to sites in England, France and the U.S.

“Operations at Sartorius is a highly interconnected system that goes far beyond the production floor.” It starts with planning raw material needs, continues through assembly and quality control, and ends with logistics to deliver products to customers. In addition, there are roles focused on continuous improvement, environmental health and safety and compliance. 

“This environment demands a diverse team – from machine operators and technicians, shift supervisors, quality specialists, data analysts to cleaning staff who ensure clean rooms meet strict standards,” Muhamed says. “There are experts for every task and every role is essential. Because: If we don’t build products, we can’t sell products.”

And the environment is changing. Automation and digitalization are becoming increasingly important. Partially automated processes are standard, and fully automated lines are being expanded further. 

Muhammed envisions a future where people and robots work together to make processes more resilient and efficient: 

If you have peaks in demand, or even the next pandemic, machines can run through the weekend more easily. But while automation helps stabilize processes and manage fluctuations, we rely on our experts for oversight, decision-making and continuous improvement. That’s why we invest in developing their capabilities further – for them to grow with us.