Joshua Kepnes

Pioneer
DISC Type : Dsi

Director, Commercial Training and Development at Ascendis Pharma

Danvers, Massachusetts, United States

Overview

Joshua Kepnes is the Director of Commercial Training and Development at Ascendis Pharma, specializing in sales training and leadership for rare disease brands. With a career spanning GSK, Takeda, and Alnylam, he has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Babson College.

Away from work, Joshua is a family man. He is married to Cara and they have two children, a son named Ari and a daughter named Naya. He has deep roots in the Boston area, having attended college and worked there for many years.

He is a Certified Situational Leadership II (SL2) Facilitator, a specialized leadership training certification.

Personality Overview

Friendly But Fast

Dynamic But Sincere

Driven But Considerate

If they are convinced, they can become very strong champions for your product  They combine a unique set of diverse traits where they are fast and friendly but can slow down to be thorough when needed They have the unique ability to win both love and respect from their team (or outsiders)

Topics They Care About

Leadership Development
He designs and delivers leadership development programs across entire organizations, a key responsibility in his roles at Takeda, Alnylam, and Ascendis Pharma.
Rare Disease Launches
His current role involves designing and implementing the training plan for new rare disease drug launches, including Yorvipath for hypoparathyroidism.
Commercial Training Strategy
He is responsible for designing and delivering all commercial training for sales, market access, and reimbursement teams, and is actively hiring for his department.

Media Appearances

Joshua has no verified media appearances

Work History

8-2024
Director, Commercial Training and Development at Ascendis Pharma
2-2020 - 5-2024
Associate Director, Leadership Development and Cross Functional Training at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
2-2019 - 2-2020
Associate Director, Field Leadership Development at Takeda
7-2017 - 2-2019
US Sales Training Manager at Shire
4-2014 - 7-2017
Northeast Regional Sales Manager (Promoted in April 2014) at Wellspect HealthCare

Education

1996 - 2000
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from Babson College

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 14 Location : Danvers, Massachusetts, United States Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Director, Commercial Training and Development at Ascendis Pharma
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Insights For Selling To Joshua

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Ask them for a lunch or coffee once some rapport has been established
  • Keep your pitch focused on the impact but nurture the relationship too
  • Build a trustworthy relationship while keeping the product center-stage

DONT's

  • Don’t be very informal during the early interactions even if they are being so themselves
  • Avoid focusing only on the product or its ROI, keep building trust subtly
  • Don’t hesitate from asking questions or pushing them, but take a formal approach

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Joshua is

  • Nothing less than a strong combination of proof of results, relationship and high levels of professionalism is effective with them.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Joshua

  • They can say no while staying friendly, but can also be pursuaded to reconsider

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Joshua move?

  • They are generally fast movers and can take quick decisions
  • Can Joshua take some risk or not?

  • They have high risk-appetite but can get ahead of themselves once in a while. Observe carefully

You And Joshua

Personality Compatibility


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