Meet Jennifer: A Planning & Execution Visionary

Jennifer’s 5 Ws

• Who: Jennifer Kettner
• What: General Counsel, Apprentice
• When: 3 months
• Where: Philadelphia area
• Why: Jennifer's a problem-solving aficionado, hands-on leader, legal expert, and dedicated mom of two!

“I'm a commercial attorney who loves closing deals and strategizing with cross-functional teams on product launches. I recently joined Apprentice as its first General Counsel to help scale the legal function as the company experiences high growth.”‍

Get to Know Jennifer

What motivates you? Solving problems and connecting the dots for people. Especially figuring out who needs to know what, and then providing them with that information. My goal is always to ensure everyone who’s impacted is heard and has a voice.

“I’ve realized if you don’t plan it, it won’t happen.”

What’s your work superpower? I’m pragmatic and highly adaptable. In working at both law firms and as in-house counsel, I’ve realized what works at one company doesn’t always translate to another. As such, I always tailor my approach to the company, culture, and people. At Apprentice, one of my favorite things is learning about the people. Understanding what motivates people — be it emotions, work culture, or something else — helps me provide better advice to the company.

What’s your non-work superpower? I am a visionary for planning family events. I know if I want something to happen, I need to take action. So, that’s what I do!

For example, I created a chart to map out ideal places to travel based on my kids’ ages. I use this information to figure out the next best destination for our family so everyone has a good time. From there, my husband implements the plan. Together, we’re the dream team.

‍How do you spend your free time? Mostly with my two sons and husband. My family is very close-knit and we spend a lot of time together. During the school year, our lives are full of sporting events and after school activities.

I also enjoy interior design. One of my favorite hobbies is pulling inspiration from design magazines, Instagram, and consignment shops. It’s fun to visualize all the possibilities and then bring some of them to life.

Hitting the Road: Jennifer’s Travels

Where do you like to travel? I grew up in California, so I love traveling back there to see my parents, sister, and extended family. Of course, the pandemic made it difficult to travel and I wasn’t able to see them as often as I normally would.

During COVID my husband and I started taking our kids to Rhode Island. We really like it there — it’s a wonderful summertime location. We stay at a place close to the beach with a pond nearby. You can go kayaking and clamming, or just enjoy the gorgeous hydrangeas that are in bloom everywhere.

Where’s next on your travel bucket list? Hawaii! We started planning this trip two years ago as something to look forward to in the early months of the pandemic, based on the chart I talked about earlier (that determines the best ages for kids to make certain trips - though I hear Hawaii is great at any age!). It’s finally happening this year, and we’re so excited! We’re heading there during the kids’ winter break.

A Day in the Life of our General Counsel

My job is multidisciplinary so I take various approaches when it comes to solving problems, supporting the teams, and getting processes in place. I enjoy touching on different aspects of the company and creating processes and procedures that lower our risk.

One of my greatest strengths is related to commercial deals, such as ironing out the contracts and collaborating with sales to get deals done.

Looking Ahead: What’s on the Horizon

As Jennifer looks to the future, standardization is top of mind. “One of my first priorities is to come up with a master agreement for use with all of our customers and streamline contracting to make it easier, both for customers and also for our sales teams.”

Jennifer’s hire reflects a new chapter in Apprentice’s ongoing commitment to growth. In the words of Apprentice Marketing VP Marie Forshaw, “We decided to bring in Jenn at this time because we have had so much success and we have very ambitious growth targets.”

“Having a general counsel on board, especially one with Jenn’s experience in both the startup and tech world, is going to be key to making sure that we’re meeting those goals, capitalizing on those ambitious targets and, most importantly, helping our customers get their medicine to patients faster,” Forshaw explained.

Fun Facts About Jennifer: Rapid Fire Edition

We asked, Jennifer answered. Here are some fun facts about our first in-house General Counsel:

When did you realize you wanted to pursue a legal career? Since I was a kid! Although, my parents weren’t a fan of the idea at first. They thought most lawyers work as personal injury lawyers, and although these lawyers provide an important service, they thought it would limit me.

That said, they’ve always supported me. They just weren’t aware of how much you can do as a lawyer. I considered their perspective, and decided to work as a legal assistant after graduating college to make sure I liked the field. Of course, I did — and years later went to law school.

What about practicing law inspires you daily? Solving problems and making sure the right people have the information they need, when they need it. I also love closing deals — it’s thrilling!

Where were you before joining Apprentice? I was at a company called Veeva for three and a half years. It was a great company, and I learned so much during my time there. Not only about the life sciences, but also about software as a service. Prior to Veeva, I worked at Tesla, so it was my first step into the SaaS world!

What work experience stands out for you from your previous role? Becoming a manager, building a team, and mentoring them. It was amazing to watch my team grow, and grow alongside them.

What excites you the most about joining Apprentice? The people, the product, and the vision. Everyone is so welcoming, smart, and talented. And there’s so much potential here to change the industry — it’s really exciting!

What are you looking forward to the most at Apprentice in the coming months? Improving processes, lowering risks, scaling my team, and of course, closing deals!

What about our brand mission resonates with you most? The fact that Apprentice is so dedicated to changing the game. Using disruptive technologies to accelerate time to market and get medicines to patients faster.

“The people, product, and vision excite me the most about working at Apprentice. There’s so much potential to change the industry.”

Are you Our Next Apprentice Spotlight?

Want to work with brilliant legal minds like Jennifer? Check out our open positions today! 

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