Boehringer Ingelheim Brings Nearly 500 Employees—and New Job Openings—to Johns Creek
Boehringer Ingelheim has opened its U.S. Animal Health headquarters at Medley in Johns Creek, relocating about 500 employees from Duluth. The move bolsters the city's life-sciences sector and anchors new commercial activity at Medley.
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Johns Creek is about to officially welcome one of the largest corporate arrivals in the city’s recent history.
Boehringer Ingelheim will celebrate the opening of its new U.S. Animal Health headquarters at Medley on Aug. 31, completing a move that brings nearly 500 employees from the company’s longtime Duluth base to Johns Creek.
The company has taken approximately 73,000 square feet at the 43-acre Medley development, the major mixed-use project taking shape along Johns Creek Parkway. The headquarters occupies two floors of a renovated office building and was announced last year as the largest new Class A office lease north of the Perimeter in roughly five years.
The opening gives Johns Creek another significant foothold in the life-sciences industry, an area the city has increasingly emphasized in its economic-development strategy. City financial documents describe the Boehringer relocation as bringing more than 480 jobs to Johns Creek, alongside other major life-sciences investments including Boston Scientific, Alcon and Emory Johns Creek Hospital.
From Duluth to Johns Creek
Boehringer Ingelheim’s animal-health operation has deep roots nearby. The company established its U.S. Animal Health headquarters in Duluth following its acquisition of Merial operations nearly a decade ago. Georgia later became an increasingly important part of its animal-health network, with research and manufacturing operations in Athens and Gainesville as well.
The company says more than 3,000 people now work across its U.S. animal-health business, with operations spanning research, manufacturing and corporate offices. Its Georgia presence has continued to expand: a recent Athens research-and-development project represented a $66.1 million investment and added laboratory and administrative space.
The Johns Creek headquarters is primarily a corporate and commercial center rather than a manufacturing campus, placing senior leadership and business teams inside a development designed around restaurants, gathering places, offices and residential activity.
Positions Range From IT to Veterinary Marketing
The nearly 500 employees associated with the headquarters are primarily relocating from Duluth rather than filling 500 newly created positions. The move, however, also establishes Johns Creek as a recruiting center for a growing range of corporate, technical and animal-health jobs.
Boehringer Ingelheim was advertising multiple Johns Creek positions in late August, including openings in finance, legal services, human resources, compliance, data analysis, communications, digital customer strategy and veterinary technical marketing.
The available positions included a finance manager, a people growth manager for the animal-health business, a director and senior counsel, an associate director of animal-health compliance operations and a specialist or senior specialist in pharmacovigilance systems and data analysis. The company was also seeking technical-marketing professionals specializing in poultry, equine medicine and U.S. pet care. Current openings and application information are available through Boehringer Ingelheim’s careers portal.
Some of the specialized positions carry substantial salary ranges. An associate director or senior associate director of equine technical marketing was advertised with a base salary of $140,000 to $269,000, with the possibility of a discretionary bonus, relocation assistance or other compensation. The position requires a veterinary degree and significant animal-health experience, with the senior level generally requiring a combination of veterinary practice and industry experience.
A separate two-year information-technology rotation program offers a base salary of $75,000 to $122,000. Boehringer Ingelheim plans to hire three people for the program, including one Georgia participant who could be based in Duluth or Johns Creek, Gainesville or Athens.
That position requires a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and at least two years of business experience, including experience in information technology. The company said it cannot sponsor work authorization for the program, meaning applicants must already be authorized to work in the United States without present or future employer sponsorship.
The breadth of the openings illustrates the type of employment the headquarters brings to Johns Creek. These are largely professional and specialized positions tied to veterinary medicine, corporate strategy, technology, regulatory compliance and the commercialization of animal-health products rather than production-line or laboratory-manufacturing jobs.
The location is significant for Medley as well. Boehringer Ingelheim was one of the project’s major early commitments, helping anchor the redevelopment of the former State Farm corporate campus before Medley’s broader opening.
Governor Kemp Among Guests
The Aug. 31 ceremony is expected to bring Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp to Johns Creek along with Mayor John Bradberry, Fulton County economic-development officials and senior Boehringer Ingelheim executives.
Peter Ploeger, the company’s U.S. Animal Health country managing director, and Dr. Armin Wiesler, a member of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Board of Managing Directors responsible for Animal Health, are scheduled to participate.
The event begins with breakfast and networking at 9 a.m., followed by the formal grand opening and ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m. at 4000 Medley Blvd.
There will also be a distinctly local element to the ceremony. Boehringer Ingelheim plans to donate NexGard Plus parasite protection to the Johns Creek Police Department’s K-9 Unit.
For Johns Creek, however, the larger story is the arrival of hundreds of professional jobs at the center of an area the city has spent years positioning as its new civic and commercial heart.
The company’s move arrives as Medley and the surrounding Town Center area continue to emerge from what was once a largely traditional suburban office corridor. With corporate offices, housing, restaurants, public spaces and the city’s new Boardwalk at Town Center developing within a relatively small area, Johns Creek is gradually creating something it has historically lacked: a recognizable employment and gathering district at the heart of the city.
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