Eleni Draina

Background

About Eleni Draina

Passionate about sustainability, waste reduction, and always looking for ways to make processes more efficient and sustainable. I’ve led sustainability initiatives like implementing lab glove recycling — and I’m also actively upskilling in circular economy, ESG and decarbonization strategies. A key part of my work involves market research and cross-functional collaboration to better understand users’ evolving needs and create products that people love to use and solve real problems. After 8 years working in the lab developing assays with user-friendly workflows in mind, I transitioned into a product manager role to stay closely involved in product development—just from a different angle. In the last 2 years, I’ve built strong skills in market research, understanding user needs, cross-functional collaboration, and effectively communicating insights to leadership to support decision-making. Achievements ->Initiated company sustainability team and drove glove recycling, cutting lab gloves waste by 90% and embedding sustainability into company culture->Proactively investigated decarbonization software options, met with vendors for demos, and assessed alignment with company needs. Developed a recommendation plan for leadership presentation->Closely collaborated with different teams to expand our software features for a new diagnostic assay enabling user friendly data analysis->Conducted market research, competitor analysis, and presented the finding to present a strategic product development recommendation to senior leadership->Identified low-performing products by reviewing sales data and customer impact, gathering input from sales reps and internal stakeholders to assess business value and operational costs. Consolidated insights into strategic recommendations for C-suite approval and coordinated cross-functional efforts following discontinuation decisions->Developed new assays and improved existing molecular diagnostic assays, to enhance ease of use and improve workflows. My commitment to waste reduction goes beyond the office — I’m always looking for ways to reduce my footprint in everyday life, whether that’s choosing reusable options, shopping at packaging-free stores, or picking up litter in my neighborhood. I also love trying out new recipes, being in nature and playing board games. If you’re working on a solution to reduce waste or create a more sustainable future, I’d love to connect.