leadership Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

5 tips from medtech leaders for the next generation

Mike Mahoney is chair and CEO of Boston Scientific. [Photo courtesy of Boston Scientific]

When interviewing senior executives on our DeviceTalks podcasts I always start by asking how they got into medtech.

Starting at career square one allows us to walk through the decisions that led to their success. I like to spend a few minutes examining those critical crossroad moments when the guests chose to leap into a new opportunity.

These interviews are full of lessons and tips for younger medtech professionals to equip themselves with experience and insights that will help develop them into leaders of the future.

RELATED: Move over baby boomers, former Medtronic CEO Bill George says

You’ll need to listen to our past episodes for every bit of great advice. But we pulled these particularly helpful tidbits to help you build your successful career.

Tip 1: Run to the fire

Michael Mahoney surpri…

Move over baby boomers, former Medtronic CEO Bill George says

“It’s time for a new generation,” said Bill George, who’s released a new Emerging Leader Edition of his book, “True North.” [Photo courtesy of Bill George]

The medtech veteran offers his advice for leaders in the industry — and how to make opportunities for aspiring leaders to rise.

Bill George’s leadership experience speaks for itself.

He served as chair and CEO of Medtronic across the 1990s and into the mid-2000s. That came after stints as an executive with Honeywell and Litton Industries. Since 2004, he has taught leadership at Harvard Business School, where he now holds the role of executive fellow.

George recently published a new version of his book, “True North: Emerging Leader Edition.” In it, he discusses the need for a transition to a new crop of leaders. He spoke with Medical Design & Outsourcing about his book, leadership in the m…

The next step for medtech: becoming a Google-like leadership proving ground

MasterControl CEO Jon Beckstrand and Chief Culture Officer Alicia Garcia at the 2022 MasterControl Summit [Photo courtesy of MasterControl]

Leadership is crucial for attracting, keeping and getting the most out of great talent.

Jon Beckstrand, MasterControl

Medical technology companies are among the leading drivers of innovation around the world, but most organizations are missing a critical element of building for the future. To ensure the creative future of the industry, we need to create intentional programs that will empower the next generation of engineering and business leaders.

The tech giants of Silicon Valley have provided a roadmap for businesses everywhere to follow. Former Google employees, for example, have created more than 170 startups, including Pinterest, AirTable, Nuro and others.

Much of this second-generation success is directly attributable to the Googles and Metas of the …

10 leading pharma executives you need to know

Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla [Image courtesy of Pfizer/Business Roundtable]Given the complexity of the pharmaceutical business, it can be challenging to gauge the performance of any chief executive in the space.

That said, CEOs’ annualized return over tenure as CEO over their term can hint at performance. In addition, rating sites like Glassdoor also indicate CEOs’ popularity.

Here, we parsed a range of metrics, including CEOs’ approval ratings, their ability to navigate the pandemic and their firms’ stock performance over time, to identify ten leading pharma executives.

Get the full story from our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

January 2022 Issue: The pandemic tested Medtronic’s mettle

The pandemic tested Medtronic’s mettle: Its CFO explains how

How Abbott seeks to improve care, health inequities for people with cardiovascular disease

Medtech’s biggest personnel changes in 2021

The top 5 medtech news stories of 2021

Some thoughts for medtech leaders in 2022

Starting our third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wonder when it will ever end. Four words stick in my head: “This stuff is hard.” (That’s the G-rated version.)

It’s tough when things don’t go your way, but you must learn to accept the situation and persevere. Keep on working at it, and it will eventually get better. As Dylan Thomas wrote in a poem I memorized when I was young: “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

The past year was a lot about aspirations colliding with hard truths. We thought vaccines and masks would beat COVID. The vac…

9 lessons in crisis management from Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo

Decades of corporate leadership helped him address the challenges that 2020 wrought.

Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo

The past year presented extraordinary leadership challenges for CEOs. First came the COVID-19 pandemic, then social unrest following the killing of George Floyd, and finally a contentious election that tore at the political connective tissue of the nation.

The year may have been unique, but Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo said his strategies at the orthopedics giant drew upon upon basic tenets of leadership that he learned leading businesses in first the chemical and then medical device industries. He joined medtech in 2003 when he took a senior post at Johnson & Johnson.

“All crises have similarities,” Lobo told Medical Design & Outsourcing. “Obviously the magnitude of this is unprecedented. I’ve never been through anything like this, but I’d been through other crises before.”

(Listen to the DeviceTalks Weekly interview with Lobo.)

L…