From Boston Scientific to Entrepreneur: Chas McKhann’s Medtech Journey
From consulting to working at large companies to taking a risk with start-ups to becoming Silk Road Medical’s CEO, Chas McKhann has experienced almost everything in his long and illustrious career. In a discussion with Medtech Talk host Geoff Pardo, McKhann shares all the lessons learned from his jump to small private companies, handling a cultural rebirth as a newcomer CEO under the public eye, and taking on his role at Silk Road. He also talks about the “what if’s” of his journey and tips on surviving in the industry, as well as witnessing the market shift from only caring about revenue to wanting to see the path to capital break even. LINKS: Medtech Talk Links: Cambridge Healthtech Institute Medtech Talk Gilde Healthcare Silk Road Medical: Silk Road Medical
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Innovating for Niche Populations with Eric Chehab and James Wall
Niche markets and small populations don’t get the attention they need for medtech and healthcare. Medtech Talk host Swaril Mathur speaks with Eric Chehab, founder and former CEO of Novonate and director of business development of Laborie OB/GYN/NICU, and James Wall, pediatric surgeon and founder of Impact1 at Stanford University, about how they’re bringing medtech innovation to small patient populations. They delve into their experiences of founding their own niche market companies and the lessons learned, including how they navigated commercialization and acquisition processes, convinced the right investors, determined capital efficiency, and more. They also share their thoughts on investors who think niche solutions for niche markets are uninteresting. Medtech Talk Links: Cambridge Healthtech Institute Medtech Talk Gilde Healthcare MicroTransponderLinks: MicroTransponder Stanford University Links: Stanford Healthcare Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Stanford University Laborie Links: Laborie
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Episode: 197 - Fireside Chat: How Michael Mahoney Built a Culture of Disciplined Innovation at Boston Scientific
Live from Medtech MVP, Michael Mahoney, chairman and CEO of Boston Scientific Corp, sits down with Medtech Talk podcast host Justin Klein. They discuss Mahoney’s communications strategies to align expectations and convey intentions to shareholders, how to delegate and streamline decision making, and advice on doing better as a partner. Mahoney also shares which second order considerations (such as manufacturing) are important to keep in mind, as well as whether he’s a “war time” or “peace time” CEO and what challenges the industry needs to address today to create a better tomorrow. Medtech Talk Links: Cambridge Healthtech Institute Medtech Talk Gilde Healthcare Boston Scientific Corp: Boston Scientific Corp
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Episode: 196 - Eric Wichems on Building a Company You Want to Work For
In this episode of Medtech Talk, host Geoff Pardo and Eric Wichems, former CEO of Vertos Medical (recently acquired by Stryker), discuss the responsibilities of a CEO, why high accountability and transparency are important aspects of company culture, and how to hire the right person for the position—and how to determine if they can thrive in your company’s culture. Wichems shares his background in engineering and how he found his way to Vertos, as well as his thoughts on the Stryker acquisition and the reasons behind it. Medtech Talk Links: Cambridge Healthtech Institute Medtech Talk Gilde Healthcare Vertos Medical: Vertos Medical Stryker: Stryker Interventional Spine
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Episode: 195 - John Woock on Crossing the Chasm from Clinical to Commercial
In this month’s Medtech Talk, co-host Swaril Mathur, vice president of business development at Axonics, debuts in her first episode with John Woock, former EVP and chief marketing and strategy officer at Axonics. They discuss the early days of their company, including what motivated Woock to join a company that was considered risky at the time, what he learned from supporting and working directly with the field team, and how Axonics handled the early stages of commercial launch during the pandemic. Woock also reflects on how much the company has changed over the years in its culture and leadership, including the decisions that felt good and the ones that were harder to grapple with. Medtech Talk Links: Cambridge Healthtech Institute Medtech Talk Gilde Healthcare Axonics Links: Axonics
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