1. What is Olympus?
Olympus is a global medtech company. In recent years, we’ve divested our commercial camera and life sciences businesses to focus solely on medical devices to help physicians perform diagnostic, therapeutic and minimally invasive procedures. Our primary areas include gastroenterology, respiratory and urology, and our primary company focus is to address disease states and determine how best we can help physicians improve patient outcomes.
2. What was your professional journey that led you to working for Olympus?
I’ve always been drawn to a fast-paced environment, a lot of that originating from playing in competitive sports throughout my childhood. It was only natural to start off my career as an Operations Manufacturing Engineer in a high-volume manufacturing company. I have a knack for jumping on challenging engineering problems and working with cross-functional teams to solve them. This, in addition to receiving training in both Lean and Six Sigma, really prepared me for a more advanced role in the future. After four years in that role, I eventually transitioned to a medical device company and joined Boston Scientific, where I jumped into a Production Supervisor role, where I was able to develop my leadership chops. For those who have held that specific role, they know just how challenging and dynamic it is. From there, I transitioned back into Engineering leadership because of my passion for technology.
Over the years, I managed multiple different value streams and technologies, sometimes leading whole technical and operations teams. After 13 years, I led the commercial operations for a medical device contract manufacturer, which included customer sales, production, engineering, logistics, and service. After two years developing my business strengths in that role, I realized my skillset was more on the OEM operations and strategy side, which is what intrigued me so much about Olympus. It’s only been 11 months, but so far I’m very glad I joined.
3. Can you share some things your organization has done that you are most proud of?
I’m most proud of Olympus’ ongoing patient advocacy. As leaders in the GI space, for instance, we support organizations like the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, and the work they do to raise awareness around issues such as preventive screenings and the importance of knowing and sharing your family health history. Each March during Colorectal Rectal Cancer Awareness Month, Olympus works with CRC patients and survivors to share their stories in the hope they inspire friends or family members to take control of their own healthcare. Those efforts, however, are not limited to one month a year, as Olympus and its employees continue to support CRC awareness and spread the word about preventive care throughout the year.
4. What motivates you as a leader?
Olympus operates under a set of core values which guide everything we do as a company. While values such as integrity and empathy are guiding forces to our long-term strategies, our core value of patient focus stands apart for me, as a daily driver of what I do.
Any decision we make, any action we implement regarding a device or a customer, ultimately affects a patient. It’s that emphasis on striving for the best patient outcomes that can help motivate you to solve problems, address issues and work closely as a team.
5. What advice would you give to aspiring healthcare leaders who are looking to make an impact in this industry?
I’ll point back to the idea of patient focus. If what’s best for the patient is your guiding principle, that will have a ripple effect on everything else you do. Putting improved patient outcomes at the center of your decision-making process can subsequently mean positive effects for physicians and areas like healthcare access and quality assurance. It can be easy to get consumed by day-to-day commotion, but remembering that the patient is the cornerstone for everything you do can help re-focus your mindset.
6. How do you see the healthcare industry changing in the next 5-10 years and what is your organization doing to stay ahead of those changes?
Healthcare will be digitally transformed. Olympus is a leader in endoscopy, which by the virtue of its dependence on screens has a heavy digital component, and we will be working to connect other forms of digital to endoscopic procedures. We are furthering an Intelligent Endoscopy Ecosystem designed to address global healthcare challenges. The Intelligent Endoscopy Ecosystem aims to leverage and connect hardware, software, services, and data to strengthen clinical decision-making and improve operational efficiencies. It is designed to tackle today’s challenges in healthcare, starting with the endoscopy space. The ecosystem will enable value-adding co-creation between customers, Olympus, and third-party partners, transitioning from a “hardware sell” business model to one that provides continuous software improvement through over-the-air upgrades and on-demand apps. The ecosystem will provide “always-on innovation,” allowing for more precise detection, diagnosis, and treatment. Data-driven workflow solutions and commercial models will contribute to efficiency. It is also expected to attract next-generation healthcare professionals due to easier and more scalable training, as well as reduced mental burden with intelligent cognitive support. Olympus will shape the future with an Intelligent Endoscopy Ecosystem enabled by a modern software platform and connectivity solution. This involves structured engagement with regulatory bodies, innovators, disruptors, and digital talents. This is a global initiative for the company, but we expect that Brooklyn Park employees will play a role.
7. How does your company prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in terms of your workforce and the services you offer?
Olympus sees diversity, equity and inclusion as a company-wide priority. In 2023, Olympus Corp. appointed a global chief diversity officer to oversee and implement various initiatives. A diverse workforce brings with it diverse perspectives, ideas and solutions to problems. And those backgrounds will help us better understand our customers’ diverse needs and challenges.
In the Americas, Olympus implemented an Executive DEI Council to help improve and sustain workforce diversity, health equity, inclusion and supplier diversity. We offer a series of Employee Resource Groups (ERG) in which employees with shared backgrounds and experiences support each other and advocate for diversity and inclusion. Any employee, however, is welcome to join an ERG to learn more about it and to support colleagues.
8. What do you see as the biggest opportunity and challenge facing the healthcare industry in Medical Alley?
The low unemployment rate means that attracting talent is always very competitive. The talent is there, but the labor market is tight.
9. What are your hobbies or things you enjoy doing when not at work?
When I’m not at work, I enjoy spending my time in my woodshop building furniture or with any type of DIY project on the house. My wife is an architect, so she comes up with many amazing ideas on how to improve our home, which usually ends up consuming my weekends. In the summer, you can find me out for a run or a bike ride, on the golf course, or spending time at the cabin with my friends and family.
10. What is your favorite thing about the Medical Alley community?
The people and the quality of life! It’s just a nice place to work and live, but also there’s a great talent stream from some of our world class universities. More practically, we’re next to major international airport, so there’s a direct flight from Tokyo to here, which our dozen or so Japanese employees and our senior management really appreciates. We’re close to a lot of other medtech companies and suppliers. Our sterilizer is only 10 minutes away. If face-to-face conversation is needed, we can see the manufacturing floor, keep the relationships developed. We’re glad to hear about a recent initiative to make the city of Brooklyn Park a biotech hub. We’re proud to be among the early medtechs to situate here.
