Standing out in medtech can be hard, but John Crombie, president at UpStart Product Development, has you covered with his upcoming session at MD+M West.

Katie Hobbins, Managing Editor

January 23, 2023

2 Min Read
meeting (Tom Werner) (1).jpg
Image courtesy of Tom Werner / Getty Images

Making a career in medtech can be tricky. From getting your foot in the door to taking the career elevator once inside, employees must understand where best to focus their efforts to succeed in the industry. And that’s not including outside factors, like entering a male-dominated field like engineering and operations as a woman.

Marissa Fayer, a 20+-year medtech executive, entrepreneur, philanthropist, CEO and founder of HERHealthEQ, and president of Fayer Consulting, discussed these challenges in an episode of MD+DI’s “Let’s Talk Medtech” in 2020. Recruited by a company directly after university, she said that the industry is changing for the better, especially considering the percentage of women in the industry. However, there’s more work to be done.

“Healthcare generally does skew towards a more female-focused environment, but that wasn’t necessarily the case in the manufacturing and operations side of the business in a Medtech company,” she told MD+DI. “I knew I was always going to be among a small group of women, which was both hard and motivating at the same time. Over the past 20 years, it has changed significantly. There are many more women in engineering and operational positions and women holding executive positions is also growing. We are certainly not at parity yet, but the industry is closer than it was years ago. Significant work and leaps need to be made and with all people working towards equality, I think the MedTech community might achieve it faster than other industries.”

Her advice for succeeding in medtech as a CEO and founder of HERHealthEQ, and president of Fayer Consulting? Make sure you’re solving an actual problem.

As an entrepenour in the industry, Fayer understands that the “industry doesn’t need more small incremental improvements.” Instead, she said, companies must understand a problem and create a solution for it.

“Find a hole, a gap, a need and solve that. If you understand the pain-points, you create an opportunity for yourself and your company. And make sure you think globally. The industry isn’t only US-centric and some of the largest opportunities are on a global scale.”

However, that is only one aspect of the industry and understanding how to enhance leadership qualities and leverage internal relationships can be a daunting endeavor to the uninitiated. Thankfully, experts are here to help those interested in learning the critical personal and business skills needed to standout to industry leaders and make an impression. One expert doing just that is John Crombie, president at UpStart Product Development. In a presentation at the upcoming MD&M West on Feb. 9, at 12:30 pm to 1:15pm PST, in Anaheim, CA, Crombie will helm a table of cross-function industry leaders from several desirable companies as they discuss how to make an impression in Medtech.

Attendees will leave the session with an executable plan to start achieving short- and long-term career goals. Click here to learn more about the session and how to attend.

About the Author(s)

Katie Hobbins

Managing Editor, MD+DI

Katie Hobbins is managing editor for MD+DI and joined the team in July 2022. She boasts multiple previous editorial roles in print and multimedia medical journalism, including dermatology, medical aesthetics, and pediatric medicine. She graduated from Cleveland State University in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and promotional communications. She enjoys yoga, hand embroidery, and anything DIY. You can reach her at [email protected].

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