What did you do before working at AcuityMD?
I worked on the orthopaedics and sports medicine Fellowship Team at Smith & Nephew. I was at Smith & Nephew for about 10 years in total, with most of that time in the wound care division. I also worked at ConMed for two years in sports medicine, where I was the product manager for their hip arthroscopy portfolio. Overall, I've spent about 13 years in medical device industry!
Why are you passionate about healthcare?
I first got into healthcare in college; I was a summer intern at Pfizer in New York City, doing mostly data analytics (lots of Excel). I was working on a study of new patient targets for cardiovascular drugs, along with maybe a dozen interns from different colleges in the US. Right after college, I started working at an insurance company, doing sales of long-term disability policies—that's when I first started walking with large surgical groups. Then, in 2008, I ended up at Smith & Nephew.
I love working in healthcare because I can make an impact on bettering patient outcomes. I think it's one of the few areas of work where you know you're making people's lives better and making a difference. For me, nothing beats that feeling.
How did you land at AcuityMD?
I was introduced to the company through a friend of mine whom I met while working at Smith & Nephew. We did a project together a few years back and have stayed in touch since then. He told me a little about the company, the product, and the people here, and told me I'd really like all three. He wasn't wrong! It's funny, I think I am the customer base of Acuity, to a degree. When Mike [the CEO] first walked me through the software, my first question was: Where the heck has this product been?
Seeing where the platform is now and where it's heading—I just know it will have a huge impact on medical device companies. We're packaging and communicating information that right now is scattered and hard to keep track of. Acuity makes it simple and intuitive to use. And I love the team here. We've got a lot of really smart people, out to do really great things in the medical device space.
What is your role at AcuityMD?
My title is Customer Success Lead. I think of my job as ensuring that our customers know how to use the product and love using it. I help them find better insights, make better business decisions, and help them evangelize it to co-workers and competitors. I focus on both current customer success and expanding how different organizations can use our platform. And, of course, as a commercial leader, I'm always looking for new leads!
How have your first few weeks been? What are you most excited about?
It's sort of been drinking through a firehose, but in a good way. One of the beneficial things about my role is I get to see end-user reactions. We are making it a point to have new team members, regardless of role, sit in on customer calls in their first two weeks. On onboarding calls, sales reps see the software for the first time, and so many of them are totally blown away. Medical device reps span many different ages and backgrounds—40 year veterans alongside some who are fresh out of college—and lots of different comfort levels with tech. Both veterans and the novices are very excited when they see our product in action. It's rewarding for me to be part of that excitement!
What are your favorite things to do outside of work?
Biking out to the beach, restaurant hopping with family and friends, reading and watch movies if it's raining. I'm also a Marvel comic fan; I have the encyclopedia of Marvel.
Which would you rather bring home as a pet: 1 horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? Why?
I like horses so little horses would be cute, but if they're angry they'd be like Gremlins. I'm going with the massive duck because I think it would be useful if you could tame it. Can you imagine the marketing opportunities we could capitalize on with a horse-sized duck!?