Speaker Category: Health Technology Leadership Panel

Anders Wold is President and CEO of GE Healthcare Clinical Care Solutions, a $5B business with
more than 5,000 employees worldwide. Clinical Care Solutions provides clinicians and frontline care-
givers with a variety of medical solutions including ultrasound, monitoring technology, maternal infant
care, anesthesia and respiratory care, and cardiology.

Anders joined GE in 1998 through the acquisition of Diasonics/Vingmed Ultrasound, a Norway-based
technology start-up. He has 32 years of experience in the ultrasound industry, including product
management, sales and marketing, and general management roles, based in Singapore, Paris and
Norway.

Anders grew the GE Healthcare Cardiovascular Ultrasound business from $50 to $500M in sales by
2008. He led the Global Ultrasound business from 2009 to July 2016, growing it into the global
industry leader with more than $2.5B in revenue annually, and creating new markets through technical
leadership, product cost productivity and customer focus. In July 2016, Anders was named President
and CEO of the new Clinical Care Solutions business.

Anders graduated from the Norwegian Military Academy in 1978. He has a cross country ski coach
degree and was national team coach for Norway in 1982. Anders completed his BSc in Biomedical
Electronics from the University of Salford, UK in 1983, and was President-elect for ANSA-Norwegian
Students Abroad. He completed his business studies at BI, Oslo School of Economics, in 1988.

 

Matt is a serial inventor and the co-founder of SmartWard, a company whose mission is to improve patient safety and the job satisfaction of clinical professionals.

Matt has enjoyed a long and successful career in IT, working on a large range of commercial projects and being a Senior Adviser to Government.  Matt found his passion when he saw first-hand the systemic problems of care in hospitals and since 2009 he has dedicated his life to solving some of them. “Patients are being harmed, but everyone involved is suffering.  The problems are systemic and many healthcare professionals end up traumatized by the errors they can’t stop occurring.”

People often ask why Health spends so much money on IT systems (as distinct from devices) without seeing any benefit.  The answer is that Health is unique insofar as 80% of contemporary clinical practice will change within 5 years and the pace of change is accelerating. Once you ‘codify’ clinical practices into an IT system it becomes a huge liability, needing constant maintenance to be painted as safe as possible.  SmartWard is a safety-critical clinical workflow system that is also highly adaptable.  “A next-generation approach is needed and that is what we have built.”

Matt’s work has spanned sectors as diverse as Cybersecurity, Safety-Critical Systems, Defence and now Health and encompasses new hardware as well as software solutions.  Matt lives in Canberra, Australia and travels regularly to Europe and the US.  His dream is to improve patient safety as a legacy for his daughter, Jem.

Dr. Charles Murphy is a Duke-trained cardiothoracic surgeon and critical care physician.  After being a cardiothoracic surgeon for 17 years, he returned to Duke as the medical director of the cardiothoracic ICU and stepdown units.  Dr. Murphy also served as a physician lead for quality in the Duke Heart Center and the Department of Surgery.  He then became the Associate Chief Patient Safety Officer for the Duke Health System.  Dr. Murphy is currently the Chief Patient Safety Officer at the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute.  He continues to be active in direct patient care as a critical care physician and medical director of the Cardiovascular ICU at Inova.

 

Since his 12-year-old son’s preventable death from sepsis in 2012, Ciaran Staunton, together with his wife, Orlaith, has dedicated his life to improving sepsis outcomes and reducing sepsis mortality rates in the United States and beyond. The Stauntons established the Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention in 2012, in honor of their son, and focus their efforts on sepsis education and awareness programming and the development and implementation of sepsis protocols in hospitals. New York State became the first in the nation to adopt the Stauntons’ mandatory sepsis protocols, called Rory’s Regulations, in 2013. They are projected to save up to 8,000 lives annual in that state.  A set of mandatory sepsis protocols based on Rory’s Regulations was introduced in Illinois and other states are set to follow in 2017. The goal is to implement mandatory regulations in every state by 2020.

On September 24, 2013, Ciaran testified at the fist Senate Hearing on Sepsis. The Foundation is also responsible for the development of sepsis education programs for schools and the Annual National Forum on Sepsis, which brings together policymakers, healthcare experts, educators and patient advocates to address challenges, recognize best practices and chart new pathways in the fight against sepsis.  In 2015, the Foundation established the National Family Council on Sepsis, a network of families impacted by sepsis, that provides a platform for members to advocate for improved sepsis care in their states and nationally and acts as support group for victims and their loved ones.

In 2016 following protracted efforts by the Rory Staunton Foundation, the federal government for the first time allocated major funding towards sepsis. In August 2016 The CDC declared sepsis a “medical emergency.” Members of the National Family Council participated in four PSA announcements produced by the Rory Staunton Foundation that went viral with over half a million views in the first few days. In September 2016 the Rory Staunton Foundation was honored with a Global Sepsis Award because of it “unique success to increase awareness for sepsis on all levels of society.”

Stefan Dräger was born on March 18, 1963 in Lübeck, Germany. He has been the Chairman of the Executive Board of Drägerwerk Verwaltungs AG since July 2005 and represents the fifth generation within the family company.

He assumed his first role in the company in 1992 and has occupied various positions since. In the US, he developed the sale of gas monitoring systems, in Lübeck he assumed the responsibility for global gas monitoring systems product management, and later he became head of the Critical Care business unit, from where he changed to the Executive Board. He started his career as a consultant engineer for Fichtner, a company from Stuttgart, after taking a combined study program at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Stuttgart and graduating as an engineer. During his time at university, Stefan Dräger worked at Hewlett Packard in Böblingen. He has been using a heat pump with soil sensors for over 30 years and has been driving an electric car for more than 20. Utilizing innovation is a long-standing tradition in the Dräger family.

Stefan Dräger is married with three children. His primary goal is to grow the company and create even greater added value, keeping in mind that one day in the future he will pass it over to his successor.

 

Laerdal Medical is the globally leading supplier of patient simulators and an alliance partner with the National League of Nursing to improve patient care and safety. In recent years he has focused on For this purpose of  helping reduce maternal and newborn mortality in low resource settings, Laerdal Global Health has partnered with USAID, NIH, Save the Children, the American Academy of Pediatrics and others in the Helping Babies Breathe alliance and the Survive & Thrive alliance.

Mr. Laerdal serves as Chairman of the Board of two external research foundations in Norway. He holds an MSc degree from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. He is an honorary member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and of the European Patient Simulation organization SESAM, and an Oslo Business for Peace Honoree 2016.

Omar Ishrak serves as Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Medtronic, and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Intel. Omar was CEO of Medtronic from June 2011 – April 2020.

Medtronic is the world’s leading medical technology company, with $29 billion in annual revenue, 90,000 employees and operations reaching more than 150 countries worldwide. Medtronic offers technologies and solutions to treat a wide range of medical conditions, including cardiac and vascular diseases, respiratory, neurological and spinal conditions, diabetes, and more. The Medtronic Mission is to use technology to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life for millions of people around the world.

As CEO, Omar focused the company around three long-term growth strategies of Therapy Innovation, Globalization, and Economic Value. In addition, Omar engineered the acquisition of Covidien — a $10 billion global manufacturer of surgical products and supplies — the largest medical technology acquisition in the history of the industry. Medtronic is now executing on the strongest technology pipeline in company history, bringing to market a long list of innovations that will improve the lives of even more patients around the world and help healthcare systems become more efficient.

Omar is also passionate about inclusion and diversity. He established Medtronic’s Diversity Networks, and during his tenure the company has been recognized for its commitment to fostering an inclusive and diverse culture. In 2020, Medtronic was awarded the prestigious Catalyst Award, which is given to corporations driving global change by building workplaces that work for women.

In January 2020, Omar was named independent Chairman of the Board of Directors of Intel. Omar has served as a member of the Intel board since March 2017. Intel is a global technology company with $72 billion in annual revenue in FY19. Intel is an industry leader that creates world-changing technology that enables global progress and enriches lives. Inspired by Moore’s Law, Intel works to advance the design and manufacturing of semiconductors to help address customer challenges. By embedding intelligence in the cloud, network, edge and every kind of computing device, Intel harnesses the potential of data to transform business and society for the better.

Prior to joining Medtronic, Omar was President and CEO of GE Healthcare Systems. He held several other roles at GE during his 16-year tenure, including serving as an Officer and a Senior Vice President. Earlier in his career, Omar amassed 13 years of technology development and business management experience, holding leadership positions at Diasonics/Vingmed, and various product development and engineering positions at Philips Ultrasound.

He grew up in Bangladesh and earned a Bachelor of Science degree and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of London, King’s College. He is also a Fellow of King’s College. He was inducted to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows in 2016 and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2020.

Omar serves on the Board of Directors of the Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center that is consistently named as one of the nation’s best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Omar is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Asia Society, the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. In addition, he is a member of the Minnesota Public Radio Board of Trustees.

Thierry Leclercq is President and CEO of Life Care Solutions and a GE Corporate Officer. He is responsible for leading a $2.1B global business that addresses the needs of patients and clinicians in a variety of care areas, including critical care, anesthesia delivery, neonatal intensive care, labor & delivery, preoperative and home care. Thierry has been with GE Healthcare for 25 years, having served in a number of business management roles in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Thierry joined GE in 1989 as a Vascular Product Manager based in France. In 1994, Thierry moved to Singapore as the Asia/Pacific Marketing Manager and in 1996 was appointed General Manager of the X-ray business based in Tokyo. Thierry moved back to France in 1999 to assume the role of General Manager, CT. In 2002, he was appointed to Vice President, Europe Middle East Africa for the Services business and in 2004, was named as the Vice President, Clinical Systems Europe, Middle East, and Africa. He moved to the United States in 2008 upon taking his current role. Thierry has a degree in Biomedical Engineering from Université de Technologie de Compiègne in France and an MBA from Temple University.

Stefan Dräger was born on March 18, 1963, in Lübeck, Germany. He has been the Chairman of the Executive Board of Drägerwerk Verwaltungs AG since July 2005 and represents the fifth generation within the family company.

He assumed his first role in the company in 1992 and has occupied various positions since. In the US, he developed the sale of gas monitoring systems, in Lübeck he assumed the responsibility for global gas monitoring systems product management, and later he became head of the Critical Care business unit, from where he changed to the Executive Board. He started his career as a consultant engineer for Fichtner, a company from Stuttgart, after taking a combined study program at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Stuttgart and graduating as an engineer. During his time at university, Stefan Dräger worked at Hewlett Packard in Böblingen. He has been using a heat pump with soil sensors for over 30 years and has been driving an electric car for more than 20. Utilizing innovation is a long-standing tradition in the Dräger family.

Stefan Dräger is married with three children. His primary goal is to grow the company and create even greater added value, keeping in mind that one day in the future he will pass it over to his successor.

Deborah DiSanzo is the General Manager for IBM Watson Health, the business unit founded to achieve IBMs next ‘moonshot’: to advance health at a global scale. She leads more than 2,000 IBMers worldwide from the unit’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Deborah has a distinguished career working at the intersection of healthcare and technology. Prior to joining IBM, she was CEO of Philips Healthcare, a $10 billion euro healthcare technology company. Previously, she held management roles at Hewlett-Packard and Apollo Computer. Deborah is a dedicated community leader, working on domestic and global programs with organizations including the World Economic Forum, Project Hope, and the American Heart Association. Deborah earned an MBA from Babson College and a BS from Merrimack College.

Follow her on Twitter @DeborahDiSanzo