When we first began talking about this conference and what we wanted it to achieve, we had two tactics in mind. One, we wanted to focus our discussion on solutions to challenges versus only the challenges themselves; two, we sought to leverage and engage a diverse network of experts to hold that discussion.

 

To the point of the former, I will quote Oprah Winfrey, who has reportedly said, “I’m sick of people sitting in chairs stating their problems….I’m in the ‘What’s next?’ phase of my career.” We hear you, Oprah. The MedtechVISION event seeks to host a rich dialogue that focuses on the what-do-we-do-about-this part of the medtech sector’s challenges and its opportunities in 2011. We believe that the key to enabling this dialogue are the speakers and the audience members themselves.

 

And to that point, I will quote Harvey Firestone, who claimed, “The secret of my success is a two word answer: Know people.” There were three business leaders generally considered to be the icons of American industry at the time Firestone had the vision of making rubber tires for carriages and later, automobiles–this trio was Firestone, Ford, and Edison. Not only did they reportedly collaborate professionally, it is said that their families vacationed together. I personally think this is important and notable. And if you look among the women involved in making the first MedtechVISION conference a reality, you will find many cases where the professional and personal relationships overlap. We fundamentally believe that Firestone was right in terms of driving successful endeavors: Know people.

 

I have been lucky to be a part of some exciting projects, companies, and initiatives up to this point in my career. But I already know that helping create the MedtechVISION Conference is going to rank awfully high on that list. From the enthusiastic responses to speaker invitations to the ready and willing sponsors who so generously agreed to provide our funding, it seems that the planets are all aligning on this one. The organizing committee is grateful to both groups and now awaits the formation of the third key element: the registered participants and attendees who will make this inaugural event the success I know it can be. <a href=”https://medtechwomen.org/event-registration” target=”_blank”>JOIN US</a> Sept 15-16!