Ca­reer – Un­filtered: In­nov­a­tion only suc­ceeds when it de­liv­ers res­ults in prac­tice

What motivates you most in your role?

My motivation lies at the intersection of hospitals, companies and health technology. I am passionate about turning promising ideas into solutions that work in practice. It is particularly rewarding when a new technology moves beyond the drawing board and solves a real problem for patients, clinicians or day-to-day hospital operations.

For example, think of a company with a strong technology that wonders why a hospital is hesitant to buy it. That is where I come in. What clinical need does it address? Where is the value created? Who pays for the solution, who benefits from it and what is needed to bring it successfully to market?

When is your work most challenging?

The greatest challenge arises when everyone wants the same outcome, yet the system gets in the way. The company has developed a strong solution, clinicians are asking for it and the business case is convincing. Even so, progress can stall because finance, legal, procurement, IT, operations and management are all pulling in different directions.

That can be frustrating, but it also makes the work engaging and meaningful. Innovation is rarely just about having a good idea. Its success depends on the ability to navigate organisational and financial realities.

When do you feel most uncertain in your work?

Uncertainty arises when the potential is obvious, but the barriers within hospitals are difficult to overcome. When should I continue pushing for change, and when should I accept that the organisation, the financial framework or the timing is simply not ready?

I also constantly challenge myself to ensure that I am translating accurately between the two worlds. My most important task is to understand the logic and priorities of every stakeholder involved, especially when those perspectives clash.

Which decision has had the greatest impact on your career – and why?

My experience as an entrepreneur has had the greatest impact. Founding and running my own companies gave me a firsthand understanding of what it takes to develop a product, earn customers’ trust and build a resilient organisation around an initial idea.

That insight shapes my entire approach to health innovation today.

I understand how demanding the journey from technological potential to day-to-day implementation can be for a company. At the same time, my years in the hospital sector have shown me that even the strongest solution cannot succeed on its own. It must fit seamlessly into clinical practice, budgets and complex decision-making processes.

The Master of Business Development (MBD) brought these two strands of my career together. It provided me with a powerful analytical framework for addressing the challenges I was facing: How do I define and demonstrate value? And why does even well-documented health technology so often struggle when confronted with the realities of implementation?

What do you do differently today compared to before you started at CBS?

I take a step back and examine the starting point: what assumptions are we actually working from? In the past, everything was about momentum and speed. It still is, but I now understand that a great product is no guarantee of success.

I take a more systemic view. Who holds the mandate? Where does budget responsibility sit? Who benefits from the outcome, and what incentives shape stakeholders’ decisions? That perspective helps explain why solutions that look obvious on paper often encounter significant resistance in practice.

What would you like to learn more about, and what are your professional ambitions?

I want to deepen my understanding of models for implementing and financing health technology. There is enormous potential in creating more systematic pathways into hospital operations, particularly when technology can free up time, improve quality and enhance patient care.

My professional ambition is to help mature the healthcare sector’s innovation infrastructure. We need to move beyond the dead ends of endless pilot projects and operational barriers and create a direct, sustainable pathway from clinical need to implementation and full-scale adoption.

What has your work taught you about yourself – one strength and one weakness?

The positive side is that I thrive in complexity. I am energised by situations where there are no simple answers and where progress depends on bringing together people, economics, strategy and organisational dynamics.

My weakness is impatience. When I see clear potential, I want things to move forward immediately. But the complexity of healthcare systems exists for a reason. Real transformation requires persistence and a deep respect for the system I am trying to change.

What do you hope your career will have given you in 10 years’ time – beyond title and salary?

I want to look back and know that I have helped drive meaningful change. Not on my own, but as a key contributor within the ecosystems that enable healthcare organisations to adopt and implement new technologies.

My goal is to build strong bridges between hospitals, companies, clinicians, decision-makers and investors. If my efforts help more solutions reach implementation and make a tangible difference for patients and employees, then my work will have served its purpose.