Allan McNichol is CEO of medtech startup Zuno Medical, which recently received FDA approval for its flagship product. He has more than two decades of experience growing startups and scaling multi-billion global businesses as a CEO, Managing Director and Program Director. He recently took time out of his busy schedule to participate in DxD’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Six Seminar Series – and promptly put the lessons to practice in his business. We recently sat down with him to talk about why diversity is critical in the medtech ecosystem.
Q. You’re busy growing a company and going through the FDA approval process. What made you decide to take time out of your schedule to participate in the Diversity, Equity Inclusion & Belonging seminar series?
Part of what made me take time out of my schedule is the people. I heard Ingrid Ellerbe speak about diversity at the MedTech Strategist conference last year. I said to Ingrid, “you don’t need to sell me on the value of cultural diversity in the workforce. I’ve worked and lived all over the world. But I’m worried that if I don’t make a concerted effort, find different pathways for hiring, and think outside the box about recruitment, I’m going to end up with a medical device company made up of a bunch of people who look and think like me.”
A few months later, I get this notice from Ingrid about this seminar series, so despite being CEO of this company, in the midst of fighting for FDA approval, I had to put my money where my mouth is and find the time to participate.
Q. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging is obviously an area you care deeply about and have previously engaged with. What made this series different for you?
The depth that we got into. This wasn’t an hour-long, one off session so I could check a box and say “I’ve done something for DEI this year.” This was a series that went into different topics like supplier management – which is something I didn’t even think about before. That, and the tangible resources we received and that I’ve actually been able to use to help diversify aspects of our business. It’s much more than a webinar, when it leads to tangible outcomes.
Q. Why do you think it’s important for healthtech CEOs and other executives to make diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging a priority – not just an initiative of their HR department?
If the CEO isn’t focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, then the executive team isn’t focused on it, and it will get stranded on an island in HR rather than affecting real organizational change. Change is hard for an individual person and change is hard for an organization. It requires leadership and constant vigilance to create that change.
Q. What were your biggest takeaways from the DEIB sessions?
Biggest realization for me is that there are a lot of resources out there to help companies avoid “business as usual” hiring and sourcing. Those resources weren’t front and center to me, but now I know where to find them or who to go ask.
Q. Do you want to share any actions Zuno is taking in the area of DEIB?
Zuno is an early stage company, which is why it’s so critical for me to set up the right foundation for our organization. We all have our past experiences and past ways of doing things, and if we do everything in that same way we’ll get the same results, of a homogenous organization. I’ve retained Kimberly Jones [the series’ featured speaker and a consultant] to help us structure our hiring process and communicate our values. Our company is growing fast, and we can already see the diversity in our new hires. But we’re still just scratching the surface. This is an ongoing journey.
Q. Congratulations on receiving FDA approval for your self-contained sterilization product. What’s on the horizon for Zuno Medical?
We spent the last 5 years grinding away on FDA approval for a De Novo device, which means a novel device, there’s nothing like what it does. A De Novo clearance means the FDA is creating an entire new device category based on our submission: rigid sterilization container with electronic sensors. It’s a huge milestone, and we’re really proud of that. We’ll begin product trials in Q4 this year and expect to be shipping live in the first half of next year. Exciting times, still a lot to do.
Then it’s all about trying to scale like crazy, and that gets back to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. I don’t want to forget about DEIB as we get into the grind of trying to scale and be one of the fastest growing medical device companies. Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging is a huge component to what’s going to happen with Zuno and how we’re going to become successful.