The Med-Tech Talent Lab

Manufacturing excellence isn't just about processes and metrics. It's about leadership, culture, and building teams that can perform under pressure. In this episode of The Med-Tech Talent Lab , Mitch Robbins sits down with George Murray , Chief Operating Officer of Minnesota Wire, to discuss what separates great manufacturing organizations from average ones, how leaders successfully navigate opera...

Building a Career in Market Access: Kimberly Konopa Market access has evolved into one of the most strategic functions in MedTech—and the most successful companies are bringing it into the commercialization process earlier than ever before. In this episode of The Med-Tech Talent Lab , Mitch Robbins sits down with market access executive Kimberly Konopa to discuss how the function has changed over...

In this episode of The MedTech Talent Lab , Mitch sits down with Karrington Chaney, who leads talent acquisition for RxSight, the company behind the Light Adjustable Lens, the first and only lens that can be customized after cataract surgery. Karrington shares his career journey from working at Best Buy, to the agency recruiting world, to building an internal talent acquisition function inside a g...

In this episode of The Med-Tech Talent Lab , host Mitch Robbins sits down with Alina Lisanke , Director of Talent Acquisition at Lexington Medical, for an honest conversation about leadership, career transitions, and navigating a challenging hiring market. Alina shares her journey from agency recruiting to leading talent acquisition functions in MedTech, along with the pivotal moments that shaped...

In this episode of The Med-Tech Talent Lab , host Mitch Robbins sits down with Jahnavi Lokre , Chief Operating Officer at Diality , a Series B medical device company focused on transforming kidney care. Jahnavi shares her 25+ year journey from growing up in India in a science-driven household to building a career across software engineering, regulated industries, and executive leadership in MedTec...

In this episode, Mitch sits down with Travis Christman , a respected operations, regulatory, and quality leader in the orthopedic manufacturing world. Travis has spent his career across Zimmer, Medartis, Nextremity, and now Priority Medical , an end-to-end engineering services organization operating from the orthopedic capital of the world — Warsaw, Indiana . Travis shares details on a major indus...

In this episode of The Med-Tech Talent Lab , host Mitch Robbins sits down with Jim Belmonte , Senior Talent Acquisition Manager at Cirtec Medical , who brings more than 25 years of experience in recruiting and TA leadership. Jim shares his journey from agency recruiter to leading internal talent acquisition teams at organizations like Cardiovascular Systems (later acquired by Abbott) and now in th...

In this episode of The Med-Tech Talent Lab , I sat down with Caleb Polley , founder & CEO of Cubby Beds , to talk about how he's bringing empathy and engineering together to create safer, smarter sleep solutions for kids with special needs. We covered: The personal journey that sparked the Cubby Beds mission How to build products that truly serve underrepresented populations Balancing speed, s...

In this episode we sit down with Adam Foresman, co-founder and CEO of Ryden.ai , a groundbreaking startup that’s redefining how MedTech companies approach compliance. After nearly two decades in quality and regulatory leadership—including roles at Dentsply, Midmark, and Vidya Health—Adam saw firsthand how overwhelming it had become to stay audit-ready across constantly shifting global regulations....

In this episode of The Med-Tech Talent Lab , we sit down with Eric Steuben , Senior Vice President of Operations at Calyxo , a fast-growing company disrupting the treatment of kidney stones with its proprietary C-VAC system. Eric brings over 30 years of experience in MedTech, having held leadership roles at Varian, Align Technology, Procept BioRobotics, and more. He shares his journey from early c...

In this episode, we sit down with Gary Thomas , Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Product Development at Onkos Surgical , a company delivering breakthrough innovations for musculoskeletal oncology. With over 30 years of experience in MedTech—much of it in the ortho-spine space—Gary shares his remarkable leadership journey, beginning in aerospace and culminating in the fight against cancer...

In this episode, host Mitch Robbins welcomes Terry Van Epps , Global Head of Talent Acquisition at Sirtex Medical , a commercial-stage medtech company focused on minimally invasive cancer therapies. With over 20 years of experience leading talent acquisition efforts at global organizations—including Xerox, Bausch & Lomb, Panasonic, and growth-stage biotech firms—Terry brings a grounded, system...

In this episode of The MedTech Talent Lab , Mitch Robbins sits down with Elena Mack, Chief Quality Officer at Sanisure, to discuss her career journey and insights into the world of quality and regulatory leadership in the medical device industry. With over 25 years of experience, Elena has held key executive roles at companies like Olympus, BD, and Teva Pharmaceuticals. Now, as part of Sanisher, s...

In this episode of The Med-Tech Talent Lab podcast, host Mitch Robbins interviews Mary McNamara-Cullinane, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at ClearPoint Neuro, about her 25+ year journey in the medical device regulatory space. Key Highlights: Mary shares her background as the youngest of eight children and how her early work ethic shaped her career path Learn how Mary transitioned from resear...

In this episode of The MedTech Talent Lab, host Mitch Robbins sits down with Carolyn Twomey, Global VP of Medical Affairs and Research at Iramax Corporation. Carolyn’s career path is nothing short of remarkable—from starting as an OR nurse and cardiac cath lab director to leading global clinical services and now shaping medical affairs strategy in the medical device industry. She shares her person...

In this episode, host Mitch Robbins interviews Mickey Brown, Vice President of Access and Reimbursement at Cerapedics, discussing his 30+ year career journey and insights on healthcare market access. Key Highlights: Mickey shares his transition from 15 years on the payer side (Blue Cross, United Healthcare) to manufacturer roles at Medtronic, Cochlear, and now Cerapedics Learn how stepping outside...

In this episode of The Med-Tech Talent Lab , host Mitch Robbins sits down with Erica Logan, Director of Talent Acquisition at Sequel Med Tech , to discuss the biggest hiring pitfalls companies face—and how to fix them. With nearly two decades in staffing and corporate recruiting, Erica has seen it all. From hiring at fast-scaling startups to navigating high-volume recruitment in MedTech, she share...

In this episode of The MedTech Talent Lab , host Mitch Robbins sits down with April Spillane, VP of Market Access & Reimbursement at Intrinsic Therapeutics. With over 15 years in the industry—10 of those dedicated to spine—April shares her unique career trajectory, from clinical and business development to leading market access strategies at a high level. She opens up about the challenges of b...

"There will be two types of recruiters: those who use AI, and those who don’t have jobs." 🤯 In this episode of The MedTech Talent Lab , I sit down with Noor Manji , Director of Talent Acquisition at Hearing Life , to unpack the realities of recruiting, job searching, and how AI is reshaping the hiring landscape. Noor brings over 20 years of experience across agency and corporate recruiting, and h...

Jason Bilobram, VP of Regulatory & Quality at Sekisui Diagnostics comes to The Med-Tech Talent Lab with over 20 years experience working across Regualtory& Quality in both Medical Device and Pharma. He has worked for companies like AstraZeneca, Smith & Nephew, and for the last 9 years Sekisui working his way up into the VP slot. Jason holds his bachelors of science in molecular biology...

In this episode of the Med-Tech Talent Lab podcast, host Mitch Robbins interviews Jeff Gensler, the Vice President of Quality at Kindeva Drug Delivery, about the innovative 'Frame by Frame' approach to manufacturing processes. Jeff's background spans over 20+ years of experience in Med-Tech Regulatory & Quality having held prominent positions with companies like Dentsply, Zimmer Biomet, and ot...

In this episode of the MedTech Talent Lab podcast, host Mitch Robbins interviews Garrett Johnson, the new CEO of Quantus Cardiovascular. Garrett shares his journey from a mechanical tinkerer in his youth to a leader in the medical device industry, having had experiences leading R&D programs for companies like Edwards Lifesciences, Foldax and inQB8 Medical Technologies. He discusses his early i...

In this episode of The Med-Tech Talent Lab , we dive into the complex world of Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs) with Julie Ballard, a clinical laboratory expert with over 25 years of experience in operations, quality systems, and regulatory compliance. Julie shares her journey from working at Stanford Health Care to leading roles in startups like GRAIL, Genomic Health, and Guardant. We unpack the...

In this episode, we talk with Talent Acquisition professional, Allie Patterson, about how job seekers can stand out in today’s ultra-competitive, employer-driven market. Allie shares her own journey, tips on building a strong personal brand, and the importance of networking and targeted outreach. Her advice is essential for those navigating an intense hiring landscape. Allie has a background in re...

In this jam-packed episode, Mitch Robbins sits down with Dr. Greg Critchfield , a titan in molecular diagnostics and biotech. This is a leader who’s done it all—from spearheading Myriad Genetics into global prominence to raising over $300 million for groundbreaking women’s health innovations. But that’s just scratching the surface! 🔬 Why You Need to Tune In : Dr. Critchfield shares how his early...