The 1st Annual Medical Devices 3P Forum in the US will kick off on November 17 and 18 in the amazing and sunny city of Miami, Florida. More than 100 attendees and speakers will join forces in order to band project, portfolio and product management together. One of our remarkable speakers is Parimal Shah, Director of New Product Development and Advanced Technology at Medtronic. I spoke with Parimal few days ago and we had the time to talk about his vast and impressive career, his presentation and his everyday life as a husband and a father of two.

Tell me a little more about your career and yourself.

I have held leadership roles in various companies such as GE Healthcare, Baxter, Covidien and now Medtronic, where I am the Director of New Product Development and Advanced Technology. In my career I’ve led R&D organizations to transform strategic business ideas into meaningful tactical plans managing complex medical device development. My understanding of emerging and developed markets and hands-on leadership style has been key to successful execution. I am an Electrical Engineer and live in California with my family.

So Parimal, which part is the most interesting for you?

The interesting part is when we can transform creative ideas and technologies into good sustainable business models. This transformation required of technology, organizations and the business is very rewarding.

Which are the most valuable lessons you learnt so far?

One of the most important lessons I learned earlier in my career, success is achieved by collaboration, partnership and working in teams. I have personally failed when thinking a ‘star player’ can do it all. Instead, achievements have come only when I mastered the art of pulling together diverse team members with varying specialties and different perspectives that in total were greater than the sum of its parts. No one can do it alone, no matter how good. Teams always win.

On Medical Devices 3P Forum you will talk about Medtronic’s Device Portfolio in the ICU. Can you elaborate a little more on your presentation?

An important element in healthcare and especially in the ICU is patient outcomes. In combination with today’s realities of the burden of high cost associated with most therapies, various stakeholder expectations need to be understood and met. The presentation today is a case study in smart devices in the ICU that addresses the challenge of blending clinical decision support systems that add value by increasing outcomes and decreasing costs.

In your opinion, what is the #1 takeaway of your presentation?

My presentation is a case study that attempts to address three dimensions of care in the ICU clinical setting. Innovative technology solutions that enable increased productivity at lower costs while minimizing errors. This is a convergence of new thinking in the approach to enhance clinical outcomes with physiological modelling at the bed side and should be an interesting conversation.