ARTICLE SUMMARY:
COVID-19 has forced industry meetings onto online platforms, but for many, the result more than six months into the pandemic is virtual meeting burnout. Kristy Kennedy and Joe Mullings recently discussed this evolution, and MTS’ upcoming Virtual Summit, being designed from the ground up to allow for meaningful connection.
Earlier this month, Kristy Kennedy, MedTech Strategist’s Chief Business Officer, sat down virtually with medtech career thought leader and video storyteller Joe Mullings on a recent episode of his video series, "The Other Side," to discuss the transformation of industry-essential medtech conferences in the COVID-19 era. As the saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention.” MTS is reimagining these critical networking and partnering events in a world that for now looks very different, but six-plus months into the pandemic, many people are experiencing “Zoom burnout.”
Joe Mullings’ “The Other Side” series explores the way industries, companies and individuals are tackling the emerging world of work during these unprecedented times.
In the interview, Kennedy discussed the ways in which MedTech Strategist, as a leading publisher and conferences organizer serving the global medtech ecosystem, is collaborating closely with its trusted device community—including top-tier venture and investors and strategics, new and long-time sponsoring organizations, emerging start-ups, and many others—during this critical time, to address their unmet needs for meaningful connection and camaraderie. The result is the Virtual Investment and Partnering Summit 2020, taking place over several weeks this October and November.
Based on the tremendous response and feedback from global investors and other key stakeholders, the Virtual Summit format is being planned so that the medtech community can come together via a flexible mix of prerecorded and live sessions, and share perspectives, discuss strategies for overcoming today’s novel challenges, and have the candid conversations that are urgently needed now about the future of our industry. Advanced partnering capabilities and interactive cocktail receptions featuring candid conversations and Q&A with key investors will also be highlights of the event.
Summary point: The global medical device space is proudly known to be innovative, and so constant change and evolution is nothing new. In recent months, industry has had to respond and pivot in many different ways to meet the needs and restrictions brought about by a global pandemic. This impacts every aspect of a business—ranging from hiring, product development, clinical trials, end-user and internal meetings, pre-sub meetings with FDA, CMS panel meetings, and much more. Many of these new practices are certain to be long-lasting and perhaps even permanent, in light of the added benefits and flexibility now being seen in today’s virtual world (look at telehealth for an example of this). This also applies to the world of virtual conferences. MedTech Strategist’s goal is to raise the bar for critical investment and partnering events, and help drive vital collaborations in the medtech space.
Kristy Kennedy has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry with a focus on medical devices, with companies such as Medtech Insight, Windhover Information and Elsevier. Her background includes sales management, marketing and product branding, new product development, operational start-ups and sales strategies. Through her leadership, Kristy has created multiple sales operations including revenue forecasting and tracking, sales training, and business development.
Joe Mullings, a career expert with 30 years advising companies and individuals, is Founder, Chairman and CEO of The Mullings Group, a long-time MedTech Strategist conference Platinum Sponsor and the world’s leading search firm in the medical device industry. The Mullings Group has worked with some of the world’s largest companies including Google, Siemens, Medtronic, and Johnson & Johnson, as well as innovative emerging startups, to recruit and hire for C-suite and executive-level positions. He is also Chief Vision Officer for MRINetwork, one of the world’s largest talent access firms with 400 offices internationally. Mullings is also Founder and CEO of Dragonfly Stories, a full-service media production company, and the founder of medtech news and opinion website, TMGPulse.
View the full Kristy Kennedy/Joe Mullings interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqWRDeKdXPc&feature=youtu.be
Read more about MTS' partnership with The Mullings Group: https://mtsvirtual.com/
MedTech Strategist events and publications: https://www.medtechstrategist.com/