���ߺ�����Executives Talk About Going Global, Shifting Focus

Within the last 100 years, Olympus’ core success was founded on its technology and innovation, according to COO Nacho Abia. To those outside of the organization, Olympus’ pervasive branding as “the camera company” still sticks, despite the in 2020. The company continues to pivot, and with recent of impressive earnings in FY22, a listen back to a January 2022 MassDevice in which Nacho was interviewed, along with Gabriela Kaynor, Division Head of Therapeutics Solutions, proves insightful to some of these shifts. 

What’s being transformed? 

During the interview, Nacho recalled ���ߺ�����CEO Yasuo Takeuchi rolling out “a very disruptive and aggressive agenda of change” after his appointment in 2019. “He wanted ���ߺ�����to be the number one medical device company” so that significant investment and resources would be allocated to devices and technology in the business. Secondly, “he wanted to globalize the company,” and transform it from “a very powerful, solid Japanese company into a truly global enterprise that can operate and utilize talent from all over the world,” Nacho explained. The “transformation plan” was in January 2019.

Therapeutic solutions in the Boston area

In the medical world, Nacho explained that “we now have two large divisions: therapeutics solutions and endoscopic solutions.” Therapeutics solutions is a newly created division located in Westborough, Mass. 

“Until being tapped on the shoulder I didn’t understand all of the areas and segments of the markets that ���ߺ�����played in,” admitted Gabriela. She joined ���ߺ�����in 2016 and is based in the new Westborough office. She previously worked at Johnson & Johnson and Covidien. “We’re playing across multiple specialties … but from a mission perspective we’re looking to deliver profitable and sustainable growth.”

Gabriela has seen this mission play out through the transformation efforts over the last three years. “That transformation effort for us has really been part of looking outside [of the company and] trying to expand beyond endoscopy,” she said. As technologies in other areas advance, ���ߺ�����is adopting them and developing alternative solutions. One key area of interest is in single-use products.

Beyond capital equipment

Traditionally Olympus’ focus has been on the endoscopy capital side. But the company is “becoming more agile in the way we develop and commercialize the single-use devices and solutions for our customers,” she said.

R&D is still a component of the business, but “supply chain [management], procurement, partnerships, distribution, and commercialization become the larger perspective,” Gabriela explained. To the last point, she added that the company recognizes a need to provide a more “value-based” commercial approach.

She said the global focus of the company is about “shifting that mentality from working as functional silos.” Five years ago, “we were operating much more as regions” and now there is a cross-functional push, she explained. “That doesn’t come without its growing pains,” but with “great global teams” ���ߺ�����continues to evolve, fostered by new talent and new processes, she added.

The Westborough location bolsters top-notch recruitment. “Obviously, Massachusetts is a great area to attract talent” given the number of universities and medical device companies in the Boston area, Gabriela observed. In the bigger picture, “We’re committed to improving our value chain here in the United States and that includes not just the commercial front but every global function.”