This spring, Rowan Cainer joined ClearSight Health as the company’s VP of Growth. In this role, Rowan brings over a decade of experience in medical device commercialization. We sat down with him to learn more about why he joined ClearSight Health, and hear about the trends he’s seeing in the marketplace.
So Rowan – tell us a bit about your professional background before joining ClearSight Health?
Professionally, I’ve worked in a variety of business development and commercial strategy roles at the intersection of the medical device industry and the research, data and analytics space. In this capacity I’ve had the opportunity to partner with marketing and commercial leaders in medical device companies of all sizes to help them understand market dynamics and build strategies to bring their technologies to market. I love this space because it’s constantly changing, and there is always something new to learn. The industry is constantly evolving, both in terms of the technologies being developed, and the tools, data and technology leaders of these companies have at their disposal.
What brings you to ClearSight Health?
Obviously the opportunity to join a rapidly growing company that is bringing novel technology to a user group I’m passionate about was incredibly exciting. I’ve worked with clients commercializing medtech products for years, and when I saw what the team at CSH built, I knew it was fitting a clear need in the industry.
In addition to my belief in the vision for the company, the leadership team is of course critical for bringing that vision to life. I had the opportunity to work with Jen Thomas as an executive leader for over a decade and have a strong trust in both her understanding of the customer needs and her ability to build a successful organization to meet those needs. This, combined with Dr. Matt Runnalls’ background in data, product development, and experience as a practicing physician, made it a very compelling opportunity to be a part of building the future of sales enablement for medical device companies.
Finally, I was excited about the opportunity to help drive the growth of the organization across a variety of dimensions; leveraging multiple sources of data, channels, and partnerships to help establish CSH as a critical piece of the commercial ecosystem for medical device companies.
Ultimately, my mission is to stay 100% focused on the needs of customers – our growth is fundamentally dependent on our client’s growth. We see in our data that the more often sales reps at medical device companies use our tool, the more likely they are to build and leverage strong relationships with the care teams that drive their business. As those rep’s organizations experience success and grow their sales teams, their relationship with CSH grows as well. This virtuous cycle of growth is like a battery in the back of the whole CSH team.
You’ve had the opportunity to get out on the road and attend a few big medical conferences recently. What are some of the big themes you’re hearing in the space?
There have been several exciting developments across therapies in patient monitoring, wearable tech, and new devices to improve patient outcomes. This is an incredibly exciting development in terms of taking conditions that were previously only treatable with pharmaceutical interventions and offering new and long-lasting ways to improve patient health.
In addition, as I am talking to companies along the entire spectrum from startup to large multinational device manufacturers at these events, I am hearing the same message: they have sophisticated sales reps experiencing trouble managing the volume of data and number of data sources required to grow their territories and effectively partner with care delivery teams. For the larger medtech organizations, spending more money to buy more data is not necessarily the answer. Reps need to simplify the data stack and get everything in one place to make quick tactical or strategic decisions about their business.
Any exciting plans for the summer?
Ah yes, summer in Toronto is precious time. Last year I refurbished a little sailboat that I hope to master and, if I’m lucky, generate some interest in the activity with the kids… or, anything other than Netflix and Nintendo. And, of course, I’ll be on the road quite a bit attending some of the upcoming conferences and working onsite with clients for implementations!
