Her Story
About Katie
I've been in medical sales for 20 years now, and I'm currently transitioning to an exciting new chapter in my career. I most recently served as VP of Sales for four and a half years, and I'm about to start as Head of Sales at a startup organization where I'll be building out the entire sales team, processes, and infrastructure from the ground up. What really drives me in this field is ensuring that patients get the care they need with the technology that's best for them. In whatever organization I've been in, we put the customers and the patients at the forefront of what we do. Healthcare is something that everyone needs and requires, so being in healthcare is incredibly important to all of us. One of my proudest accomplishments is creating sales development programs at both Baxter and Zenius Coffee, where young professionals right out of college can come into the field, be trained, and then go out and have an incredible amount of success. I started my career in that type of program, so being able to pay it back and pay it forward to young professionals means a lot to me.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Katie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I really attribute my success to my family. My parents taught me how to work hard, and their support of me throughout my entire career has been invaluable. Honestly, my loving husband and my two wonderful daughters, who are 13 and 10, are at the heart of everything I do. And I can't forget my brother either - he's been an important part of my support system too. Having that strong family foundation has enabled me to pursue my career goals while maintaining what matters most to me.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
As I've gotten older and started my family, the best career advice I've received is really around making sure that you find a balance between working hard and making sure that you spend the right time with your family and recharging. If you get to the point of burnout, you're not going to be impactful or effective. This advice has become increasingly important to me as I've navigated building a successful career while also being present for my family.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say that this is an incredible field to be part of and to be in as a woman. Similar to the advice that I've been given, it's possible to have an incredible career and also fulfill the rest of your dreams, whether that be family or travel or other things. Just make sure, again, that you maintain that sense of balance. This is truly the best field that you could possibly be in, and you can achieve both professional success and personal fulfillment.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now, with the current environment that we're in, there's just a lot of pressure on healthcare systems. They're getting less funding and are required to maintain profitability, so the financial pressures are really challenging. I would say the biggest opportunity that a lot of our healthcare systems have is leveraging technology and AI, and how that can really help improve healthcare. There's a lot of data, but there's not a lot of information still. The more that we can leverage some of the new tools and technologies to be more predictive with care, the better we're all going to be and more efficient moving forward. So I would say the economic pressures are the hardest part right now, and then the opportunity is really around technology.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my work, the values most important to me are grit, accountability, integrity, continuous improvement, and teamwork. In our family, we have four rules that guide us, and we even have them on our walls: be safe, be kind, have fun, and work hard. These values shape both how I approach my professional responsibilities and how we live our lives at home.
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