Angela Spang is a seasoned life sciences expert with 25 years of experience and a renowned entrepreneur, innovator, and founder of June Medical. She’s recognized as a successful business leader and regularly delivers talks and workshops on leadership, sales, and innovation. As the CEO and board member of several healthcare companies, she offers her expertise in market entry and launch planning. In 2021, she was named CEO of the Year in the United Kingdom and received The Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation, and in 2022, she was named a Buckinghamshire Swan Envoy in recognition of her business contributions. She has written two books: ‘Outspoken: What I Never Told Anyone” and “Diary Spang’,” a collection of her most read and liked business blogs.
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between World’s Leaders Angela Spang:
Describe your background and what did you do before you started/joined the company?
“I have worked in healthcare for more than two decades and decided to start June Medical in 2013. My strategy has stayed the same: build a strong portfolio and expand internationally. We are now in 27 counties and have launched in the USA, which is our biggest goal yet. We are now authorized to supply VA hospitals as well as the massive Texas hospital chain Baylor Scott & White. Our sweet spot appears to be ambulatory surgery centers, where our product saves money while also having a better design than the current market leader, and we are rapidly converting ASCs.
What has made you successful? What do you value?
I think the combination of my discipline and a lack of ego is really useful. I can keep us firmly on track, while not caring about being right. I just care about getting it right. If someone has a better idea, I am all for it. We win as a team, not as individuals.
I started the company because I wanted to do good, and as a result, we donate 10% of our retractor sales to charity. We have sent Galaxy II retractors to Direct Relief, Ukraine and fistula surgeons in Uganda for years, and will continue to do so for as long as they are needed.
Which are the major services of the company and how do the company to get ahead in the competition? What value-added services does the company provide?
We have created a unique surgical retractor, the Galaxy II, used to hold back tissue when surgeons operate. It holds itself in place, and has a light attachment; it improves access and vision, and makes surgery safer and easier. Earlier today, a surgeon described it as the perfect assistant, which allowed him to free up junior doctors and nurses to help with the waiting lists. I’ve also heard it described as an excellent teaching tool: with fewer hands in the way of the surgical site, students can see and learn much better.For an avid learner like myself, that is a huge compliment, and I am very grateful to be able to contribute to healthcare in this way.
What are the most important aspects of a company’s culture? What principles do you believe in and how do you build this culture?
To me, it is trust. I trust that my team will do the job to the best of their ability and will tell me when they need help. Trusting people to do things their own way, even when it is different from how I could do it, and knowing that it will be alright, I’d like to think my team trusts me to have their back and that they are beyond certain that I do what is best for people before I do what is best for me.
We spend so much time at work, and I just want to make sure I surround myself with people whom I like, respect, admire, and want to be around. That doesn’t mean I hired people who are exactly like me; that would be terrible! I deliberately hire people who fill my weaknesses and our gaps—those who view things differently. And then we discuss and debate things, and we find a path forward that we are all comfortable with. I think our ability to find solutions to whatever comes our way is what makes us so strong.
What is the significance of innovative ideas in the company?
For a company of our size, innovation is a paramount part of our strategy. One of our unique strengths (thanks to the trust I just mentioned) is that we have a very flat organization with a lot of freedom for staff to innovate in how and what we do. Our company saying is that we can do anything we want as long as it is legal and compliant! The June Medical staff has what I refer to as “Freedom By Responsibility,” and making mistakes is part of the learning process. Innovation is a part of growth, and we must move to win.
Give us your opinion on; do organizations rely heavily on individual heroics or team processes?
I think that depends on how regulated an industry is. For example, medical devices is heavily regulated, and as much as we support tam members in their individual journeys, we can only win as a strong team.
What are your responsibilities as the Founder and Owner of the company? What is the happiest part of your daily routine?
I am the sweeper in curling, preparing our path, reducing bumps, predicting destination, and ensuring that everyone has what they need to do a good job. I am the voice in the wings who whispers the words someone might forget when they get nervous, and I am the one that is ultimately responsible for our entire promise to deliver safe and effective medical devices on time and to the right place.
My favorite part of my daily routine is bedtime. I love bedtime! I try really hard to think of one thing to focus on every day, one thing that will bring one of the companies forward the most, and then do that one thing (and do it as well as I can). Then, even though my to-do list is never ending, I will have completed the most important task, and even if I do not complete everything, I will be proud and satisfied with having completed THAT.Then I go to sleep nicely, with at least 3 pillows, fluffy socks, and my favorite perfume.
What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
Find your people, shut down your ego, keep learning, and always put yourself in their shoes. Make sure the competition is outside the team, not inside. Hire for attitude; train for skills. Give people a chance to shine, but if they don’t perform, first look at what you could have done better to prepare them.
