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EF: How do you see 2023, from your perspective, as a challenge or an opportunity?
GMH: We see it as an opportunity. We have been through the restructuring phase, and the spin-off was completed at the beginning of the year. So we are starting 2023, ready to go. We have already restructured all the areas that we needed to in order to become GE HealthCare, this new company that is separate from GE. So, the perspective is positive. The market in LATAM, and especially in Mexico, is very attractive to us. We're expecting growth; we anticipate that innovation will drive growth in patient care. So exciting times for us in the industry and for GE HealthCare in particular.
EF: What mission did you set for yourself when taking on this role last year?
GMH: We are market leaders in Mexico, but we want to drive the way that healthcare and diagnostics are done in Mexico. So what we were expecting from my team and for GE HealthCare to develop in the market is to drive innovation in customers, especially in the public sector, which faces significant challenges in providing access to the very large population in Mexico across challenging geography. That is my mission: help our customers better serve their patients.
EF: How has the spin-off strengthened your position within the market?
GMH: We are just starting to see the results of the spin-off. There are several benefits; we have gained speed in decision-making and are now more in control of our budget, leading to the acquisition of many companies in the short time we have been a stand-alone company. Our greater level of autonomy has also allowed us to increase our R&D budget, which will further drive innovation. In summary, for us and our customers, we are now in an excellent position to deliver the future of health.
EF: How are you leveraging technology to improve patient outcomes and increase accuracy and efficiency from the patient and operational perspectives?
GMH: Many companies we have acquired act as add-ins to our products in artificial intelligence and other technologies. We acquired a company called BK Medical, which will further enhance our position as the ultrasound market leader. Most of the innovation we can see coming through is software-related, which is very impressive.
We have advanced remarkably in the past three or four years; most of our equipment now runs on AI software, enabling clinicians to assess their patients better and make much faster decisions. For example, we have artificial intelligence-based software that can reduce time spent by patients inside MRI scanning equipment by up to 50%, with equal or even improved image quality.
EF: Being part of a company that thrives on innovation, how do you assess the potential of Mexico to become an innovation hub on a Latin American level?
GMH: As part of the wider GE family, we have always considered Mexico an innovation hub. We had our innovation center in Queretaro, with around 1,500 engineers working on developing technology for the GE Vernova (Power Generation) and GE Aerospace Businesses. In GE's power generation and aviation business divisions, we have always known that Mexico is a place with a huge talent pool and a generation of innovators. At GE HealthCare, we have a significant manufacturing presence in the country, with production plants in Monterrey and Chihuahua, and we have plans to increase our design and technology footprint in the country.
EF: What makes Mexico an ideal market to have a production footprint?
GMH: It is strategic because of the infrastructure that we have here in Mexico. We have a close connection to the US, and an impressive level of professionals can be found in Mexico, especially in the manufacturing field, which we leverage to enhance our production capacity.
EF: What is the strategic significance of the Mexican market to GE HealthCare as a global group?
GMH: Mexico is a growing market with a population and healthcare needs that must be addressed in the next 10 to 15 years. Two factors come into play here. One is an investment in the private sector, which is happening. International investment groups, from healthcare or outside of healthcare, are investing heavily in private groups to grow and take advantage of the market in Mexico. And then we have the other factor: the Government's interest in healthcare and its role in providing for the Mexican population. The Government is prioritizing the development of a good healthcare system for the Mexican population, which is evident in the increased public expenditure over the past few years and is expected to increase even more this year and next. From a private perspective, all major players, without exception, have expansion plans.
EF: How is GE HealthCare driving access to the Mexican population?
GMH: Due to the products in our portfolio, we are key to healthcare access. We are specialists in diagnostics, and the patient's journey to health begins with diagnostics. Implementing technologies in different sectors of the healthcare system that may enable accurate diagnostics will improve patient outcomes in Mexico and beyond. For example, last year, we implemented technology at one of Mexico's largest public institutions; we installed 19 units of nuclear medicine equipment to support the diagnostics of oncology, cardiology, and neurological diseases. In summary, we must enable access through technology that helps clinicians diagnose better.
EF: How do you balance your physical and virtual footprints in this new hybrid world?
GMH: We have two different business units that work in tandem but also have the ability to work independently when needed. For example, we have a dedicated digital solutions team that helps us drive the market forward and a sales team that drives customer intimacy in digital solutions. Then, we have these specialized teams that provide services and operational capacity, and we do the same for the physical products we sell.
EF: How do you leverage common spaces to advance the industry and enhance collaboration within the sector?
GMH: As a large international company, we are part of many associations, such as AmCham and AMID, as well as other industry groups or different company profiles. We collaborate to understand where we are in terms of industry, to ensure we are close to the industry, and to understand public policy, for example, in which we can better help the Mexican authorities understand key priorities. We also collaborate through knowledge and sharing of experience when we address some difficulties, for example, tackling inflation and other new trends in the market that we face. This is important to us; the associations allow us to meet in a controlled environment.
EF: When you look back at this period of your career in 10 years, how would you like to be remembered?
GMH: We are driving change in the market, which I feel proud of. We are among the first in our industry to directly address Government without intermediaries. And that's how we can add value to the Mexican Government through direct operations. So that's how I would like to be remembered as the leader that made this happen.
EF: If you had to create a roadmap to the future of healthcare in Mexico, what would your three key pillars be?
GMH: Compliance is the first pillar for GE HealthCare in the market; we must play by the rules and follow every guideline meticulously. The second pillar is collaboration, which can mean different things depending on the nature of the customer, which could be from the private sector, the public sector, or an internal shareholder. The final pillar is operational capacity, which is very important in our industry. Without operational capacity, we cannot serve our customers, and they cannot treat their patients.
EF: Do you have a final message for our readers?
GMH: I would like to share why I believe in the importance of healthcare. My mother is a cancer survivor, so I experienced firsthand what it feels like to have health taken from your family; I believe these industries must keep touching people's lives. GE Healthcare is making a great effort to create a world where healthcare has no limits. That is what we are working towards.
