Celebrating Anniversaries

Doug Fifolt, global franchise leader for Advanced Energy and Instruments in Codman Specialty Surgical shares what he is most passionate about as he celebrates 25 years of marriage, 32 years of service, and 35 years as a company.

The following is an excerpt from a Q&A with Doug Fifolt about his interest in problem-solving which led to his career path in marketing, being open to change, and his personal and professional milestone anniversaries.

• How long have you been at Integra? What does your role at Integra entail?
I joined Integra during the integration of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) - Codman in 2017. Prior to this I was with J&J - Codman in various roles for 25 years. I am currently the global franchise leader for Global Advanced Energy & Instruments in the Codman Specialty Surgical (CSS) division.

• Can you tell us more about your career journey at Integra?
During the Codman integration into Integra, I started in a downstream U.S. marketing role focused on the Neuro Critical Care portfolio. I am an engineer by training with a master's degree in mechanical engineering and material science and spent the first part of my career working in product development. Over the years, my interest in understanding what problems still needed to be solved for our customers and the patients they serve led me to transition to marketing in a front-end/upstream capacity.

As I celebrate 32 years in the MedTech industry, a moment in my career that stands out is when Integra gave me the opportunity to round out my marketing skills in a downstream role which ultimately led to my promotion as the global franchise leader for our Advanced Energy and most recently Instrument businesses.

• How have you approached your own professional development?
As I have progressed in my career, I have learned to embrace opportunities that take me out of my comfort zone. My first role at Integra was an area of marketing I had no prior direct experience in. It allowed me to round out my skills and eventually led to my leadership opportunity within the organization. Also, keep your eyes and ears open. Unexpected opportunities appear even when you may think there is nowhere to go in the organization.

• How have you dealt with failure and setbacks throughout your career?
I learned a fairly simple lesson from a former manager early on in my career. Life will throw a lot of events your way and many will be things you might categorize as a 'setback'. While you have no control over these events, you can control how you respond to them. Looking for ways to frame your responses to these types of challenges to look for the best possible outcomes rather than dwelling on the negative has ultimately led to opportunities down the road for me.

• What is your advice to employees who are joining Integra on how they can be successful?
Be open to change; Integra is a very dynamic place. New opportunities arise all the time if you are open to seeing the possibilities.

• What would you like people to know about you on a personal level?
I have been happily married for almost 25 years to my wife Marguerite. We are recent empty-nesters with two college-aged boys. One is a junior studying biomedical engineering at Northeastern University and the other is a freshman studying architecture at Syracuse University. Apart from family, I enjoy skiing, mountain biking, boating and doing do-it-yourself (DIY) projects when I am at home.

• As we celebrate our 35th anniversary as a company, what is one of your most memorable moments at Integra?
One of my more recent memorable moments was seeing the new Aurora® visualization system be used in a live surgery broadcast live at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) meeting last year. It has the potential to be such a life-changing technology for many patients and to see it in the spotlight was very rewarding.

• What do you think is most positive about working at Integra?
What we ultimately do … restoring lives. Working with a great group of people towards a very noble and common goal is what motivates me to come to work.

• Where do you see the future of our business going?
Despite some challenges we are currently facing, I truly believe the future of our business is bright. We have a unique portfolio featuring many innovative and important products that really make a difference to patients. We continue to make investments to grow. We have a group of people who really care about what we do and why we do it and are committed to solving problems to build a strong foundation for the future.

• In your own words, describe what our purpose, mission, vision means to you?
To me it means every day trying to make sure we are doing what is best for the patients. Whether it is bringing forth new treatment pathways through the development pipeline, or just making sure that customers get our products when they need them, both have the opportunity to improve a patient's life.

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