Tracking Jay Deady, Awarepoint President and CEO: Welcome and Introduction
By now, you've surely heard the news about Jay Deady becoming Awarepoint President and CEO. We're excited to welcome Jay to Awarepoint and think that it's time you meet him, too, so you can hear what excites him about Awarepoint, RTLS and Healthcare Information Technology.Today’s blog post is the first in a coming monthly series from our newly appointed President and CEO, Jay Deady. For this first post, I thought I’d give Jay a pass on creative writing, and conduct a short interview to give us all a peek at what makes him tick...
First, welcome to San Diego, Jay! During your career, it seems you've lived in several states across the country, but never in sunny San Diego! So, first, let me assure you you’ll get used to Christmas shopping in shorts, a tank top and flip flops. Let me also note that with 4 kids under 10 at home, including 7 year old triplets, running Awarepoint should be a piece of cake!
What will be your new role at Awarepoint?
“Well, the traditional description of the role of President and CEO is to drive the strategic vision for the Company, focus on new market development, profitability, and ensure the long term success of our hospital clients. While all that is true, to get there, my most important function is to lead the Awarepoint team. For me, key qualities for any good leader include challenging the group to do its best and setting a good example. Sounds simple, but that means asking people to look at the traditional ways things have been done and asking them to push beyond their comfort zones. For me personally, setting a good example means being open and honest, keeping commitments I make, and maintaining an open door policy. This is the way I’ve always done business and is what I’ll continue to expect from myself and from the Awarepoint team.”
Glancing through your CV, I notice your entire career has been focused on healthcare technology going back to your college days. What keeps you interested in this market?
“While I was growing up, my mother was a chief nursing officer, so I had the opportunity to work in hospitals (as a volunteer mind you!) starting in my young teen years. As my experience and professional network grew, I worked in all aspects of healthcare information technology – from the implementation side, eventually moving into product management, sales and marketing and leadership roles. What keeps me so interested is the opportunity to truly benefit the way healthcare is delivered. Knowing the products and services I work on today can have direct impact on improving how hospitals do business and more importantly how they deliver care to patients, is an incredible motivator.”
What made you want to be CEO of Awarepoint?
"I was exposed to the actual RTLS market segment about a year ago when entertaining an offer to be CEO of another RTLS company. I declined the opportunity for a couple of reasons – one of which is I did not agree with the underlying technology strategy of that particular RTLS company. During that process, however, I did become aware of the powerful value drivers of RTLS in hospitals and walked away with a strong belief that with the right underlying technology, the sheer impact of RTLS on how hospital’s operate is astounding.
I joined Awarepoint after successfully positioning Eclipsys for merger with Allscripts. During my due diligence, I became convinced Awarepoint had it figured out – the right technology, the right business model, the largest enterprise-wide RTLS client base in the industry and a solid management team and board of directors."
What do you hope to accomplish as CEO of Awarepoint?
"My goal for Awarepoint is to continue ensuring we are the best in the industry and to accelerate our growth. For that we will have to transform from a device company with some software and services to a full solutions company where our revenue literally becomes equal across software, services and devices/network. That will accelerate our growth and ensure we have long term client relationships."
"To me, the biggest challenge is increasing market awareness, particularly among nursing communities. RTLS can improve patient care, help reduce the load on overworked nurses, make hospitals safer, and free up scarce capital resources. As a nascent technology and at a smaller company without millions to spend on marketing, it can be tough to effectively get the word out."
What do you see as the future for Awarepoint? What are your priorities?
"RTLS is poised to track very well with what Gartner analysts and others think will be the future of healthcare over the next 6-7 years, namely the requirement to “meet the combined challenges of increased demand for services, continued pressure on cost and a focus on consistently high quality.” We can greatly contribute to the future “aware enterprise” that will be required to handle the severe healthcare demands that will face US hospitals as the impact of health reform and baby boomer demographics combine to create a perfect storm that will require improved efficiency and quality to handle it."
Any final thoughts?
"While I am now rooting for the Chargers to make the playoffs, I really hope they don’t face my Patriots in the cold of Gillette stadium for their sakes and for mine here at Awarepoint!!"
Thanks Jay!
Look for a View from the Corner Office, Tracking Jay Deady blog post each month, where Jay will recap his thoughts on the current happenings in healthcare information technology, perhaps offer a peek inside Awarepoint, discuss the overall value drivers of RTLS in hospitals, or maybe just talk about life in San Diego and what it’s really like to have 4 kids under 10 at home while also trying to run a company!
Do you have comments or advice for Jay as he embarks into the brilliant world of RTLS in healthcare? He’d love to hear from you.
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