Introducing Camille Farhat, CEO, RTI Surgical, Inc.
When asked, Camille Farhat starts with his tenure at General Electric (GE) during Jack Welch’s tenure.
“CAT scanning was a mature, saturated market in those days. Radiologists who needed a scanner had it.”
“So, in order to grow the business, we decided to use an approach similar to the Nintendo model. In other words, what do you want to play today?”
“That changed the game. By designing faster and thinner scanning, our business began expanding into cardiology, wellness, (e.g., virtual colography, lung nodule detection) and oncology.”
How to Change the Game for RTI?
RTI is in a difficult strategic box. The business of selling products for spine surgery has been in a deflationary cycle for several years and annual industry growth rates are around 1-2%. Growing spine by even a modest rate of 5% means taking share from someone.
In such a challenging environment, maintaining profit margins—much less raising them—is difficult.
For RTI, those issues are compounded by the fact that it has a significant allograft OEM (original equipment manufacturer) business with Medtronic spine—so any initiatives in the spine hardware business could stimulate a reaction from its single largest customer.
As Farhat noted to OTW, “Growing spine is a delicate task.”
So, as he has done several times in his career, Farhat is looking at all his options. Including something that worked for him at GE—changing the game in a mature market by expanding customer options.
In Farhat’s view, RTI needs to pursue niche, differentiated spine products, supported by clinical data, and gain scale which would lead to portfolio pull-through.
Farhat is also thinking carefully about the demand side of the equation. “Creating demand in this market is a game-changer. We want to train doctors on these new therapies and products. We want to increase RTI’s value to the surgeon.”
Is Past Prologue?
Farhat’s success with GE’s CAT scan business prompted Medtronic to come calling. In 2003, Farhat joined Medtronic as global general manager of its urology and gastroenterology divisions formed through multiple, disparate acquisitions that needed to be integrated.
One of Farhat’s initiatives was to, in effect, re-purpose and commercialize a proven Medtronic implantable pacemaker technology to stimulate nerves and treat disorders in urology and gastroenterology.
“Market receptivity was tremendous and the business experienced rapid growth as a result. It gave us the leverage we needed to then branch into the obesity space and create new category leadership opportunities for Medtronic.”
Farhat then moved to Baxter International to lead their Global Infusion Systems division under a consent decree and subsequently led Baxter Pharmaceuticals & Technologies during the Heparin supply chain crisis. He then became CEO of American Medical Systems and led the company through its mesh challenges and sold the men’s health division to Boston Scientific in 2015.
