Total Joint Orthopedics, Inc. (TJO), a Salt Lake City, Utah-based orthopedic medical device company focused on hip and knee implants, has added Michelle Zawadzki to its board of directors.
Prior to joining the TJO board of directors, Zawadzki spent nearly 32 with Warsaw, Indiana-based Zimmer Biomet where she served as vice president of global research and development and was the executive leader in research and development, focused on orthopedic medical devices.
Zawadzki is a University of Akron (Akron, Ohio) graduate where she obtained a Master of Science in Engineering, Biomedical Engineering. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Purdue University.
The TJO Board of Directors includes TJO President and CEO Erin Hofmann, Teresa Ford, Scott Lowry, and Gil Williams. With the addition of Zawadzki, TJO now has the first majority-female board of directors in orthopedics.
OTW spoke Zawadzki about being a part of the first majority-female board of directors in orthopedics. Zawadzki told OTW, “I am extremely honored to be a part of TJO Board of Directors as we become the first majority-female board of directors in orthopedics with my addition. Women led companies, like TJO, with Erin Hofmann at the helm, are more likely to lead change and value diversity.”
Zawadzki continued, “I am proud to be part of setting an example and championing much needed transformation in orthopedics. It is critical for the orthopedic industry to reflect the future orthopedic community with an increasing number of women surgeons, engineers, sales representatives, etc. The leadership helping to drive strategic vision should include qualified women and represent as much diversity as the patients and customers we serve.”
OTW also asked Zawadzki if she thinks it is important to have more females involved in orthopedic leadership. Zawadzki responded to OTW, “Yes. I recognize that the orthopedic industry is lagging behind and would greatly benefit from the inclusion of more women leaders. I was fortunate to hold many leadership roles over the course of my orthopedic career. I greatly appreciate all of my mentors, both female and male, for providing me with the guidance to navigate the male dominated orthopedic industry politics.”
Zawadzki continued, “I believe that many women possess unique strengths such as adaptability, enhanced communication, and emotional intelligence/intuition, which make our leadership style timely for the needs of the ever changing medical, academic, and business millennials. The orthopedic community is and should continue to be focused on delivering quality of patient care and I believe that begins with recognizing and enabling women in orthopedic leadership.”
