Matthew Trerotola – An Experienced and Dedicated Leader Bringing Change to The Medical Technology Industry Through Innovation and Acquisitions
Top 10 Most Inspiring CEOs to Watch Out For in 2023
Success is a moving target.
Matt Trerotola, CEO of Enovis Corporation, is an extremely passionate healthcare
leader striving to bring a positive change in the medical technology industry
for a better patient experience. He states that success for him
is making the most of the opportunities presented to him. Every person and
every business have an intrinsic set of capabilities and an external set of
available opportunities. To Matt, success is reaching your full potential.
For MedTech innovator Enovis, success means
using their exceptional capabilities, advanced technologies, and attractive
market positions to continually outperform their industry peers. Matt carries
the same philosophy when it comes to leading and developing their associates at
Enovis. Everyone carries their desire and ambition, so the question is how to
create the right opportunities for them to be successful and reach their full
potential. “It’s part of our commitment to hiring and
developing extraordinary talent,” he says.
Leading a business requires more than
just a great idea.
Matt dreamed of being a business leader
ever since he was a child. He wanted to be as successful and respected as his
dad, who was a tremendous inspiration. After many years of learning and
growing, he was offered the chance seven years ago to be the CEO of Colfax
(Enovis’ predecessor). “It was a tremendous opportunity to take everything I had learned in
my career and apply it to leading a great company on an exciting journey,” he
states. Under Matt’s leadership and commitment to continuous improvement, the
company was reshaped from Colfax into Enovis, a focused medical technology
growth company, with the goal of creating a long-term path of growth through
innovation and acquisitions. He states that leading Enovis in the MedTech
industry is also very exciting because every day there is the opportunity to
make a difference in the lives of patients.
Internal strength fosters resilience and
growth.
“One valuable lesson that I have learned
through the years is that we cannot control what happens in our external
environment, but we can control how we respond to the challenge,” says Matt.
He was in a start-up in Silicon Valley when
the tech bubble burst, he was leading an industrial business in the 2009
recession, and now he has led a MedTech business through a pandemic. These are
times that test leaders and teams. Matt believes that it is critical to remain
calm and help teams to process the situation quickly and turn the focus to what
their response is and how they will navigate through with a focus on their
values and customers. By looking at challenges as opportunities, one can turn
something that was previously daunting into fuel that ultimately develops
stronger leaders and teams and creates lasting, positive momentum in the
organization.
Enovis and its purpose
Enovis (NYSE: ENOV) is a specialty medical
technology company focused on developing clinically differentiated solutions
that generate measurably better patient outcomes and transform workflows for
healthcare professionals. Their ultimate goal is to create a high-value,
high-growth medical technology company that extends them in and beyond
orthopedics to help more patients thrive and live active lifestyles.
The purpose of Enovis is Creating Better
Together. They chose that purpose because they think it’s incredibly
motivating and inspiring. “When we talk about creating better together, it
means better solutions for our surgeons, which means better outcomes for their
patients. It also means better career paths for our associates and better
relationships in our communities,” explains Matt. He further states that the team
is consistently focused on their culture of continuous improvement and knowing
that they have the power to create better together is very motivating.
Enovis’ contribution to redefining the
healthcare industry with integrity and innovation.
The healthcare industry needs solutions
that lead to better patient outcomes at a lower total cost. Enovis is committed
to leading the way by always asking – how could this be better? They have
already developed innovative surgical implants and braces that result in increased
patient satisfaction and create better paths to recovery. Increasingly, they
are combining product innovation with digital solutions that reshape the
patient journey and healthcare provider workflows.
Integrity is fundamental to an organization’s success. Matt takes
personal ownership of the ethical climate in the company. This includes setting
the tone in their leadership team and providing training and mentoring
throughout the organization to be sure the culture of integrity is infused into
every aspect of the company.
Matt’s life before Enovis and
recognition as a leader
Before Matt joined Enovis, he held various
leadership roles at DuPont, Danaher Corporation, and McKinsey & Company,
where he was dedicated to strengthening talent, accelerating organic growth,
improving profitability, and making strategic acquisitions.
Matt started his career in sales, which
served as a great starting point for his career because he learned the
importance of helping customers solve problems and how their success is crucial
to Enovis’ success. “I am very proud of the many recognitions that our Enovis teams get
for innovation and leadership in the industry. I am also proud that we were
named one of America’s Best Employers by Forbes – we
constantly work to make our company a great place to work so the recognition is
encouraging,” he says.
Responsibilities as the CEO of Enovis
Corporation
Matt is responsible for building an
extraordinary company that innovates for better outcomes for patients and is a
place where great talent can reach their full potential. He says that he loves it. “I
feel accountable for tomorrow and next week but also for where we are 5 and 10
years from now,” he states.
Any leader can tell you that there is no
typical day! On any given day Matt could be working on their next strategic
acquisition or having lunch with a group of associates. Or he could be visiting
one of their sites for a business review and to see the progress they’re
making applying the Enovis Growth Excellence business system to drive
continuous improvement. He could be meeting with potential new investors or
touring an orthopedic clinic and meeting with surgeons to identify their needs
and how Enovis can help them provide better patient outcomes. This variety is
something that he really enjoys about being the CEO of Enovis. He values the
opportunities to spend time with their terrific and talented associates and
business partners.
Matt defines himself as an ‘intense’ person.
He brings a lot of ambition to the company, and he has high expectations for
their teams. “Continuous improvement is our core value and that means we
are never satisfied. With the great
opportunities for growth in orthopedics and beyond this intensity is typically
focused on how we accelerate our growth path,” he explains.
Plans for the future of Enovis.
Enovis is growing quickly! They are closing
in on becoming a $2B company with a clear path for growth beyond that. Their
plan is focused on creating a company that is a high single-digit organic
grower powered by innovation – initially in orthopedics and beyond over time.
They will continue to add acquisitions that accelerate their
growth as well.
Matt’s personal goal is that in the future
Enovis will be one of the greatest growth stories in the history of the MedTech
industry – a company with high integrity and exceptional performance.
Work-life balance as an ambitious leader
Maintaining a balance can be difficult for
any leader. Matt says that he learned a long time ago that it is very important
to set boundaries and be ready to protect those boundaries. This includes
things like managing travel schedules, protecting vacations, and ensuring that
he spends high-quality time with his family. He is extremely grateful for
the support he has had through the years from his wife, Beth.
Matt’s message to aspiring business leaders
is to have big dreams, and then take those dreams and turn them into an
actionable 3–5-year plan. Then rinse, repeat. If you put in the work to learn,
grow, and create value while maintaining some flexibility you will find the
path over time to your full potential. “And make sure you are doing things that
you enjoy with people whom you respect,” he states.