Medeo’s Leadership Change Signals Big Things Ahead
Vancouver has been creating viable health-tech startups for many years. From Ayogo to Phemi to Curatio, entrepreneurs with an eye for helping doctors use technology to the fullest have thrived in Vancouver’s technological ecosystem.
Last fall, Invoke Media hosted an Ideamakers summit that celebrated the city’s pioneers in the sector; among them was Medeo, a service that allows practitioners of medicine to teleconference with patients in remote areas.
2014 has seen big changes at Medeo, changes enabled by its literal and figurative location. This month, Medeo announced new faces on its executive team. However, the faces are only new to the board; Michael Dingle, Michael Smit, and Dr. Alexandra Greenhill are all familiar faces in this sphere. Greenhill is well known in the entrepreneurial space for myBestHelper, a product that connects doctors with childcare; in the past month alone, it’s has been chosen as a finalist for the Social Media Camp and named to ICT’s Emerging Rockets of 2014.
The two Michaels each have pedigrees beyond reproach—Michael Dingle, the new President and COO, was formerly the Executive Vice President at Blast Radius, and oversaw global business development. Michael Smit comes to Medeo from Invoke Media, where he served as the CEO. Their paths have intersected numerous times in the past; Smit and Dingle worked together at Blast Radius, where Smit was working for roughly a decade, and Dr. Greenhill has been serving as a physician advisor at Medeo for years. Smit, along with the other members of the team, see big things ahead.
“We are seeing similar innovation and thought leadership happening in other provinces,” he told Techvibes. “We’re seeing organizations in other provinces and countries that would be fantastic markets for Medeo. There’s an energy about the place that’s palpable.”
Part of that’s probably due to a slew of renovations, which have locked the team into about half the space they’re used to. An open house is expected to be announced for late April to set them to best advantage. What might be declared at this open house is still unknown.
Dr. Greenhill, with her perspective shaped by a long career in medicine, considers Medeo to be poised on the shoulders of giants.
“The telephone revolutionized healthcare, and nowadays, it’s a normal element of providing care. I see tele health as being another tool used on a regular basis to help the delivery of healthcare,” she explains. “The platform’s ready to be launched anywhere, the remaining issues have more to do with government readiness, because end users get it. There’s no changes required; this is ready to be used.”
“I come form the traditional healthcare space more than anybody else—a lot of what Medeo is able to do is based on a significant investment from the province and significant medical organizations,” she continued. “Kudos need to be given to EMRs and tele health first generation, so this, 2.0, virtual care, can become possible.”
All three of the new C-level employees have backgrounds in incredibly competitive fields. The only thing more competitive than marketing is entrepreneurship—whatever’s next for Medeo, they’re ready for it, though Smit sees Medeo as uniquely placed in their field.
“Competition is an interesting word—we are at the front of a market with enormous potential for expansion and growth. Competition in what Medeo does today? We’re standing alone in Canada,” Smit says. “As far as competition in pursuit in innovation goes? We welcome it, because the market has so much room to grow.”
They’re certainly well-positioned for growth going forward. The date of the open house will be announced shortly; whatever’s to be declared will be something worth hearing.
