Read the Conversation
Meeting Highlights:
- Committed Leadership & Balanced Strategy: Beckman Coulter Mexico is focused on accelerating operational excellence, becoming best-in-class, and cultivating a great place to work. Recognizing the diverse needs of Mexico’s public healthcare system, the company is adopting a democratic approach to healthcare delivery. Their strategic model includes smart commercial distribution and logistics, carefully selecting partners to meet both private-sector growth opportunities and the demands of the public sector.
- Diagnostics as the Backbone of Health System Sustainability: Early, accurate diagnostics—like sepsis indicators—lower costs, enhance patient outcomes, and improve hospital efficiency. Diagnostics are central to building resilient and sustainable healthcare systems.
- Pioneering Next-Gen Technology & Data-Driven Insights: Beckman Coulter is advancing next-generation diagnostic technologies to address challenges like Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) through faster, more accurate testing. The company's platforms generate actionable data and insights that support clinical decision-making and are increasingly used in close collaboration with pharma.
- Talent and Culture as Strategic Assets: Workforce development is core to Beckman Coulter’s mission, with a focus on inclusive culture, continuous learning, and team-driven success.
- Driving Sustainable, People-Centric Growth: Beckman Coulter emphasizes long-term, profitable growth by innovating, retaining top talent, and aligning capital and human resources.
EF: What attracted you to this company, and what personal mission or goals have you set for yourself in your role?
MF: I’ve been in the diagnostics market for about 8 years. I began my career in Argentina and later continued in Mexico. Before that, I worked in the medical devices and healthcare industry across Argentina, Chile, and Mexico for more than two decades. This journey has always aligned with my purpose—to improve healthcare for those closest to us: our families, our teams, and our broader communities.
What attracted me to Beckman Coulter was the opportunity to fulfill that purpose on a larger scale by contributing to meaningful improvements in the Mexican healthcare system. The company is part of the Danaher Group, which brings together a range of well-established companies that offer integrated solutions across the healthcare sector.
EF: How do you see the transformation of the Mexican healthcare landscape progressing, and what are the most critical gaps Beckman Coulter is helping to close in the country?
MF: To build a healthier Mexico in the years ahead, we must prioritize several key areas. One of the most important is increasing investment in preventive healthcare. In particular, early diagnostics will be essential—not only for improving outcomes but also for helping to reduce treatment costs and encourage more regular screenings. The challenge is not just generating diagnostic data but knowing how to act on it—planning treatment and ensuring proper follow-up care.
A key priority is to continue strengthening our footprint in the private sector, which includes adapting our talent strategy and deepening collaboration with private healthcare providers.
At the same time, we continue to support the evolving public healthcare system. We closely follow developments within IMSS-Bienestar and other public institutions, working with our main distribution partners to align with the government’s integrated diagnostic services approach.
Across both sectors, our goal is to ensure diagnostics not only to support early disease detection but also to lay the groundwork for more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable care pathways.
EF: How do you see Mexico’s future role as Latin America's manufacturing and distribution hub?
MF: Given current tariffs and broader U.S. trade dynamics, we are actively evaluating how Mexico’s role might evolve, particularly under the USMCA agreement, to determine whether local manufacturing could be viable and cost-effective. Today, our manufacturing is primarily in the U.S. and Europe, with some instrument production in Japan. In Mexico, our focus remains on sales and service. However, we’re committed to strengthening our supply chain and logistics capabilities to manage costs better and minimize tariff-related impacts for our customers. We are taking a more strategic and intelligent approach to managing our global manufacturing footprint to reduce any negative impact on the local market in Mexico.
EF: Where do you see Mexico and the broader Latin American region in terms of driving innovation and developing as key innovation hubs?
MF: We fully support innovation developed in Latin America, and we bring our latest solutions to support Mexican Healthcare. A major focus area for us is antimicrobial resistance. AMR is shaping to be one of the biggest global health challenges—possibly the next pandemic. The threat has steadily risen, making antibiotic susceptibility testing a vital part of a patient’s treatment journey. As regulatory and quality requirements evolve, new antibiotics become more urgent.
Our R&D teams leverage AI to stay ahead—updating therapeutic guidelines and ensuring compliance with the latest protocols. With our upcoming testing portfolio, we aim to lead the market. Meanwhile, Beckman Coulter is also pioneering next-generation technologies to improve lab workflows and reduce turnaround times, helping labs meet growing demand.
EF: How has AI and digitalization of health impacted Beckman Coulter?
MF: Data management and extracting insights from diagnostics are becoming increasingly important. At Beckman Coulter, we’re undergoing a major transformation, particularly in our digital platforms. A key focus is capturing and analyzing data generated across our instruments in public or private healthcare settings. The goal is to turn early diagnostic results into actionable insights that inform treatment decisions. We’re also strengthening our collaboration with pharmaceutical companies—encouragingly, there is growing interest, especially in Mexico. It is exciting to see this shift, with more stakeholders eager to access and use the insights we can provide, particularly within public hospitals.
We are already seeing the impact. In some of Mexico City’s largest public hospitals and others across major cities, diagnostic data from our platforms is helping guide more personalized treatment plans. These are turning into real success stories, improving the overall quality of care.
While this is not a new approach globally, seeing the growing integration of diagnostics, data, and treatment in Mexico’s healthcare ecosystem is gratifying.
EF: How do you view medical education's role in training your internal teams and healthcare professionals to use your products effectively? Are there any specific initiatives in place to support this?
MF: We have a dedicated department for medical education—our Academy. For many years, it focused on training internal teams to ensure they were well-equipped to support the field. But over the past years, this approach has evolved.
We are working closely with leading public and private universities to engage future healthcare professionals early on. The aim is to support their development while building a strong talent pipeline for the industry. At the same time, we remain focused on attracting, developing, and retaining top talent through ongoing education and professional growth within the company.
Bridging the gap between our teams and healthcare professionals is essential. It fosters innovation and excellence in diagnostics while also helping address the talent shortages that impact many parts of the healthcare sector. This strategy will undoubtedly help strengthen our position in the market in the future.
EF: How are you positioning Latin America to attract new investments and bring innovative products from your headquarters to the region?
MF: Our focus in the coming years is to drive operational excellence, enhance commercial execution, and establish clear leadership in specific disease areas. We are particularly committed to advancing clinical innovation, especially in biomarker development, focusing on neurodegenerative diseases, hematological conditions, and infectious diseases.
A key example of this strategy is sepsis, which has become a central focus at Beckman Coulter. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition affecting more than 49 million people worldwide and is responsible for over 11 million deaths globally each year. Beyond its high mortality rate, it strains healthcare systems, leading to frequent hospital readmissions and higher costs.
We are focused on supporting early diagnosis through specific sepsis indicators, helping clinicians reduce diagnostic uncertainty and make faster, more informed decisions, ultimately leading to better treatment and patient care.
EF: Given the significant differences in scale and needs, how are you managing the balance between serving large hospitals and smaller laboratories in Mexico?
MF: Tailored service to our customers' needs is our key priority and something we are actively working on in close coordination with our commercial, distribution, and supply chain teams. The challenge is not only related to pricing, but more importantly, it is about identifying and working with the right partners and distributors who can help us reach a wider portion of the sector. We are working through integrators and specialized partners to expand our public presence. Simultaneously, we are leveraging our Academy team to deepen relationships in the private sector. We align our solutions to address specific needs directly, ensuring we deliver real value across both sectors.
EF: As you complete your first year, what have you achieved that you are especially proud of and would want to celebrate?
MF: Beckman Coulter has had a presence in Mexico for over 50 years, and now we’re entering a new phase—expanding resources and investing in smarter processes, tools, and AI. In short, growth is the theme guiding our next chapter.
We’re undergoing a major internal transformation—both within my team and in the talent we’re bringing in. A key goal is driving operational excellence across Mexico and Puerto Rico by improving test turnaround times and boosting commercial execution through new platform launches in clinical chemistry and immunoassay.
Equally important is being recognized as a great place to work and attracting top talent. While tools and solutions matter, building the best team has defined my first year. I truly believe the best team wins—a value shared by both Danaher and Beckman Coulter. People are central to my strategy. I focus on building a strong foundation with the right individuals and leaders. Recruiting, developing, and motivating talent has been a top priority.
EF: What final message would you like to share with the sector?
MF: When companies like ours work with the public sector, it’s not enough to provide excellent solutions—we must also connect the dots and explain the “so what.” It’s critical to show how insights lead to real improvements in healthcare outcomes, with clearly defined indicators to guide policymaking.
We may have the best diagnostics, but if we don’t align them with public health strategies—like Mexico’s plans to tackle diabetes or obesity—we’re not making the impact we could. As providers, we must support a long-term vision and help improve the key metrics prioritized by the government.
That’s why it’s vital to position diagnostics not as standalone tools but as part of a broader public health strategy. We need to approach the public sector more intelligently and strategically. The system has long been under pressure and is still evolving. As IMSS-Bienestar continues to take shape, staying aligned with new authorities and understanding how we can support this transformation is key.
Meanwhile, Mexico’s private sector is growing fast. Out-of-pocket costs remain high, but new institutions and diagnostic centers are working to expand access to affordable care. We’re actively supporting both sectors. We focus on finding the right balance and allocating resources effectively across these two pillars—public and private.
