Read the Conversation
EF: How do you assess the progress of the goal you set for yourself when you were appointed in 2017, and what does 2023 have in store for Terumo?
KT: My mission has always been to grow the organization and the business in Mexico. The pandemic interrupted our growth and progress. However, despite the challenges of the pandemic, we have developed and achieved spectacular results. Last year's financial year will be ending this March. I am excited about my team's efforts and results for the previous fiscal year.
EF: Reflecting on the unprecedented and difficult past two pandemic years, what are your greatest lessons learned over this period?
KT: From a patient's perspective, there was a lack of access to health services during the pandemic in Mexico. With the priority being COVID, normal operations were interrupted, which weakened the healthcare system. These challenges exposed the health industry's weaknesses, including a need for a well-founded infrastructure and specialized healthcare. Because of the shifted focus, the fatality rate for patients with non-communicable diseases increased. These are all hard lessons that show opportunities for growth and improvement.
Internally we learned to see the challenges as opportunities for growth. During the pandemic, we changed our business strategy and approach. We doubled the number of employees and reorganized our organizational structure. We completely grew after the reorganization. 2021 was an exciting and dynamic year for us. We enjoyed all our challenges, and our outcomes were brilliant.
EF: Could you elaborate on your footprint and portfolio in Mexico?
KT: I am happy with our contribution to Mexico. Before the pandemic, Mexico's primary cause of death was NCDs like diabetes, high blood pressure, and especially cardiovascular diseases. Terumo boasts a complete medical device portfolio that provides solutions for cardiovascular patients. We have a wide range of cardiology and cardiovascular surgery medical devices. We recently added infusion therapy to our portfolio for nurses. We also have a subsidiary that specializes in blood banks.
When I joined Terumo Mexico in 2017, we used to sell our products through our business partners. We changed our channel strategy at the beginning of COVID-19. We now trade and provide our products and services directly to the end-user, hospitals, and patients. Terumo Mexico evolved with my direct presence in the company. Since 2020 the number of colleagues in our offices has doubled; we now have 110 employees. Our offices are expanding, and we now have offices in Monterrey, Guadalajara, Tijuana, and León. Our strategic positions are covered.
We have different specialties in quality sales, clinical, and services. Quality is integral to who we are; we provide it through our services, including quality in hospital administration. Our products, services, and footprint combination make us a unique organization. This is why I am proud of my team's achievements.
EF: What are Mexico's importance and strategic significance to Terumo as a group? If you were pitching for resources from Japan, how would you make a case for Mexico as an important country for the company?
KT: Our approach is more sales and commercial-oriented. The development of the new business model is integral to Terumo. The business model is easily transferable to other countries and subsidiaries where healthcare services are severely under-resourced. We are working on improving our commercial value and social value. Social value needs to be followed by a commercial value, not the other way around.
Last year Terumo Japan announced the Growth Strategy 26 (GS26) and highlighted sustainability management. The company also declared the use of Creating Shared Value (CSV). I was encouraged because what we do in Mexico aligns with the corporation's direction. Our goals from the Mexican office are easily transferable to other subsidiaries. That is our vision.
EF: What do you think the potential of Mexico is to become an innovation hub on a Latin American level?
KT: We have all the pillars, presence, and necessity to make Mexico an innovation hub. Terumo is in a good position to invest in Mexico. Training centers hold much value and are currently trending. We invested in a training center because our focus is on education. We combine our products and services with education and consultations, a unique value proposition. Terumo Mexico may work differently from Terumo Singapore, but we can also become an innovation hub.
EF: How do you assess Mexico's current technology adoption level and general attitude toward new technology? And how can we enhance this?
KT: It is a challenge we are currently working on. Advanced technology is not utilized or invested in. One of Mexico's key public healthcare leaders needs to get Wi-Fi in her office; she pays for her Wi-Fiand medical records are still paper-based. There are many opportunities for the adoption and advancement of technology in Mexico. Mexico's expenditure may be small compared to other GDPs; however, there are several investment opportunities. As key players in the healthcare sector, we are looking for solutions to improve the productivity of the public sector. Many patients in Mexico cannot afford insurance or private healthcare; they use public healthcare. This is why we always look for ways to improve public sector productivity. Our market approach is contributing to the creation of access for patients.
EF: When you look back at the first six years since you've been in Mexico, what achievements are you most proud of over this time?
KT: Creating the team. The team grows according to the master of the vision. I have been changing the strategy of the team since I first arrived. Part of our focus is providing access to more patients. To provide more access, we had to create unique value propositions and gain more knowledge and understanding of the market. In the past, we did not know our consumers or listen to end-users. Once we began listening to the customer, our organization began to transform. We started understanding the customers' business needs and practices, which resulted in shared business values, visions, and collaborations.
As a leader, if operations work the same as when you are there and not there, it means you have done a very good job of instilling your corporate values and what you want to do with the team. Our organizational profile completely differs from when I started as the company's president. We are now one; we share our successes, failures, joys, and sadness. Everyone shares the same values, vision, and solutions in service. We will continue sharing the same values for patient-centricity.
EF: If you had to create a new start-up company in the Mexican health sector tomorrow, what would you make and why?
KT: I want to set up a company that connects the patient's needs to the health sector's solutions. To create such a company, I would need information from awareness campaigns, the supply and demand of diseases, and specialized needs. Access to healthcare is challenging in Mexico. I want to create a company that covers the gap and provides solutions wherever and whenever a patient needs them. The type of disease a person has should never be a deterrent for their treatment. I want to connect the patient to the solutions. I would use any feasible means, including digitalization, to create access. It aligns with the social value coming before the commercial value.
EF: If you had to create a roadmap to the future and pick three pillars, what would the three pillars be based on?
KT: The first pillar is education. We need to educate patients to do the right thing from the beginning. Specialized care is also something we need to educate on, develop and grow within Mexico. The second pillar is investments. Investment is the backbone of growth and innovation. I worked with Japan International Bank (JIB) to invest in Mexico. With investments, we can build better infrastructure. The third pillar is digitalization. The right strategies are created through the right digital tools and knowledge. These are the three key pillars for a roadmap to the future in Mexico.
EF: Do you have any final message you would like to give our readers?
KT: We need partnerships. Sharing the same goals and vision is very important. What we can do alone is very limited. We need to partner with different companies, sectors, and the government. Last year was our hundredth anniversary as a corporation, and our team proposed 100 patients for our 100th anniversary. We provided free treatment for 100 patients alongside an NGO. This is an example of what we can achieve through collaborations. Patient-centricity should always be the focal point of all partnerships.
