Activity exclusivity. Kind of rhymes (bit of a stretch). When your child is growing up they will show aptitude as well as an interest in certain things. In today's society, it has become a pursuit at the sake of forgoing all other activities. I see it regularly in the sports I coach in the community. They only play soccer, baseball or lacrosse. Extends to outside of sports. Music, dance, debate and academics are all exceptional areas worthy of their time. That said, they do not need to be mutually exclusive. I had a conversation with Sang'ona Oriedo recently on The Family Business. She mention ..read more

The History of the Steam Engine. Never would have guessed that book would launch a lifetime of learning. Led a kid living on a ranch in New Mexico to Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Quite a story. Sit back and hear about Gabriel Sanchez in this episode of The Family Business. Improbable path to CEO of a medtech startup. That book and watching the Apollo 13 movie set him on a course for engineering and mechanical problem solving. He was drawn to the engineers figuring out how to making a breathing device out of basically garbage. To him, the engineers were the her ..read more

What do they call you? Pops. This is one of my favorite questions to ask grandparents, in laws or in this case step parents. Fahad Kajani is one of the truly sensational human beings on this planet. Exceptional business mind, high degree of ethics, funny as all get out and horrible taste in music. His time and contributions at Henry Schein, E4D Technologies and now with Vision Radiology has been exemplary. In this episode of The Family Business, we discuss Fahad marrying a wonderful woman (Samantha), who has two children. Here is the plot twist. He used to call his own father Pops. Nothing lik ..read more

When you become a parent, your title at work, your education, SAT scores and IQ go out the window. Your kids do not care. They want to do art projects with pipe cleaners, egg cartons and crayons. It takes a humble and introspective person to understand that piece of parenting. The sacrifice of your identity for a period of time in your life when your accomplishments are put in a box. We have all been through it and thankfully life is a circle. Always funny when you find out that someone was a math wizard, phenomenal dancer, cheerleader, star athlete or awarded an academic scholarship before th ..read more

Never know what your kids will pick up from you. Sometimes it is simply leaving things on the floor and letting them gravitate towards it naturally. Who can say where it will lead? Well, we can see in this case. Michaella Corso was surrounded by balloon catheters growing up. Turns out it rubbed off. Now, she is one of the foremost Clinical Affairs executives in the industry. She has been beyond valuable for Penumbra, Inc. Truth be told, she is an even better person. Teamed with her extraordinary husband Issao Fujiwara with Waymo, they have created a career and family fabric that is exceptional ..read more

I got the call from the doctor.... Hard to think of a more ominous sentence. Funny how the ubiquitous word "the" can signify Cancer. In that call your life and those around you change in an instant. Now, to keep it interesting, add in that you are pregnant. Let that sink in. Pregnancy meet Cancer, Cancer this is Pregnancy. Find a way to coexist. This is Lisa Ensz. She is on another plane personally and professionally. Fortitude and tenacity at a level where the needle is pinned. She was on The Family Business with me where we discussed her astounding life. Here is another line - I was feeding ..read more

I was a rare bird. Such a nerd. This is what I learned about Carla Leibowitz when she was growing up in #Quito #Ecuador. Having a daughter who is a STEM kid, I can do nothing but appreciate people like Carla pursuing a technical career when many people told her to stay home and have babies. Took her all the way to #MIT and an ongoing sensational career. On top of all that, she has an amazing family and is setting an example for her children. In our conversation on The Family Business, Carla speaks about how going to a bilingual school allowed her to be the translator between American doctors a ..read more

Compliments from unexpected sources resonate. They stay with you. In some cases, it builds the confidence for a person to accomplish extraordinary feats. On this episode of The Family Business, we sat down with Michelle Ortiz. When she was growing up in Puerto Rico, her pediatrician remarked on how intelligent she was and to consider being a biomedical engineer. Michelle took the compliment to heart and since then she has gone on to have a stellar career along with a beautiful family. My favorite part of the story is that she is still in touch with this woman and she shares all of her achievem ..read more

It is a rite of passage as a first time parent to be exhausted. Comes with the territory as my Dad would say. The Salunke family was in the usual zombie state. With his wife pregnant with their first child Nitin Salunke also was launching (birthing) his first product ever. No rest for the weary. Luckily Supriya Salunke was able to bring Sonia S. into the world and we are all the better for it. In this episode of The Family Business, we learn that when all else fails and the baby will not sleep, turn on the vacuum cleaner. Two of the most intelligent people around resorted to a Hoover to get so ..read more

Ever speak with someone that you feel like the world needs more of? I have known Amy Belt Raimundo for many years and cannot say enough about her contributions to her community, the investment world, medical technology, advancement of female executives and her family. In this episode of the Family Business, we hear all about how she brought MedtechWomen to life. Her success at Kaiser Permanente Ventures providing investment to emerging companies has been substantial all the while vocally leading the effort to normalize women being on Boards. Some folks when they make it they do not reach back ..read more