Eric Thépaut

President Boston Scientific EMEA, Eric Thépaut has over 20 years of experience in medical devices, having held senior executive positions across different sectors.
Prior to his current role, he was Vice President Interventional Cardiology & Structural Heart Europe and before that he held different senior management and finance roles.
Prior to joining Boston Scientific in 1996, Eric led business development and financial planning & analysis at Apple Computer.
Eric has driven innovation in high technology businesses throughout his career. He is passionate about leading organizational transformation and development programs and creating collaboration models for patients and the medical technology industry. 

In crisis, medtech found the path to realise its full potential

COVID-19
20 Oct 2020
I have been truly humbled by the collective response of the medical technology industry through this pandemic. As we approach MedTech Week 2020, our industry can be proud of the contribution we have made. But as we reflect on the impact of this unprecedented year, perhaps the true legacy has yet to reveal itself: how in the midst of a crisis, medical technologies found the path to realise its full potential . Moving mountains to save lives A crisis creates a specific dynamic that is very different from normal business. We are forced out of predictable routines to deal with alarming situations. In a crisis, speed of response is paramount. We adapt, switch, pivot to try new things – because the alternative is unconscionable. COVID-19 has made clear to the wider world what many of us knew already: healthcare is a very complex – and highly interdependent – eco-system. When we take a step forward, everyone needs to be ready and willing to take the step together for the change to be realised. It takes a unifying purpose, a sense of urgency and strong leadership from all stakeholders, from carers to payers and everyone in between. Faced with a crisis, our healthcare system – a system that has sometimes had the unfair reputation of moving at a snail’s pace – picked up its feet and became a sprinter. Overnight, remote technologies were adopted, ventilator and PPE manufacturing ramped up, supply chains were rerouted, professional education moved online, and everyone learnt how to do Zoom calls. (Well, almost: “you’re on mute!” I am reminded often.) Bottom line, we stayed connected with customers every step of the way and we proved that together, we can move mountains to save lives. We also learned how crucial it is to address the severe disruption...

Medical technology and the new European institutions

Value
15 Jul 2019
Medical technology needs to communicate better about its value. Some people think it is the same as pharmaceutical healthcare. It is not. Medical technology has a different innovation approach, timeline and model. The European Union needs to communicate better about its value. Some people think it is the same as the national entities that make it up. It is not. The EU is different in scale, timeline and way of working. This may be a strange comparison to make. I do so because we have one major point of commonality. In the next 10 years, we must both recast our relationship with society and the narratives around our respective institutions / industry (although the European Union, being responsible for more, has a much wider task). Both of us are contending with finding a new place in the world. For Europe this means working out how the EU stays competitive vis-à-vis other superpowers. For medical technology this means understanding how digitisation will change the systems of health, wellbeing and market access. With the above in mind, I would like to submit a few thoughts on the recent EU elections: · The new Commission: The Commission needs to get vocal. This institution keeps Europe open for business. But few, outside experts, understand or connect with it. First, we need a leader who represents the Commission vocally and connects with the wider public. Second, there needs to be an ambitious agenda that captures society’s imagination. There are few more important concepts to European citizens’ than health. An ambitious health and wellness agenda would be a meaningful place to start if the Commission wanted to recast how people see it. · The new Parliament: People across Europe feel disconnected. This is expressing itself in a variety of ways. The new European Parliament must never...

A bold new vision for the medical technology community

Regulation
15 May 2019
20 years ago, I'd have called you foolish if you suggested that the world's largest taxi company would not own any taxis. I'd have called you ill-advised if you suggested that the world's largest hotelier would not own any hotels. I'd have thought you unwise if you suggested that the world's largest book store could have centered its business model around not owning physical sales points. The world is changing, fast. The next sector in line for this wholescale disruption is healthcare. Regulation, high entry barriers and the sacred place healthcare holds in society have slowed the disruption. Now, it is gathering momentum. Robotics are entering the operating room with confidence1. New digital services are facilitating procedures for the healthcare community2. Virtual, AI assisted, consultations are becoming a reality with large scale deployment in London3. Digital reviews of doctors, which might someday evolve into public national rankings, are catching on in the US with questionable consequences4. Will we soon see healthcare primarily provided outside the hospital setting? Will our smartphone become our patient record? Will we go to our local 3D printer instead of pharmacies for personalised pills? None of these are as far away as we think. This changing landscape casts major questions for legacy players in the market: how should we react to forces that are disrupting and re-shaping our industry? The medical technology industry has major choices to make in the coming years that will shape our destiny. As I think through this, I increasingly believe a profoundly new vision is needed for medtech. I will be asking myself 3 big questions as we discuss amongst industry leaders in the coming months what such a direction might be: 1. Is the strategy bold enough? 2. Does it truly put people at the centre? 3. Will it protect...