What are you excited about most at GE Healthcare?
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Milan Rao
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I am very excited to work with the leader in healthcare technology in India and be a part of GE Healthcare’s vision, “At work for a healthier India”. GE is one of the most respected companies in the world – a global leader in a variety of industries including healthcare. GE is known for its pioneering technology that has successfully overcome the toughest of challenges for well over 130 years – starting with a light bulb in the 18th century, to the most sophisticated aircraft engines and molecular medicine of today. GE’s innovations touch millions of lives every day and GE Healthcare’s solutions help save thousands of lives every day. GE also has a great reputation for its unyielding integrity and leadership development – now, that’s a great company to work for!
What is your view of the medical device market in India?
The market has been growing at a double digit rate for several years. However, the growth rate has been steady and the industry has not seen a boom like some of the other industries, say IT or telecom. The opportunity for growth is tremendous with the huge demand for quality healthcare. I believe this industry would boom if there was more emphasis on local manufacturing and less reliance on imported technologies. We would like to work with the government and other industry players to develop localised solutions that will lower costs and improve affordability.
How is this industry different from the Industries you have worked in before?
I have had an opportunity to study the industry over the last 10 months and meet most of the luminaries in healthcare in India. There are several unique characteristics to healthcare industry…firstly, there is tremendous domain expertise in the industry in India. Medical professionals in India are comparable to the best in the world. At the same time, there is a huge shortage of talent, especially in tier II/III cities and beyond. The infrastructure is also weak beyond the top cities, which presents a huge opportunity.
Some of the sectors I have worked before – such as FMCG, banking and telecom have seen tremendous influx of investments and global best practices. And it has helped them grow rapidly. Healthcare has not seen an influx of funds that will allow it to catapult into a large industry. However, healthcare sector is still not as organised as other industries. I think healthcare is truly at a ‘launching point’. With government’s renewed commitment to healthcare, ‘Make in India’ policy and investment by companies such as GE Healthcare in local research, technology innovation and manufacturing, I am sure this sector will also see similar advancement over the next decade.
What are the challenges faced by the Indian healthcare industry today and how will GE Healthcare under your leadership help address these challenges?
The three key challenges I see for this industry are improving distribution, developing funding solutions and reducing the cost to serve. Having worked in industries such as FMCG, financial services and telecom that faced such challenges, I am sure I will be in a position to help GE Healthcare overcome these challenges and continue to lead the healthcare market.
What are your plans for GE in the future?
As the leader of the healthcare imaging industry, we believe we have a bigger role than just selling and servicing medical equipment. While we continue to consolidate our leadership position by focusing on customer centricity, superior distribution, financing and servicing capabilities, we are also committed to our vision, ‘At work for a healthier India’. We are in the process of accelerating our efforts to solve some of the biggest challenges outlined above like skill development, improving affordable access etc. We are trying to change healthcare outcomes by understanding diseases better and developing advanced therapies. Our mission is to work towards early detection of cancer, lowering heart disease burden as well as reducing maternal and infant mortality– through innovating affordable solutions in India and partnering with government and healthcare providers.