Welcome to our exclusive interview with the trailblazing CEO of G Medical Innovations, Yacov Geva, a prominent figure in the medical technologies and remote patient monitoring realm.
With a stellar career and a trail of groundbreaking achievements, Geva has left an indelible mark in the industry. From his pioneering role in the establishment and successful IPO of LifeWatch AG to his current position as President and CEO of G Medical Innovations, Geva’s journey has been nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Join us as he takes us through the milestones of his career, the challenges faced, and the strategies that led to triumph. Discover the latest innovations from G Medical Innovations, including the cutting-edge at-home test kits and the company’s monumental partnership with a leading U.S. hospital chain. In this candid discussion, Geva shares his wisdom on business success, the value of clear focus, and the importance of innovation in shaping the future of healthcare.
Name: Yacov Geva
Company: G Medical Innovations
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Table of Contents
We Are Thrilled To Have You Join Us Today! Let’s Start Off With A Little Introduction. Tell Our Readers A Bit About Yourself And Your Company.
Yacov Geva: I am Yacov Geva, Ph.D., a well-known pioneer in the medical technologies and remote patient monitoring industry. I had the privilege of founding LifeWatch AG (former Card Guard AG and Card Guard Scientific Survival Ltd.) and successfully leading the company to an IPO.
For many years, up until 2014, I served as a member, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Corporate CEO of LifeWatchAG. During the period from 1979 to 1989, I had the honor of serving as a Chief Mechanical Engineer with Vishay Israel, a subsidiary of Vishay Intertechnology, USA.
My educational background includes a B.Sc in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, and I hold a Ph.D. (with honours) in Business Administration from the International School of Management, Paris. Additionally,
I am humbled to have received an honorary doctorate from Oxford Brooks University. I am also a senior member of the Royal Society of Medicine in the UK (RSM). Currently, I hold the esteemed position of President and CEO at G Medical Innovations, a company that, through its subsidiaries, specializes in developing cutting-edge mobile health technologies.
In The Past Year, What Is The Greatest Business Achievement You’d Like To Celebrate With Your Team? Please Share The Details Of That Success.
Yacov Geva: There are a few things that I would like to celebrate with the G Medical Innovations team. Last year, our team celebrated the development and commercialization of 31 at-home test kits. These tests are CLIA-certified and as accurate as hospital testing. Patients will be able to take these tests from the comfort and privacy of their home, with no doctor visit or travel required.
These tests were designed to have a fast turnaround. Once the lab receives a kit, patients will receive results in days on their smartphone or PC. Our HIPAA compliance portal allows users to sign up easily to the service and register their test kit for analysis before sending it to the lab. In addition, the user can sign into the portal and view their test results, generate reports, order new tests, etc.
The user profile and account on the portal is private and available only to the user. The other notable achievement is the signing of our agreement with one of the largest hospital chains in the United States, which will allow us to bring our best-in-class technology to the market.
What Advice Do You Wish You Had Received When You Started Your Business Journey And What Do You Intend On Improving In The Next Quarter?
Yacov Geva: I wish I had been better informed about the reimbursement expectations in the United States. When I started 33 years ago, I didn’t know anything about reimbursement or what to expect. I first started the business and developed like every startup does. Our team had a vision, and I observed that people had a need and were interested to cue up to have the technology.
However, I quickly learned that in the United States, you can develop the best product in the world, but if there is no reimbursement for the device and service, people will not collaborate. This is now what I’m telling technology startups that are coming to me for advice.
I say, “Please go first and check whether there is reimbursement for your dreams. And if the answer is yes, then go and develop a product.” Business growth and process improvement are a constant process. Every quarter, we are constantly working to improve our software algorithms and developing new products that support market needs and improve patient outcomes.
Here Is A Two-fold Question: What Is The Book That Influenced You The Most And How? Please Share Some Life Lessons You Learned. Now What Book Have You Gifted The Most And Why?
Yacov Geva: The most influential book that I read was “On the Shoulders of Giants” by Stephen Hawking. It’s a very heavy book, a few kilograms and about 1,500 pages. Through the book you learn how and why they were driven to develop what they have developed, which is in physics, astrophysics, and mathematics. The story encourages you to be very clear in what you are developing and very focused on what you and your team are doing. Don’t try to jump from A to B to C and back to A.
That lack of clear focus doesn’t work. But most significantly, it reminds you of the importance of not trying to do more of the same when it is proving it doesn’t work and hoping for a new outcome. If it doesn’t work the first time and it doesn’t work the second time, that is your answer. Don’t try the third time. Just allow your team to pivot and change.
When I am offered the opportunity to gift a book, I like to give them my book that I wrote on Valuation Analysis. I do this because people tend to think that they understand how to value their equity, but many times they are incorrect. It is hard to value their equity because many are too focused on their dream.
By dreaming, they move on with passion, which is okay, but nobody pays you for the dream itself. You have to show mathematically, actually, what your equity value is.
Business Is All About Overcoming Obstacles And Creating Opportunities For Growth. What Do You See As The Real Challenge Right Now?
Yacov Geva: Business is always a challenge. Arriving at the right time, to the right client, hitting sales according to your plans, is always a challenge, and always building towards a better outcome. Basically, your sales team builds up your strategy, and that strategy can change from day one to day two.
It’s not the old days where you were putting a strategy in place for the next five years. These days, you can change your strategy to meet changes in the market quickly. If strategy A doesn’t work, change to strategy B. The challenge for G Medical Innovations is to always be at the forefront with the right solutions, not only with the right device or product.
I call it the “right box,” the product that is the end-to-end solution. In the healthcare business these days, everything is transitioning towards at-home and telehealth as much as possible.
Knowing this, you have to be in a situation where you can provide not half a solution or a quarter of the solution, but end-to-end solutions. Our challenge right now is to continue to innovate to meet these growing needs.
What Does “success” In 2024 Mean To You? It Could Be On A Personal Or Business Level, Please Share Your Vision.
Yacov Geva: For me, personally, and from the company’s point of view, success is growing the company aggressively coming out from years of very bad times.
To grow the company aggressively and stay very focused on what goals we have set. We have raised the money that we need to grow the business, and I see us hitting the numbers that we have planned. We’ve also secured some key partnerships that are playing a major role in our growth and success, including our recently announced partnership with Advent Health.
Advent operates more than 50 hospitals in the U.S., including 20 in Central Florida that see 5.7 million patients per year and account for 20% of Central Florida’s GDP.
We also work with Cleveland Clinic, Orlando Health, and other hospitals, but Advent Health is by far the biggest win for us so far. It’s a critical measure of our success and a sign of even more amazing things to come.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to WellnessVoice and the host of this interview would like to thank Yacov Geva for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Yacov Geva or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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