Imran Hussain, Director of Global Marketing Strategy at Insightec, talks to The Ortus Club about the evolution of the medical device industry and why high-level executive dialogue is essential for driving global commercial growth and navigating complex regulatory landscapes.
Having spent his career building new markets and launching breakthrough therapies, Imran Hussain believes that some of the most valuable insights for leaders emerge not just within organisations but through conversations with peers navigating similar challenges.
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Executive Summary: Key Takeaways
- Marketing as a Growth Engine: In medtech, marketing must transcend traditional branding to become the primary driver of global commercial strategy and business transformation.
- The Value of Professional Communities: Building a new medical field requires deep engagement with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and a willingness to collaborate with competitors on patient education.
- Data-Driven Storytelling: Success relies on the ability to extract actionable insights from complex clinical data and translate them into relevant content for diverse global stakeholders.
- A Culture of “Fearless Failure”: To leverage emerging tools like AI agents, leadership must foster environments where teams feel empowered to innovate beyond “tried and true” methods.
Imran Hussain, a veteran of business transformation and global market expansion, currently leads the charge at Insightec.
As the company pioneers non-invasive sound-wave treatments for essential tremors and Parkinson’s disease, Hussain highlights a critical truth for modern leaders: the most significant breakthroughs often happen outside the lab. Leaders who build entirely new therapy markets rarely operate in isolation. Navigating international expansion, regulatory complexity, and physician engagement often requires leaders to exchange ideas with peers across the industry. For Hussain, learning from other executives tackling similar challenges has been a valuable part of shaping global strategy.
How do you bridge the gap between technology consulting and global marketing leadership?
Imran discusses his transition from business strategy to the medical device sector, emphasising how market development is the common thread in scaling a brand.
“I actually started in the consulting world. I was in technology consulting, then transitioned more into business strategy and business transformation consulting. That led me to work in the medical device industry when I was recruited by one of my former managing partners to help start a new medical device company. A significant portion of my career has always been around market development and expansion, and that’s when I came on board as the first marketing hire to help build it from the ground up.”
Why is high-level relationship-building vital in niche medical fields?
Hussain points out that building a new field of medicine requires more than just data; it requires building a community through direct interaction with specialists.
“My main area of focus is around the global alignment of the marketing strategy. Marketing should be leading the strategy of the company and its interactions. Not just with its different levels of customers but also as the engine that drives the commercial growth of the company. We’re really building a new field of medicine. As we go step by step, I’m focused on creating foundations and building on them, not just to create a viable physician community but also a viable patient community. We look at this across the board, not just getting scientific data in front of healthcare professionals and executives at various hospitals but also building and growing KOL relationships. This involves figuring out how to engage and build relationships with healthcare professionals, as well as how to get in front of the patient community.”
What are the biggest challenges in executing high-level medical marketing?
The challenge lies in two critical areas: the purity of data and the relevance of content across diverse stakeholder groups.
“In all honesty, there are two things that become the biggest challenges. One is data. Ensuring that we have the right type of data that tells the right story and is effective in how we use it. The second challenge is content. We always have to look at how we adapt content. How are we becoming smarter with our content? It’s not just about being more efficient in producing it but also about making it more relevant to various customers or stakeholders.”
How do you maintain a competitive edge when the goal is patient well-being?
Hussain offers a refreshing take on competition, viewing other players in the space as partners in the broader mission of patient education.
“Right now, we don’t have a similar company that does what our technology platform does. But the reality is that I don’t view this as competition. We view it as providing the patient with the best options so they and their healthcare professional can make the right decision. We do a lot of joint work with them in terms of patient education. The goal is to help patients get the best option for them so they can achieve the best quality of life possible.”
Why must the future of marketing embrace a permission to fail culture?
Innovation in marketing, especially with the rise of AI, requires a departure from “tried and true” methods in favor of bold, instinct-driven experimentation.
“I view the future of marketing as needing to be innovative, and we need to not be afraid to fail. We’re at an inflexion point right now when we take a look at the adoption of AI, machine learning, and new customer engagement models. In order for us to adapt and look ahead to the future, we need to trust our instincts and embrace innovation. Without failure, you don’t have the learnings, and you can’t move to the next stage.”
Join the Conversation: The Ortus Club’s Executive Network
Hussain’s leadership philosophy reflects a broader truth about modern executive leadership: the most complex strategic challenges rarely have internal answers alone. Whether discussing AI adoption, global expansion strategies, or building entirely new therapy ecosystems, many leaders rely on conversations with peers facing similar pressures in their own organisations.
The Ortus Club creates environments where these conversations happen. We bring together senior leaders to exchange insights, challenge assumptions, and explore new ideas in a neutral, peer-driven setting.
FAQs
Q: What is the role of an Executive Roundtable in medical marketing?
A: Executive roundtables allow leaders to share localised insights and solve high-level strategic challenges in a neutral, pitch-free environment, fostering the physician and peer communities necessary for new medical fields.
Q: How is AI changing the medtech marketing landscape?
A: Beyond content creation, AI is being used to build customer-profile agents that accelerate product innovation and optimise ROI in highly regulated industries.
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