Mark Sutter is the president and CEO of Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corporation, a global leader of products for the cardiac and vascular surgery marketplace. Paul Krutko, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, recently sat down with Mark to record a CEO Podcast: Conversations on Economic Opportunity.
Q&A
Paul: How has Ann Arbor helped the company as a business? Is Ann Arbor a good place for a global headquarters?
Mark: Having this location be the global headquarters for our company is positive from a number of respects. Number one, we have talent come from other industries that are global manufacturers as well, the automotive industry certainly. And frankly, I believe that global locations can be located in a number of different areas because we’ve really globalized as a community through the Internet, through travel. Ann Arbor is a very supportive community. As we’ve needed new associates, whether it’s in engineering, accounting, or a variety of areas, we’ve been able to bring those in from the local community. About half of our resources are brought in from the local area. We have plenty of candidates from that standpoint.
Secondary is recruiting. When people come in and take a look at our company, they come to our company because of what we do, but very importantly, once they come and take a look at our company, they get to know the Ann Arbor area and enjoy the surroundings, what the community has to offer. When we bring people in to be recruited, and after they’ve been in and had a tour around and we’ve gone in and had dinner in town, they’re always surprised with what Ann Arbor represents. It’s a neat town for the families. It’s a neat town in terms of the activities going on in the community, and they’re always surprised in a very pleasant way.
Paul: Where do you look for new talent?
Mark: Engineering talent is plentiful in this area. Half of the people that we hire actually come from other industries like automotive industries, where they’ve been trained in systems engineering or software or electrical engineering. We’re able to teach them the medical part of the business. And again, there’s a wide range of resources that are out there for us.
Paul: What benefits does Ann Arbor have when it comes to starting a business?
Mark: If you’re thinking of starting a business and looking at Ann Arbor as one of the choices, I highly recommend it. The resources, talent, the association with organizations like Ann Arbor SPARK, MEDC, the University of Michigan and many of the other Universities, they are all out there and interested in partnering with your company.
To listen to the full conversation, please follow this link.
