TACOMA, Wash. – Brian Webster ’86, president and CEO of Physio-Control, the world leader in mobile emergency medical products, will be the keynote speaker at the Puget Sound Business Breakfast in Seattle on Wednesday, March 5.
Webster, a 22-year veteran of the pioneering company, will give a talk titled “Accelerating Innovation in a Global Economy.” Redmond-based Physio-Control, which was spun off from medical technology giant Medtronic in 2011, has an impressive record of developing new products to meet customers’ needs and has built strategic partnerships to attain a global reach.
The annual Puget Sound Business Breakfast is hosted each spring by the University of Puget Sound Alumni Association, giving business people the opportunity to hear from industry leaders and to network with potential partners in the community.
When: Wednesday, March 5, 7–8:45 a.m.
Where: Harbor Dining Room at Bell Harbor International Conference Center, 2211 Alaskan Way, Pier 66, Seattle, Wash.
Admission: $30 for general admission*
$25 for University of Puget Sound alumni, parents, students, and trustees
* RSVP online at pugetsound.edu/psbb or by phone at 800.339.3312.
Please reserve your space or table by Tuesday, Feb. 25.
Brian Webster, a University of Puget Sound alumnus, has held a variety of leadership positions at Physio-Control since joining the company in 1992, including as vice president of operations, commercial sales, and global marketing. He became CEO in 2012 when the company was purchased by Boston-based private investment firm Bain Capital, following parent company Medtronic’s decision to focus on chronic disease management.
Under Webster’s leadership the company’s global workforce of more than 1,000 has launched new product platforms, aligned with strategic partners, pursued new technologies, and set new standards for the design and manufacturing of lifesaving tools.
“Our mission has been all about innovation for 58 years,” Webster said in a 2013 interview with online television showInnovations in Patient Care. “We know we are entering a period where innovation is going to be what drives growth and improvements in clinical care for our customers . . . so we are really doubling down when it comes to investment in research and development, and innovation.”
Physio-Control, founded in 1955, was an early pioneer in medical devices, and now leads the industry in developing scientifically-validated instruments that predict or intervene in emergency care situations. It controls more than 60 percent of the U.S. emergency medical services (out-of-hospital) market and more than 40 percent of the U.S. hospital market.
The company is best known for producing external defibrillators, which are widely used in workplaces and public buildings to treat heart patients suffering cardiac arrest. In 2006 the LIFEPAK 1000 defibrillator was chosen by NASA to protect astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The award-winning, LIFEPAK 15 monitor/defibrillator is the company’s latest monitor being used by emergency medical service providers, private ambulance organizations, and hospitals worldwide.
Among other products, Physio-Control also produces LUCAS 2, a portable chest compression device; and LIFENET System, a suite of products that wirelessly connect field and hospital-based care teams to critical data. LIFENET is the first cloud technology-based system of its type in the industry.
Brian Webster holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Puget Sound and a master’s degree in business administration from Seattle University. He serves as a board member for the Seattle-based Medic One Foundation and The Washington Medical Technology Angel Network (WINGS).