As part of our ‘Female Leaders: Inspiring Together’ series, we interviewed Cheryl Cox – Executive Vice President at SmartGraft by Vision Medical, Inc. – about why she feels communication is the key to success and how her recovery from an accident made her realize that anything is possible.
Thanks for taking part in this campaign. Please can you tell me a little bit about your current role and the company that you work for?
I am currently the Executive Vice President of Vision Medical Inc., which is a manufacturer of the globally renowned SmartGraft automated hair restoration system. I’ve been with SmartGraft since 2016 and it’s been an amazing journey with this company and my colleagues. I always say love what you do and love the people you do it with. Our entire team is dedicated to providing the best technology and the best education and business model to physicians that are looking to help their patients suffering from hair loss.
Was there anything in particular that attracted you to the opportunity at SmartGraft?
Part of it was on a personal level. The President and Founder of SmartGraft was my mentor from a previous company, and he was so inspiring and so empowering. He always says he loves to surround himself with strong women and part of the draw was to work under his guidance again, because he is very caring and really makes it a point to empower other people to be the best they can be. Regarding the medical manufacturing of this technology, when I started, they had recently just launched so the excitement of being in a product launch again was very interesting to me. I thoroughly enjoy educating others. When you are launching a new product, there is a lot of education that needs to be provided for physicians to understand who you are and how you can help, and I really enjoy being part of the process. It is personally important to me to work in a role where I can help others feel better about themselves. Hair restoration is a part of a $4.6 billion industry and over two million hair restoration operations were treated just in 2019 alone. It affects men as well as women and it can be completely debilitating emotionally to those that are suffering hair loss. There are wonderful support groups that address this with patients letting them know they are not alone, such as the American Hair Loss Association. Not everyone is a candidate for hair restoration but there are many options available for patients wanting to obtain healthier hair. To me, it was very important to be able to work with the physicians to address the concerns of these patients and provide them with a variety of options to help them not only with their appearance, but with their self-esteem and feeling better about themselves.
What barriers have you encountered during your time in the medical device industry as the female leader?
“Having to establish myself in a male-dominated industry is the main barrier and it has made me work harder.”
Having to establish myself in a male-dominated industry is the main barrier and it has made me work harder. I naturally have a driven personality and a thirst for knowledge, and I believe 99% of sales is listening. In medical manufacturing and sales, it is important to listen to understand the client’s needs. Through working with physicians, I have identified the skills that could help me understand their concerns and utilized those skills to educate them and address their specific needs. It has strengthened my resolve to work harder, to prove myself and to provide a better experience for those interested in learning about our comprehensive hair support program.
How do you manage work-life balance?
I think that the secret to work-life balance is family. My children are grown and next to my husband, they are my greatest cheerleaders and blessings. Work is important and with the current situation of what’s going on with the pandemic and working from home, it’s very hard to disconnect. For a lot of us now, we are no longer working a typical 9-5. It is because of the support that I get from my family and them understanding my passion and what I do, that I am able to create a perfect balance of work and home.
Is there an accomplishment that you are most proud of?
I guess my greatest accomplishment – besides my children – would be being able to reach the level that I have reached in my career and being able to help others realize their dreams and reach their goals as well. So, having a nurturing gift – maybe some of it comes from being a mother – and being able to listen and identify how to help others has allowed me to truly understand those around me and help them to reach their goals. I get a sense of accomplishment out of being able to help other people find their vision and live their dream. Willpower is the ultimate power. Sometimes we need some guidance to find our inner strength and realize our passions. Being able to support someone on that journey is priceless.
“Sometimes we need some guidance to find our inner strength and realize our passions. Being able to support someone on that journey is priceless.”
I belong to a group called FEMCITY, which is all women professionals. It is a national organization. Regarding empowering women and women helping others, these are the most amazing, supportive women constantly working together to educate and help women achieve their dreams. FEMCITY helps women launch and grow businesses through education. They provide coaching and mentorship and live weekly personal development classes. There is a strong sense of community and it offers an opportunity to share your knowledge. Everyone should surround themselves with others who are successful and who can help lift you up. I encourage every businesswoman to visit FEMCITY.com and become part of the tribe that promotes one another. It is truly an amazing group that empowers you.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in your career or personal life, and how did you manage to overcome that?
That is an interesting one. I would definitely have to refer to a situation where I was facing my own mortality. I was involved in an auto accident in the early 90s and that accident left me bedridden for almost two years unable to walk with two leg casts. Upon healing, I was diagnosed with meningitis and nearly died again. At the time, I was raising two very young children and was wheelchair bound and bedridden for the entire time. Facing my own mortality only strengthened my resolve to work harder than I ever knew was even possible. Being in that type of medical situation and learning to walk again really pushes you. There is no other choice, all you can do is keep pushing yourself. I realized that with determination and the support of my family, I could overcome this. It also made me realize that this, too, shall pass. It was an eye opener regarding learning not to burden your soul with things that cannot be changed or that you do not have any control over and learning to deal with the present. With lots of determination and a vision, there is no task that is too great or too small. It has helped me as a woman entrepreneur as well, knowing that everything is possible.
Do you ever suffer from self-doubt and, if so, how do you manage that and rein that back in?
Yes, absolutely. I think we all have self-doubt, whether it lasts a moment, a day, or a week. I think when you get discouraged or you doubt yourself, it is very important to step away and readdress it with a fresh mind and a new outlook. Tomorrow is always another day and you will have a fresh outlook on things the next day. Stepping back lets you reconfigure and reanalyze how to approach the present problem to overcome it.
What do you think are the main challenges for women in the medtech industry or the wider life science space?
“I know in the medtech industry – and especially in the hair restoration industry that I am involved with – it is a very male-dominated industry, and it can be hard to position yourself to reach the point of where you want to be.”
So, I think we are seeing more and more female executives, which is wonderful. I know in the medtech industry – and especially in the hair restoration industry that I am involved with – it is a very male-dominated industry, and it can be hard to position yourself to reach the point of where you want to be. Being able to position yourself as a leader in that industry rather than acting as a challenge makes you an asset. It has personally allowed me to build relationships within the industry and earn the respect of my colleagues who realize the level of dedication not just of myself, but of the other female leaders in our industry and our amazing capabilities. We are all striving to provide the best service, the best technology, and the best experience to our customers who we are all responsible for serving no matter what sector you work in. We all have products that we are selling and the ability to practice empathy and listen allowing me to identify their specific needs, has definitely given me a great advantage in the industry.
What has been the best piece of advice that you have ever been given?
The best piece of advice was someone told me a long time ago that the world is full of opportunity, if you are not happy in what you are doing in life, make positive changes to be happy. It resonates with me and I have been very lucky to be happy in what I am doing. Mark Twain said it best, ‘Find a job you enjoy doing and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.’ I am very lucky that my job and the people that I work with allow me to practice what I believe, and I truly do love what I do. I think that passion shines through not only my work, but my colleagues’ work. We are all in the boat rowing in the same direction.
Which women have inspired you the most in both a personal and professional capacity?
Personally, it would absolutely be my mother. My father died of cancer when I was seven and my mother was tasked with raising both myself and my three-year-old brother, as well as helping my adult brother grieve for my father. She never remarried; she dedicated herself to us and it was where we learned the meaning of teamwork. My older brother was out of the home, so it was myself, my younger brother and my mother and we used to call ourselves the Three Amigos. One thing that she really instilled within us was her thirst for knowledge and reading. Daily, she would tell us ‘if you could read, you could do anything’. I was blessed to care for her for the last 11 years of her life and she always had a book in her hand. It was always a book that was mind boggling to us as to why she would be interested in it or how she was absorbing it and she loved to read about science and medical. She had a partial answer to just about everything because she was so interested in such a broad range of topics.
“Mother Teresa is someone who has greatly inspired me and someone who has had a big influence on my life. Her compassion inspires me to help others on a much larger scale than what I am doing in my professional career. She inspires me every day to give back and pay it forward to those who are not so fortunate.”
Mother Teresa is someone who has greatly inspired me and someone who has had a big influence on my life. Her compassion inspires me to help others on a much larger scale than what I am doing in my professional career. She inspires me every day to give back and pay it forward to those who are not so fortunate.
Looking at the next generation of female leaders, what do you think is the best way to encourage them to choose the medtech industry?
Medtech is so exciting with all the innovative technology that is constantly being advanced to provide a better experience and to help others. I think the best way to encourage women is to help them to find their vision. By listening to their aspirations, we can help them to identify the best way to reach their goals. We all need to give a hand up to empower each other. I know when I started in this industry, it was at the recommendation of a relative who was VP for a medical aesthetic company. I was in the airline industry previously with a major airline and was furloughed. I thought about what I wanted to do next, and it was her encouragement that directed me to medical sales and medical technology helping me to find my passion. In terms of identifying your vision, I would ask is this something you could see yourself doing, how would you approach it and what are the life skills that you have that will make you successful in this field? I think helping others through listening to them to find that vision is the best way to encourage more women in the industry to understand the opportunities available to them.
What would be the one piece of advice you would give to a young woman just starting out in her career?
One piece – that is a tough one! For me, I have found that communication is the key to success and by communicating regularly with your colleagues, it enables you to strategize and learn from others. My mother always said, ‘you take a pearl of wisdom from everyone that you speak with’ and it helps prepare for the best possible outcome. Constant communication and working with a good team allow you to grow from the experiences of others. Draw strength from those around you and always be open to strategize for the best result in any situation.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I would like to say thank you so much for the opportunity to share my history and what has helped me. I hope others may be able to identify themselves in something that I have talked about, and draw strength from and utilize some of the things that have benefited me in making me better at my position and better as a human being. If they could take one pearl of wisdom with them from me sharing my experiences, that would be an accomplishment that I would be proud of. I really appreciate you reaching out to me for this opportunity to be able to hopefully inspire others that are beginning their journey and looking for the best path to reach their goals. You have got this ladies!
Our ‘Female Leaders: Inspiring Together’ series is running throughout March with the aim of inspiring and supporting women to become future leaders in their respective industries. Follow us on LinkedIn to join the conversation and hear the insightful stories of our featured female leaders.
