In this episode of Leadr. Podcast, host Steph Pliha sits down with Drue DeAngelis, founder of The DeAngelis Group and an industry veteran with nearly four decades in orthopedics. From carrying a Zimmer sales bag to leading at Stryker, and ultimately building his own retained search practice, Drue shares how his career evolved and why alignment between talent and company mission matters more than ever. 

For medtech founders and investors, his perspective on leadership, fundraising challenges, and building resilient executive teams offers practical lessons. He also explains why he launched MSK Innovations as a platform for CEOs to pitch and connect with world-class investors.

00:00 – Introduction

01:23 – Breaking into orthopedics with Zimmer

02:25 – Building with Stryker and rapid growth

04:00 – Transition to entrepreneurship and search

05:30 – Why contingency recruiting fails

08:00 – Moving into retained search and C-suite roles

13:25 – Launching new ventures and MSK Innovations

16:00 – Building a pitch platform for medtech CEOs

20:30 – Acquiring Orthopedics This Week

24:00 – Reinventing a media platform for MSK innovators

28:30 – The founder’s challenge: technical vs. commercial leadership

33:30 – Traits that define successful medtech CEOs

40:00 – Capital raising, board dynamics, and runway risks

48:00 – Closing reflections

Guest Speaker(s):

Website: https://www.orthospinesearch.com/

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ddeangelis/

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