Cover Story - Carrying the Torch: Andrew Cleeland and Fogarty Innovation’s Global Legacy of Medtech Mentorship

Helmed by CEO Andrew Cleeland, Fogarty Innovation is carrying forward the legacy of Thomas J. Fogarty, MD, by nurturing the next generation of medtech innovators. Blending mentorship, education, and collaboration, and fresh off of its newly announced merger with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and the awarding of the first Thomas J. Fogarty Innovation Prize, the organization has become a catalyst for global, purpose-driven medtech innovation. Cleeland’s own personal journey from a working-class childhood in Australia to leading billion-dollar startups and now guiding a global nonprofit reflects the same values at the heart of Fogarty Innovation and his deeply human approach to coaching innovators.

When you walk into Fogarty Innovation’s offices in Mountain View, CA, you can feel the pulse of invention. The walls tell stories of prototypes that became lifesaving devices, of startups that grew into category-defining companies, and of founder Thomas J. Fogarty, MD, the pioneering surgeon, inventor, and entrepreneur whose balloon embolectomy catheter and dozens of other revolutionary inventions launched the minimally invasive surgery era and forever changed patient care. However, Dr. Fogarty’s impact goes far beyond his vast contributions to medical science. He inspired a transformational culture of mentorship, courage, and a “patient first”-focused community that is nurturing the next generation of medtech leaders.

At the center of that culture today is Andrew Cleeland, Fogarty Innovation’s CEO and one of today’s most influential medtech leaders. A native of Melbourne, Australia, Cleeland learned early the value of grit and teamwork, raised by a single mother who taught him and his brother to meet challenges head-on. His values and life philosophy were also greatly influenced by sport. As an Australian Rules Football player, he discovered leadership and resilience, the ability to keep driving forward, no matter how many times you are knocked down.

“Sport teaches you everything about building teams and leading under pressure,” he says. “It’s where I first learned that character matters as much as skill.”

That mindset carried him across the world and into the heart of medtech innovation. After earning his degree in biophysics and beginning his medtech career reviewing devices at the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, he followed an opportunity to Denver, CO. There, he joined Telectronics, an Australian company best known for its role in developing the pacemaker. As Cleeland describes, he probably didn’t realize it at the time, but this move exemplifies a classic element of his personal and professional mindset: think big, set audacious goals, and act boldly.

“It was one of those moments when you just have to leap,” he says. “You can’t know how it’s going to turn out, but you know you’ll regret not trying. It was meant to be a two-year U.S. rotation, but 30 years later, I’m still here.”

What followed were audacious leaps that culminated in billion-dollar exits. After Telectronics, Cleeland accepted a management role at Baxter Healthcare’s Novacor division, and later as vice president of clinical and regulatory affairs at Bay Area startup Radiant Medical. In these positions, he learned about the interplay between vision and execution. He moved on to serve as CEO of Ardian, which pioneered the use of renal denervation to treat hypertension. Ardian was acquired by Medtronic in 2011 in a transaction valued at over $1.3 billion, which, at the time, was the largest medical device acquisition ever for a pre-revenue medical device company.

Cleeland then took on the role of CEO at Twelve, a startup in the emerging transcatheter mitral valve replacement space. Several years after he joined, this company was also acquired by Medtronic in a transaction valued at $458 million. At both Ardian and Twelve, he learned how to turn visionary science into transformative outcomes.

Yet Cleeland’s pride isn’t in the valuations. “What I’m most proud of are the teams we built,” he says. “Those companies became families. Seeing people from those days now leading their own startups. That’s the real legacy.”

After back-to-back triumphs in the startup world, Cleeland faced a different kind of question: How do you give back to an industry that has given you everything? And he realized, what if his next chapter isn’t about building a company, but about building builders?

This blog is originally published here: https://www.lifesciencemarketresearch.com/insights/cover-story-carrying-the-torch-andrew-cleeland-and-fogarty-innovations-global-legacy-of-medtech-mentorship