Leading in Heels: Dr. Kelly Emerton's Blueprint for Success
What does it take to break barriers and thrive in a male-dominated industry?
In this episode of Secrets in Medical Device Sales, we welcome the incredible Dr. Kelly Emerton—a powerhouse in engineering and medical device innovation.
Kelly shares her unique career path from engineering to fashion design to leading cutting-edge product development at Medtronic.
She dives into the challenges of navigating leadership as a woman, the importance of lifelong learning, and how resilience is the key to success.
From fighting for her place at the table to standing tall in her cowboy boots, Kelly’s story will inspire you to embrace your strengths, own your worth, and never stop pushing forward.
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 - Introducing Kelly Emerton
03:08 - The Unexpected Path: Engineering Meets Fashion
08:08 - Standing Out and Thriving in a Male-Dominated Industry
12:38 - Confidence, Competence, and Partnering for Success
17:08 - Overcoming Workplace Challenges with Resilience
23:08 - The Power of Mentorship and Finding Your Support System
28:08 - Head, Heart, and Hustle: A Winning Mantra
32:08 - Final Takeaways and How to Connect with Kelly
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
From Fashion to Engineering – Kelly shares how her dual passions led her to a career in medical device innovation.
Thriving in a Male-Dominated Industry – How confidence, preparation, and partnership mindset helped Kelly excel.
Overcoming Workplace Challenges – A powerful story of resilience in facing workplace adversity.
The Power of Mentorship – Why finding mentors and building a support network is crucial for growth.
Head, Heart, and Hustle – Kelly’s mantra for leadership and success in any career.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
"Without resilience, no is just a nail in the coffin." – Cynthia Ficara
"Know your worth and never let someone else define it for you." – Kelly Emerton
"Confidence comes from preparation—know your stuff and stand your ground." – Kelly Emerton
"If you’re not learning, you’re not growing. When you stop learning, it’s time to move on." – Kelly Emerton
"Sales and engineering may seem worlds apart, but success in both comes down to problem-solving and persistence." – Anneliese Rhodes
"When challenges arise, don’t back down—get strategic and change the game." – Kelly Emerton
"Mentors and strong networks are lifelines—no one succeeds alone." – Cynthia Ficara
"Thriving in a competitive environment is about adaptation, not intimidation." – Anneliese Rhodes
"Success isn’t about knowing everything—it’s about knowing how to figure things out." – Kelly Emerton
About Kelly Emerton
Kelly Emerton is a powerhouse in medical device innovation, currently serving as Senior Director of the Tricuspid Therapies Research and Development division at Medtronic. Before that, she led the U.S. Aortic Stent Graft division at CryoLife, Inc., driving advancements in endovascular stent graft technologies.
Her career is built on pushing boundaries in cardiovascular medicine. As Senior Director of Medical Devices Product Development at Cleveland Clinic, she played a key role in launching several spin-off companies, including Enhale Medical, Inc., where she later became Chief Operating Officer. She also spearheaded product development for Medtronic’s endovascular therapies division, focusing on thoracic pipeline innovation.
Beyond her leadership in R&D, Kelly is deeply involved in shaping the future of medical technology. She serves on Case Western Reserve University’s Technology Validation Start-up Fund Program committee and the Medical/Scientific Advisory Board for RedCrow Medical Investments.
She holds a master’s degree in philosophy and biomedical engineering from The City College of New York and dual PhDs in biomedical engineering and orthopedics from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Graduate Center, City University of New York.
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Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Anneliese Rhodes: Welcome everyone to another episode of Secrets and Medical Device Sales. We are so happy you guys continue to join us and download our episodes. We are just climbing the ranks, you guys. And today we have a very special spotlight series where we are highlighting a wonderful superpower of a woman. Dr.
Kelly Emerton, and she happens to be a good friend of mine as well, you guys. And she is just as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside. And oh, by the way, she has her degree in engineering and fashion design. So we are just so excited. She's just such a cool lady.
Cynthia Ficara: I'm so excited that I'm going to go ahead and just start to read her bio because I want to make sure we say everything because there's so many great accolades that she holds that I want to get them all right.
So welcome Kelly Emerton, PhD. Senior director, product development of advanced and robotic surgical technologies. Dr. Emerton runs product development as the team leader for the robotic and laparoscopic surgical stapling portfolio, where she oversees and leads all facets of medical devices. Development to get Medtronic's critical programs to product launch.
She currently sits on two boards and lends her expertise of 16 plus years in product development across three other Medtronic business divisions, spine. Aortic and structural heart, as well as formerly with the Cleveland Clinic Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, and three other spinoffs and from the Cleveland Clinic and Artivion, formerly Cryo Life.
Like everybody, I feel like I need to throw a bomb. That's dynamite. It means I've been doing this for a while. Welcome, Kelly. We are so happy to have you. Thank you. Thank you so much for that warm intro, and I'm really happy to be here. This is my first podcast, so I'm very excited to be able to hang with you guys this evening.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah, and for those of you that can't see, even though you should tune into the YouTube, because you will be able to watch us, Kelly is dressed impeccably. Because she has such a wonderful eye for fashion. And let me just tell you guys a quick story. So, real quick, Kelly and I were hanging out in New York.
This was a long time ago. And, Kelly's like, hey. She's like, you want to go shopping? I'm like, of course I do. Everybody that knows me knows I love to shop. Anyhow. Twist your arm. Yeah, just my arm. And Kelly's like, all right. She's like, I got you, babe. And I'm like, ooh. And I had no idea, by the way, you guys, she was in a fashion.
Like, I had no idea. And then she just, like, randomly tells me, oh, by the way, I have a fashion design, degree. And I'm like, what? Wait, you're an engineer. Anyhow, she's clicking along in her Jimmy Choo heels. We walk into, I think it was Saks. And we go straight to the women's department. And she's like, look at these boots.
And she's, like, pulling out these. I can't even curse on this show. I want to be like, super sweet. Super high heels. And she's like, let's go upstairs. And let me tell you, Cindy, she pulled out the coolest outfits. Things I would never pick out for myself. I bought them all. Okay. And she's like, girl, you look amazing.
I'm like, I know. I went home, wore them out. Can I tell you? I had so many compliments on my outfit, Kelly. And I owe it all to you. And you pulled me out of my like little shell of black and gray.
Kelly E: It was amazing. There you go. There you go. That was pretty easy. I, so I worked at Saks Fifth Avenue when I was in grad school.
So I would dose my mice by day and shop girl on the weekends at the beauty counter at Saks. It was really fun. I love it. Well, let me ask you then, I mean, diving right in. By the way, her handle, you guys, for those of you that haven't looked yet, it's hell underscore in underscore heels 96. I love that. Yeah,
that's my Peloton.
I love
Anneliese Rhodes: it. I love it. but okay, so fashion design to engineering. Wait, what? Like, how did that happen? And just tell us a little bit about that because I think that's really cool.
Kelly E: so growing up, I mean, I grew up in Michigan, Detroit metro area, all my family was into cars. I was my dad's son for a while and, just really grew up very mechanically inclined.
Then my mom put me into General Motors Institute, a university when I was in eighth grade, and I took some special classes there and really just kind of like could pull apart toasters, whatever. I just was very hands on, very mechanical. That's And so, but there was always this left brain, right brain.
So when I decided I was working at Ford, motor company. at the one of the last years of my undergraduate, and I was interning there and I worked on a project where there was a woman who was a Ph. D. who was running the entire, Safety Crafts Initiation. it was this big, huge initiative for Ford around booster seats and children restrained.
So I was just so enamored with her and it opened my eyes to really look at advanced education because family is all, Like very strong blue collar, salt of the earth folks. So this was kind of out of the way. And what I was going to do because my family was like, you've got a job at Ford, just go to work at Ford.
And this was, off the beaten path. And so anyways, it opened my eyes to, advanced degrees. And so I ended long story short, ended up going to get my PhD in New Well, while I was in New York, I left brain, right brain decided to go to FIT and get fashion degree. So it was kind of this, on the nights and weekends.
up and down the subway doing both. And so it was really nice. It was kind of a release from the scientific aspect, but allowed me to explore that other side of myself. And I was terrified going in my first class because I'm like, here I am, this engineering nerd. And it up that there was all these different sorts of.
Beautiful, wonderful people that I got to know, that I still keep in touch with today that we ended up going through fashion school with together. So I fit in because I didn't fit in. So it was just a really fun piece of it.
Cynthia Ficara: I love that you followed your heart, but so you were literally in a PhD program.
And then on the weekends, you would do like a bachelor's degree of fashion.
Kelly E: yeah. I was taking like night and weekend class. That's not a whole lot there. Yeah, but it was like, it was so different. I was doing like partial differential equations by day and then I was taking like I don't even know what that is.
Fashion design. And I got to like, put on the white gloves do garment design and look at how garments were constructed in the Costume Institute archives. So I got to do original Chanel, Diane von Furstenberg, her original wrap dresses. I mean, really beautiful, cool things that were not just fashion, but how fashion influenced, The country and the industrial revolution and how it, I mean, it was very tied in to relevancy.
It wasn't just this like goofy little fashion thing. It was very much something of education and of like looking at the world from a different view.
Anneliese Rhodes: I am super girl crushing right now. This is amazing. I am super girl crushing if I didn't already have one. And you know, I mean, you were telling us before we started recording, you guys, Kelly would go into the lab, right?
In your heels and dresses. And I just like, Love that. I think that's so cool. You weren't changing who you were. You were super authentic, and you said you felt most comfortable in your dresses and heels, and I
Kelly E: love that. I mean, yeah, but sometimes I would wear sweatpants. It just was like, whatever I felt like, I'm just me.
So I just dress how I feel appropriate and how I Felt confident in myself during that day. And honestly, now days, I mean, yes, I love my beautiful dresses, most of the time I just wear cowboy boots with blazer. So that is usually my, how my team knows me. They're like, Oh, cowboy boots are here.
So I've got like four pairs and I love them. They're great. I wear them with jeans and a blazer. And I love,
Cynthia Ficara: love how you just unapologetically show up the day, how you feel like you're feeling and
Kelly E: inappropriate. So I don't, you know, I don't wear pajamas into work. I do feel like appropriate, but really just not always the same.
And so while I love my heels, I love a lot of other things too. And I feel most empowered lately in cowboy boots. Hey,
Thriving as a Woman in Engineering and Leadership
Anneliese Rhodes: listen, I love me some cowboy boots. So, we were talking about, and for you guys out there, you're like, okay, great. She's in fashion. She's in engineering. How does this help me?
Well, you know, Engineering is a very male dominated industry, is it not? And I would assume, Kelly, that you are probably one of the few in a very high leadership position in your training and in the companies that you have worked for. And, as women out there in a boys club world in medical device sales, I feel like a lot of times we struggle when we have days where we're like, yeah, I'm running on all cylinders, but there are days when we're like, hit.
Like a, Mack truck and it's real hard to pull on a list of values and things that we try and remind ourselves that we talk about on the podcast. And so I'd love for you to tell our listeners about just kind of your, world and what you live in and how you absolutely dominate the engineering space where you work.
Kelly E: well, yeah. So I don't know if I dominate every day. Some, you know, every day. Is not the same. Some days you're like, I really killed it today. And some days you're like, I just need wine. But, I would say I'm always myself. I'm always very confident and comfortable in who I am and what I need to do.
And I make sure that I know what I'm talking about, but to thrive in a male dominated, I mean, I really enjoy working with men and it's not because I was raised working in cars with my dad and that, I'm this guy's girl, which I am. But I'm a guy's girl who will wear dresses or whatever I want to show up to be that.
And so I think in that thriving and really enjoying working with men, I,really enjoy working with women as well. And I love mentoring and building female engineers up. But, know, I've worked with men in the technical sector, which, are, they're always really smart, really brilliant men. So it makes it easy.
And even when I was in the days where I was at Cleveland Clinic, I was working with some really brilliant surgeons. And working right side by side with them and, I really respect. Like IQ, I would say that is one of the things that I really resonate with the most. I like to be at that level and I like to make sure that, as I'm working alongside of these really brilliant men that we're driving and we're looking at things from different perspectives.
So I value their perspective because they're wired completely differently than women. And in that while I work with them alongside of them, I don't ever present myself like I work underneath them. Definitely not that I'm above them, but that I'm their business partner. I'm right side by side. And it really doesn't matter if they're a level up or a level down or a surgeon.
that we're all people and we have a common goal working together. And so it's just putting that head, heart and hustle into it and showing up and really caring about them and what we're trying to do together and not putting up with any, BS. There you go, altered version,
Cynthia Ficara: you know, and I, and I love your confidence in that.
And I think that's something we have addressed with our audience before about being confident in what you do and something you just said, I think really hits home when you mentioned that when you're working with them, you're there to partner with them. You're there to help work together and make an impact.
Is that what you put in your mind when you're. In their working to help with their confidence versus thinking, Oh, he's so smart. Maybe I'm not going to have enough right thing to say, like, is it focusing on the job at hand that brings your confidence? Is this something that you've always had?
So how do you step up in those situations? Usually when you are like working with someone, you're bringing something to the table that they don't have. So, but you need something from them and they need something from you. That's what I'm saying. It's very symbiotic. And so when I'm working on a project or working on a program and believe me, I've worked with the egos, I've worked with the egos, believe me, we've all seen them, we've all interacted with them, so not everybody's a joy to work with and that's inside of house as well as external running, advisory panels, they have egos are everywhere.
Kelly E: Butwhat I find is that, I really just,in that when I'm working alongside of someone, I don't get intimidated intellectually. So it's more just I have my area of expertise that I want to bring to the table to contribute towards where we're trying to go. It's not personal.
and then that's usually the motivation for me to learn. more from them as well as for them to kind of take a piece away as well about what I can bring to the table. So I mean, yeah, there's the self confidence in yourself, but it's also realizing like, look, I have flaws. I'm not perfect and I don't care, right?
Like you might see them, you might not, but here's what I am trying to do because generally when you're engaging with them and it's always for work. You're trying to go somewhere, or you're trying to get something, or you've got a commonality, a common approach. And so if you're working towards that, then you're all level set at the table.
Confidence and Competence
So it kind of takes away the, you know, like, I don't know, he's really smart, and whoever he is. I'm like,
Cynthia Ficara: I think your message drives home to know your worth, you know, and this is something else we've talked about. Know your worth. Absolutely. And
Kelly E: look for their worth as well. I'm always feeling people out.
I never just come in with one size fits all approach. It's tailorable like my outfits. So I'm always very like observant, I don't always have to be the loudest person in the room at all times, but in that don't have to be the first voice, but my voice will be heard. And so she's making sure I'm appropriately messaging so that when I stamp it, I stamp it and I mean it.
And I didn't just say something that I'm like, oh, I gotta take that back.
Anneliese Rhodes: I love that. I think, you know, what you were talking about, knowing your worth, and it's a symbiotic relationship. For a lot of our listeners, sometimes they'll write into us and they'll be struggling with something, you know, and they're like, well, I'm just not there yet, you know, it comes so easy for John down the road, but it's so hard for me, I can't connect with him.
And I think what you're talking about is, at least I'm thinking is, Make sure you're bringing something to the table, but you're also being observant of what their needs are, and that's the way that you start to work with one another, and you have to remind yourself that you are worthy to be there, otherwise you wouldn't be there in the first place.
But I do everything, so I mean, like, if you look at the long winded bio that you guys read, I've worked at three different businesses. My PhD is in orthopedics, but where I've really loved and excelled over the years, I started Everyone starts somewhere. I started in, vascular. I didn't know anything.
Kelly E: I started in structural heart. I didn't really know anything. Mm-hmm . So that intellectual intimidation was a motivation to me to learn. but I got the role because I have a skillset that's needed. So I just led with that until I could catch up. And I always told the team, like, or told the surgeons I was working or told, is like, look, I don't have the knowledge base that you have yet.
But I'm going to learn from you and I'm going to learn. So you keep running, I'm going to keep up. And I'll just, I'll catch up at the same time. Like, here's what I'm really focusing in on. Here's where I bring the value. And so lean on me for this. And then I'm going to learn from you and I'm, help direct me on how I can catch up.
Now, again, somebody who's done 12 years in a residency, probably not going to catch up. You don't need to. You don't need to. That's where you rely on their skill set. Yeah, you've got the hustle. You've got the skill set that's needed to drive the business. They have the patient interfacing. Because I've worked with sales team as well.
They're amazing, right? So I'm the inside of house, but nothing, we don't have any money if the outside of house doesn't get the work done and doesn't sell the devices. So even that's very symbiotic and I love working with sales and sales training. So, I mean, I get what you guys are going through out there.
The Secret to Staying Ahead in Your Career
Cynthia Ficara: Well, I just love that you come across this, maybe not obstacle, but come across this, bridge where you're not there yet, but then your answer is, well, I'm going to learn it. And I love that because. in medical device sales. It is like that even almost every month. It's becoming a lifelong learner.
And it's okay if I don't know that. Now, how do I get there and who do I lean on? Because it's amazing. mean, just thinking of all that you've accomplished. If you were in one of those situations, just because you didn't know something, what if, I mean, just think about this. What if you chose not to learn it?
Or what if you just accepted the fact that you haven't been taught that yet and you haven't experienced it? Would you have been able to do all the great things that you've done?
Kelly E: Yeah. I mean, I'm a lifelong learner. I love to learn. I love to be a student, but, obviously you can't get anything further than a PhD.
So I had to go to work. But think in that, like, It's okay to not know everything, but you've got to put the hustle in. So I don't, mean to sound like, Oh, I didn't know what I was talking about. I just go, I put the work in, I was in extra cases to learn. I was asking the questions I was reading textbooks, medical textbooks to catch up and make sure I had my terminology.
So I put the work in to catch up. I just said, don't wait on me. I'll catch up to you, but. I'm going to ask you some questions. I'm going to need to learn and it didn't need just be from that one person, but I think,never be intimidated by intellectual capacity because there's so many well rounded, like different facets that have to contribute in order to have a patient safely get implanted with a medical technology.
So there's a skill set. That is a reason why. We have sales in the field and they're generally by the end of it, so knowledgeable. And also think of this, you know, everything you're probably bored and it's time for you to go to your next gig. Yeah. Constantly be learning to be challenged for yourself so that you feel like you're adding value.
when you stop feeling like you're learning anything, then it's like time to move on time to move up time to do something else.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah, one of the great qualities of being a leader is being curious. And I think that's what you're talking about is curiosity or hunger. For wanting to learn more, wanting to get better, wanting to always up your game.
we talk about this to look at
Kelly E: things from a different angle, which is why I appreciate working with men. Because they look at things completely different.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah. And all you're doing is flipping the script just a little bit. And man, it is paying off in dividends. Just a little Yeah. It's paying off in dividends.
a little hard of a question here. So, I mean, we can talk about all the amazing things that you've done all day long, but you know, everybody likes to hear as well. When you've hit some hurdles, when you've run up against, sometimes when you're like, oof, that was a tough time, maybe you can tell us about a time that you ran into a hurdle and how you got through that Kelly.
because I think a lot of our listeners out there are struggling with things and that's why they're tuning into us because they want to hear, not only are they not alone, but But how are they going to manage getting through some tough times?
Resilience in the Face of Adversity
Kelly E: Yeah. So as much as I am confident and I know my way there's lots of times that I have not known my way. it's been a while now. it was not in the for profit sector, but I was running three companies. And trying to get, fundraising off the ground, trying to get these companies out the door. I had gotten initial investment into a couple of these companies seed rounds series a rounds that will fuel the product development that I was trying to do to get this from paper napkin into, A launch at some point, but again, as I was doing this, we had an investor that felt like because, he had given money into this company, that he really owned.
Owned me or owned my ability to move forward and was very much micromanaging and I want to say bullying and I don't use that word lightly. And I kept thinking to myself, this can't be it because I'm not the type of person that gets bullied, but it happens and it happens to everybody and it happens in discrete and different angles from what you typically would grow up on the playground with.
And so in that I was trying to figure out what is his motivation for coming into my office when the door was closed and just Coming in, cornering me in the break room. I mean, the laundry list was a mile long. And I found that it was affecting my ability to want to go to work. And I'm really passionate about what I do.
I was just dreading going to work. It was making me crawl inside of myself. and just be very more introverted I knew I was changing and I knew I needed help and I knew that just confronting him was not going to be the answer because I had tried that initial approach said, you know, I felt really uncomfortable in this.
Can you take it a step back? How, what is the pain point? How do we, you know, all the typical avenues you typically do when someone doesn't maybe realize that they're being bullish, so to speak. And of course, that didn't work because you've got, this, you know, some people are just are who they are. And so, I then went external went to try and get help.
So from HR partner from my boss, again the typical venues really wasn't getting where I needed to be and wasn't getting the support that I needed. And I was continuing to feel like spiraling down and it was like you either quit. Or you stand up and so it's one of these you get knocked down twice.
You stand up three times and I would not quit because I knew where I was trying to go was positive and I wasn't going to let somebody who was inferior in their knowledge and their micromanagement abilities. to get me down. And so it was a long, long road and really stressful road.
Finding Strength Through Mentorship and Support
Kelly E: I ended up consulting with a couple of mentors that I have that are very personal to me outside of the business, not someone directly where I was working and really got some, feedback from them. I also, one of my best wellness tools is a psychologist. I love her. She's like yoga to me. She's like shopping at snacks to me. and she's one of the best wellness tools and I've worked through so much in my life, with her. And so I had just started a relationship with her, and had was talking to her about this.
And I think one of the best things she gave me was that you mentally, in order for you to move forward, you have to put a hazmat suit on, a mental hazmat suit. You have to figure out where your boundaries are and how you're not going to let this person cross them. And once I kind of start really thought about that, then I kind of knew how to fight back a little bit more not putting myself in situations.
So I changed how I didn't go to the break room anymore. I changed my patterns. I locked my door. I got the things that I needed. And when I was confronted with him, I was very verbal about it. And I did not give up. I kept going up because I was not getting what I needed.
And somebody at some point, when you use that word, it's significant. And so I ended up, getting through somewhere else and the person is no longer with the company. I think he's crawling around at the bottom somewhere else. Wow. But I say that because, if it's helpful to somebody else that's in a weird or dissimilar yet similar situation, I don't know what it, there, there's nothing vulnerable about but there's something vulnerable in all of us.
And if you can, if somebody is hitting those angles, do not give up, do just sit back. How do you protect your boundaries and then how do you change the game? to fight. I mean, you think of like Game of Thrones, right? Like they didn't win by just going forward. They won by being strategic. So get strategic with yourself because you're worth it and get yourself out of it.
Cynthia Ficara: Kelly, that such profound advice. And I thank you for sharing that story as whether somebody may be going through something maybe very similar, but if not, maybe in parts and pieces where I think that, for you to be able to share, to never give up. And also something else you said that I really took from that, that I think is excellent advice for anybody listening is never be afraid to ask for help, to find that mentor, to find another person, to know, again, know your worth and know this is not okay.
And now this is something that. I bring value to this company. I love this company. I want to stay here. Now how do we make it all work? And I really, really applaud you in the trajectory that you did to find a way to resolve the solution and clearly it wasn't easy on you at the time. It was a slog, but
Kelly E: I think resiliency is everything.
And then you can help somebody else once you get yourself out of it. It's that pay it forward. And then you walk a little taller in your cowboy boots. You're thriving they're not, like you're onward and upward. Yeah,
Anneliese Rhodes: that's such a thank
Kelly E: you again for sharing that. But it happens to everybody, I mean, I was asking you guys, how can I help?
I work with, the inside of the house, but how can I help with, someone going through something similar on this podcast? You're like, I'm here, you're not alone, I'm here. And you can move on and move forward, because I have to think about all this. I'm raising three girls, and I have to think about this.
What are the messages for my daughter when they're dealing with their own issues now, which are completely different than what we grew up with? We didn't have social media. but some of them are the same. And some of them are completely extrapolate across to what we deal with an industry and in work and in our roles as we're trying to corporate climb where we're trying to be.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yes, absolutely. think in sales, I mean, that exact thing can absolutely happen or something very similar. And I, like you said, I mean, I really appreciate you sharing your story because you're not alone out there and to reach out for help can be scary You're letting your vulnerability now come out, but you're also being strong and resilient because you are asking for help.
And I don't know why. Sometimes we think as women, we shouldn't ask for help, but it's so important that we do, because I feel like that's empowering in and of itself. I mean, I know I've faced a number of things and until I asked for help, I didn't really realize that I would have actually had an army behind me from the beginning.
And I think sometimes allow ourselves to go so far away than if we had just reached out to ask for help a little sooner. We may have not had to go through so much and I'm, sorry that you went through what you did, but I think your story will really resonate with a lot of our listeners. In a lot of different ways.
And so I just appreciate you sharing that.
Cynthia Ficara: And I think one more add is that, you mentioned coming onto this podcast, which yes, it is geared more towards sales. However, engineering and research and development is the engine behind any medical device company, engineering, clinical side research.
So, we in sales. Also can communicate with engineers. We can communicate to in house. So maybe it's a great time to say, Hey, look, your world's different than mine, but you're a woman, I'm a woman, or you're a man and I'm a man. And, maybe it's, You may find mentors within your own company in different divisions that can help you in many different ways.
So, engineering is a very, very, very important part of any job in medical device. We couldn't do it without you. Yeah, it is.
The Importance of Building a Support System
Kelly E: Yeah, I mean, but there's mentors. There's also, you know, and I have a collection of women that are in the medical device sector that are all, PhDs. There's like five of us and we're all kind of at that director, senior director, VP level.
And I consult with them all the time on things. So I have my core posse of, you know, and I'm sure every person here, sales is a lone wolf sport.
it's very similar to what I'm doing. It is a lone wolf leadership role that I have to do to deliver these programs with no BS to the business at launch, on time, on metric, and without the wheels coming off in duct tape.
So in order to do that, you need people, you need people to support you along the way. So yes, I have my external and internal mentors, a collection of people. I really respect very much that won't sugarcoat and gives me the right advice. I have a, collection of women. And then I have my psychologist.
So I mean like it comes from different, areas. And I have my husband. My husband's one of the most brilliant men I know and I can certainly smart in ways that I'm not smart, I would not move forward without him. And so, you know, you find your people, you find your people that will help carry you through and help you make those better decisions.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yes. That's all we want to do. That's what we're doing here, Kelly. Off the mic. Right there. I love it. I
Cynthia Ficara: love it. And
Anneliese Rhodes: that's the girl's a grip.
Cynthia Ficara: It is. Absolutely.
Anneliese Rhodes: Alright, so before we close up, I love, we love asking these questions.
tell us some of your favorite books, or maybe quotes or something, just a mantra that you live by. I mean, you've already dropped a number of pearls of wisdom. But I'd love to hear.
Kelly E: Yeah, I mean, so today is MLK Day, and one of my most favorite books is his autobiography.
I've read it several times. his dissertation alone, is really phenomenal on how we studied Gandhi. but I read a collection of fiction and nonfiction. I also love it. the work books, where like business storytelling, the first 90 days, anytime I'm in a new position, I always go back to the first 90 days.
another book I really love is radical candor by Kim Scott. She is, friends with Sheryl Sandberg. She's a woman high up in the, tech sector, not med, but the tech sector who really found her voice and how she did it. with empathy and, I think that's probably one of the strongest books right now that I've really been reading and resonating with.
, so there's a lot, a collection of books that I, generally do. So I don't really have a quote other my husband is a lacrosse player. In college and then professional and he had this thing on his jersey that was says head heart hustle and I thought it was so great. Obviously the context is sports, but the analogy works and I'm like that is how I carry myself in the passion that I have for work.
100 percent have my head in the game. I am very dedicated. I love what I do. I love the fact that we can bring technologies to patients and to our surgeons that can really change lives and to our field team. so new launches are a win for everybody. And then hustle. I am the first person to roll up my sleeves.
I'm the first person to dive in and I'm the first person to solution find. so I think head, heart, hustle, which is super cheesy, but I love it. And that is not true.
Anneliese Rhodes: I love it. I love it. It's
Kelly E: like on the top of his, like, you know, signed poster. Um, well, that's so good. That's so good.
Cynthia Ficara: So anyways, head, heart, hustle.
Well, I think that does say it all. And to have Kelly Emerton with us today, engineer, fashion guru, mama twins, mother of twins. She's got twins. Well, then we gotta stop for a second. And another one.
Kelly E: so all of that situation that I was talking to you about, I was all while I was going through fertility treatments, we were struggling, we couldn't get pregnant after my daughter just being very candid.
none of that was good for the headspace. And so I say that in the context of, I won because I ended up getting to an another role further on and we ended up getting our daughters, which, we ended up winning the fertility battle because I was able to move past that and go where I wanted to go and stop letting this BS, bully.
Get to me. And so again, I will not give up, knock me down three times. I will stand up for, and I will stand up stronger. And at the end of this, we ended up getting a beautiful daughter. So now I'm a mother of twins, three year old twins and my seven year old daughter. So I am like, you glass ceilings and figuring out what motivates them and how to be the best mama to them.
That's my biggest job.
Anneliese Rhodes: It is.
Kelly E: They are beautiful by the way.
Cynthia Ficara: Well, they are lucky girls to have you and I'm sure you'll teach them all your lessons of lifelong learning and never giving up and knowing your worth and being authentically who you are. And something tells me even at the young age of three and seven that, they're probably already becoming confident.
And I just love that if, all of us. Women can remember what it's like when we're girls at that age, like three, you have no, biases. you just love everybody. You're just so innocent that the world is so, your eyes get so busy. Love is your oyster. And they're all very
Kelly E: different. And I want to, I love that.
And I have to think of, so talk about being on your feet. I have to talk about three different ways to raise three different girls, because the way that I raised the first one, I think the same way I'm going to have to raise the second one.
Cynthia Ficara: You got sneakers, heels, and cowboy boots. Hey, all three, all three
Kelly E: represented at my house right now.
So, but I really thank you guys for the opportunity and just, you know, you're, not alone. And I, don't know how, if you guys give out information, but I'm always here. If somebody needs me, I'm here. We got you. We got each other. And I'm happy to be a resource to somebody.
Cynthia Ficara: And how can somebody find you if they want to reach out?
Kelly E: Alisa's got my account.
Cynthia Ficara: Alisa got my Birger phone. She's on
Kelly E: LinkedIn. Yeah.
Cynthia Ficara: We can drop it in the show notes. Your LinkedIn. Yes.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah. Yeah. Kelly. Thank you. This has been awesome and lightning. You're so inspiring. I mean, I just, I'm like, I would like to be like you one day,
Kelly E: guys, just be yourself. You're amazing.
Just the way you are. But yeah, thank you so much. And I'm happy to be on here. This was really fun. My first podcast. You bring great
Cynthia Ficara: energy. Well, hopefully there's more. Thank you. All right. Thank you guys. Kelly.
Kelly E: Bye.
