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Jon Sigurdsson, President and CEO, Ossur, Iceland
 1) Briefly tell us what it is about your company/project that makes it so special?
Headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, Ossur has been at the forefront of innovation in the design and commercialization of lower limb prosthetics since 1971, and we now intend to have the same impact on non-invasive orthopedics. The company’s motto is
“life without limitations,”
which accurately reflects the spirit, vision and teamwork with which we endeavor to make life better for the people we serve: people with disabilities.
Our commitment to break new ground has led to numerous innovations, marking more milestones and technological advancements than those experienced by any other company in our industry. Furthermore, we are determined to maintain our technological leadership.
While we are considered an ambitious company, we are also known for our financial prudence and trust-worthiness, and together, these qualities make us special, in my opinion.
2) What country best facilitates starting a tech company? What single thing can a government do to encourage Technology Pioneers?
Iceland gives us excellent access to highly educated employees, a steady working environment and a low tax rate, but our scope is truly international, with 12assimilated operations that span the globe, including sales offices in Asia, Holland, and Sweden, and sales and manufacturing units in the United States and Canada. We find it helpful, too, that we are geographically positioned halfway between North America and Europe, currently our two largest markets.
3) What makes an innovator?
Ossur allocates an industry record of 6-8% of its revenue on research and development, and collaborates with research giants such as Hugh Herr of MIT and its AI Lab, Harvard Medical School, Kings College of London, Northwestern University Medical School, Erasmus University of Holland, and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden, just to name a few and always in pursuit of greater science.
This has given Ossur valuable access to some of the most gifted and talented scientists in the world, and has led to Ossur establishing partnerships for the research, commercialization and licensing of inventions, which are key elements in our business strategy.
All this makes us better equipped to serve our field as we address demographic changes and medical requirements that are constantly evolving as a direct result of higher life expectancies and more active lifestyles in patients. Factor in our increased efficiency, safety and efficacy and you’ll understand Ossur’s growing ability to offer an extensive array of products to health professionals who are dealing with almost all aspects of human rehabilitation for various medical indications, and to people from all walks of life.
4) How does your company directly contribute to improving the state of the world?
Ossur takes pride in its reputation as a technology leader in its industry, but the company is especially gratified by the accomplishments of people with disabilities who use Ossur products. In October of this year, Sarah Reinertsen, an above-the-knee amputee and one of our own employees, became the first female amputee to complete the toughest Ironman competition of all: Hawaii’s World Championships. She pulled off this feat using our products exclusively. Marlon Shirley, the fastest amputee in the world, broke the 11 second barrier in the 100 meter sprint, using Ossur’s Cheetah Flex Foot®; in fact, all amputee runners who medalled in the 2004 Athens Paralympic 100mts, 200mts and 400mts were wearing our Flex-Foot. The company gains invaluable feedback from these accomplished amputee athletes, and the benefits are then designed into products for amputees at all activity levels.
Given our mission to offer people a “life without limitations,”
Ossur provides extensive education programs through its
Ossur Academy --
both online and offline -- and supports and sponsors numerous community outreach programs, including multi-year commitments with many leading non-profit organizations dedicated to improving the lives of the disabled.
Without Ossur’s support, the Orthotics & Prosthetics Program at California State Dominguez Hills would have been forced to close its doors after 20 years of success due to federal funding cutbacks. The program is one of just eight such facilities in the United States and is responsible for producing over 15 percent of our industry’s professionals in the United States each year.
In addition to housing the 5,900 sq ft instructional facility on Ossur’s California campus, the company customized it and stocked it with hundreds of thousands of dollars in donated equipment and contributions towards overhead costs. The additional space allows the program to accommodate more than twice as many bachelor’s-degree and post-baccalaureate-certificate students.
5) What value do you hope to gain from being a Technology Pioneer?
Recognition from the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer is important to Ossur because it places the company and its products squarely in the public eye, which helps this greater audience to discover or rediscover Ossur.
The recognition that Ossur has repeatedly received over the past few months underscores not only the company’s courage and drive to innovate, but also its ability to find -- and profitably market -- new ways and higher standards for improving the lives of others.
In these days of lethargic economies, where conventional business strategies fail to create profits, there’s just one way to change your company’s destiny. Innovate. Ossur innovates and will continue to do so, given its annual investment in R&D. And the world is becoming increasingly aware of Ossur’s role in innovation. Ossur has established goals and a clear vision on how to expand our operations through innovation and the utilization of the company’s material know-how and technological expertise.
As we have seen most recently with Ossur’s Rheo Knee™ and Power Knee™, recognition for innovation plays a major role in market value. It gives Ossur’s products a genuine and sustainable competitive advantage. And it puts Ossur, its management and R&D teams in the company of the best and most successful innovators in the world… fertile ground for further innovation.
6) What do you think the role of technology should be in society?
We believe in leading by example. Our objectives are simple yet lofty: remove the physical limitations caused by a patient’s disability; remove the morbidity inherent in some conventional designs; and make our technology available to a wider group of patients. The return on our investment in technology is on its way to being fully realized in a full product range we refer to as Ossur Bionics – a line of products for both the prosthetic and orthopedic markets, which we expect will transform our industry’s offerings, as well as raise the bar in rehabilitation. Still, we’ll never stop setting new goals for ourselves.
7) What is the right balance in society between scientific interest and ethical concerns?
We are fortunate at Ossur that these delicate and important issues do not play a role in our business. Our objectives, and the benefits and features of our products are simple and straightforward, and well accepted by the medical community and society alike: improve the lives of people with disabilities through the use of technologically advanced prosthetic and non-invasive orthopedic solutions.
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