ISDI Student Spotlight ft. Andy Wright
In this weekly series, we’ll be highlighting the student journeys and accomplishments of our future leaders in digital business.
This week we feature an east-coast transplant with years of executive experience who joined ISDI to skill up his digital acumen. From being a gifted writer (see linked blog post) to having a passion for biotech products, read on to find out some neat things about Andy!
- Tell us a little bit about your background and why you decided to make ISDI a part of your journey?
I’ve been fortunate to do a lot of fun things in my career. I was a VP at Trammell Crow which at the time was the world’s the largest real estate development company, I joined early in a start up called IDEXX labs (now at a $18.3B market cap) launching just about every major product the company still has today, and was a senior executive at a biotech company in Cambridge. I was also the COO at a custom yacht manufacturing company, have owned my own business twice, and have massively enjoyed my career.
I explain my reasons for coming to ISDI in a blog post I posted a couple weeks ago. I have great educational background and 30 years of work and leadership experience, but when it came to digital I now realize I wasn’t qualified to be senior executive at any company in America.
Unless you grew up working in the tech sector, most old-school folks like me don’t have the necessary skills and knack to lead a tech company, nor do you have the skills to transform a legacy company. But, through this program I feel like ISDI has brought me up to speed and prepared me for the digital workplace.
2. We know ISDI has a full spectrum of digital thinkers, which one are you: Digital Immigrant (new to technology), Digital Native (one with technology), or somewhere in between?
I was at the extreme of the digital immigrant —but now I’m feeling empowered and closer to the center after taking this program.
Although I wish I had deeper knowledge on some topics taught at ISDI, I now have the minimal necessary understanding and can manage people who have the deeper knowledge to successfully run organizations that are digital-first or not.
3. If your friends and family had to use 3 words to describe you what would they be?
Insightful, Strategic, and Entrepreneurial — when I was 17 yrs old the St. Louis Post Dispatch went on strike and I thought “Wow, no one is going to get a newspaper tomorrow.” So I drove to Chicago, bought as many Tribunes as I could, and sold them all at $2 each and made $1000. Just one early example of where my mind has always been.
4. What is your proudest work accomplishment? Life accomplishment?
Work — When I worked for the biotech company in Cambridge we launched a blood substitute for veterinary medical practices. The technical term for the product is a Hemoglobin based oxygen carrier — HBOC. Essentially it’s a bag of red stuff stored at room temperature that can be administered to any mammal on earth to deliver oxygen without any risk of a transfusion reaction. It’s a really cool product!
Although there would be hundreds of potential applications in human medicine, one obvious one would be taking it into the battlefield to administer to bleeding soldiers. It would keep them alive long enough to get them to a field hospital where a blood transfusion would be available. Having an on-hand blood substitute can be the difference between life and death. It really was a miracle product, seeing all the applications for it and the amount of dogs and cats we saved with veterinary technology was very gratifying.
Life — About 1.5 years ago I hiked the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevadas. It was 250 miles and we hiked it in 20 days. It was a great personal accomplishment because that kind of high altitude, long-term hiking endurance takes some intestinal fortitude, so I’m very proud to have accomplished that.
5. What is a surprising fact not many people know about you or something you wish more people knew about you?
I started a business in 1986 and I was a little ahead of my time. I had the gut instinct that sick people didn’t like trudging out to a supply store to get their medical products when they were sick. So, I started a home delivery medical supply house that delivered products straight to a customer’s door. I sold the company to my business partner and now 32 years later the company still exists and it’s called HDIS and is doing very well.
6. If you had to write a book about something, and you knew it would be an all time best seller (as in this message would be seen by millions of people) what would it be and why?
This one is almost too easy, I actually have written a full length novel on the assassination of JFK. I was told by an insider who actually did it and why and have spent much of my life researching and confirming what I was told. I have not yet self published but intend to do so at some point.
7. What is a piece of advice you’d give to the younger version of yourself?
Absolutely to be more patient. If I hadn’t sold that business in ‘86 I would’ve made a lot more money earlier in my career; if I didn’t leave IDEXX when I did I would’ve made more money there as well. And it’s not just about the money, I would’ve earned more interesting roles at either of those companies. But I guess it’s because of my entrepreneurial mind — I love working on new projects or companies.
8. What is a product, service, company, book, activity you WOM (word of mouth) advertise all the time to family and friends?
Hiking. My favorite quote about hiking is: “Hiking is like going to the gym, going to church, going to your therapist, and falling in love all at the same time.” That’s what hiking is for me, I’ve gotten other people hooked— it’s healthy, spiritual, and satisfying.
9. Give us a digital tip or trick you’ve learned at ISDI!
I think I was the very last one to figure out Ctrl + F to search things on the page, I figured that out just last Saturday!
Thanks for joining us on our Student Spotlight Series! For more ISDI blog posts written by our amazing students and our esteemed academic board, check them out at our ISDI Blog here.
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