By Business & Finance 
Martin Mc Cormack, CEO, College of Anaesthetists of Ireland
Martin Mc Cormack, CEO, College of Anaesthetists of Ireland, talks innovation in bringing the best patient healthcare globally when needed.
Q. What was your first job? As a ten-year-old I set up a small enterprise turning wood off-cuts into firelighters for resale. I hired the kids in the neighbourhood and had my first experience of trying to land contracts. Q. What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date? Improving patient care is at the heart of everything that I do. Five out of seven billion people in the world do not have access to safe surgical or anaesthesia care when they need it. My greatest achievement has been to lead strategic collaborations with different governments that have improved the health outcomes of patients around the world. Q. How do you define success? Well-being, fulfilment and societal impact. Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? My wife, who runs her own business, gives me this piece of advice every day: “Win the morning”. Q. How do you motivate yourself and your staff? Our vision is that all people should have access to safe, high-quality surgical and anaesthesia care when needed. This motivates and drives us to innovate and continuously improve. The people who come to work here want to make a difference. Q. If you could step into the shoes of one business person for a day, who would it be and why? Melinda Gates. As Co-chair of the Gates foundation, I admire her relentless focus on improving health outcomes and tackling critical problems like Malaria, HIV, neglected tropical diseases and gender inequality. Q. How do you relax? A mixture of quality time with my family and a game of golf. Q. What’s your motto? Stay positive, work hard and make it happen. Q. What are your aspirations for the future of the business? When I imagine the world I would like to live in the future I imagine a world where patients have access to the care they need when they need it. This comes at a time when the global burden of disease is growing and the disparities of access to safe care is getting greater. To achieve our vision, we have to be relentless in our development of collaborative systems and networks across the world and make a positive contribution to building a better future for all.
Our vision is that all people should have access to safe, high-quality surgical and anaesthesia care when needed. This motivates and drives us to innovate and continuously improve.
The College of Anaesthetists of Ireland exists to promote best practice in the fields of anaesthesia, intensive care and pain medicine through its training, examinations and educational programmes in Ireland, Oman, KSA, UAE, Ghana, Cairo, Malawi, Malaysia, Kuwait and China.
Get in touch with Martin on LinkedIn.
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