Our mission of changing patient lives at the speed of innovation is not complete without our core value of acting with integrity. Luckily, we have an incredibly talented Global Risk & Integrity team that supports and encourages Shareowners all over the organization to go above and beyond in their day-to-day work. We have recently launched a Compliance & Ethics Champion program that recognizes different Shareowners who act as leaders and take initiative to build upon their current skillsets in the compliance area.
Meet our second Compliance & Ethics Champion, Eduardo, Country Director for Brazil. Eduardo has recently been appointed as the Vice President of the Board of Directors of Ética Saúde. Ética Saúde is a Brazilian institute that brings together companies and institutions that are voluntarily committed to creating rules and guidelines, in an effort to prevent bribery and corruption. Eduardo’s work with Ética Saúde is just one example of how he is going above and beyond to build a culture of ethics and integrity in Brazil. We interviewed Eduardo to learn more about his motives behind this accomplishment and how it can benefit him in the future! Read his interview below:
What inspired you to become a member of Ética Saúde?
I think of it through a dual perspective. First, I believe that by supporting a more ethical environment I will be contributing to building a better healthcare system, as well as a better country. So, I see this as a ‘giving back’ initiative. On the other hand, unethical competition terribly harms our business. I believe that playing by on a “fair playing field”, we are well positioned to compete.
How do you think Ética Saúde can help transform the medical technology industry in Brazil?
This is a very comprehensive initiative and goes beyond just medical technology. It’s a self-regulating agreement where medical societies, hospitals, labs, suppliers, and even regulators are working together to define and promote a more ethical environment. Particularly, I believe that when you highlight ethical players, you’re already penalizing unethical ones. Public image is the most valuable asset a company has. Beyond this, Ética Saúde has a compliance committee that receives and investigates unethical practices in the healthcare system. Then, whenever suitable, the committee interacts with authorities and in some cases—legal penalties can be applied.
What is your greatest challenge related to achieving your business objectives and how do you think your new role as Vice President will help you overcome this challenge?
Our daily goal is to demonstrate the clinical and economic value of our solutions, so that they become the preferred treatment for spine care. Unethical business practices bring bias decisions through a different pattern. Let’s make one thing clear: NuVasive is known in our market as the company that is trying to change the market. Currently, we still face several situations where NuVasive is put aside because competitors are providing kickbacks to decision makers. Supporting Ética Saúde is a way to promote a cleaner business environment and this will be highly beneficial for everyone, including NuVasive. Also, my goal is to bring more competitors to the table and increase the number of ethical standards advocates.
How will your experience with Ética Saúde help you better achieve the Company’s top priorities?
As leader of the Brazilian team, I believe this is a clear signal that we take acting with integrity seriously. So, we’re talking about our purpose, our values, critical engagement topics, and at the end of the day—“walking the talk” is a critical factor to making people and culture a competitive advantage.
At NuVasive, we’re committed to conducting all of our business activities in accordance with the highest standards of ethics, professionalism, integrity, responsibility, and accountability. Thank you to forward-thinking Shareowners like Eduardo, we’re able to accomplish our goal of commitment, courage, and respect day-in and day-out.
To learn more about our Corporate Integrity, click here.