Saige Smith

I love the challenge of competitive positioning in our increasingly complex and seemingly cluttered healthcare market. It’s invigorating to help companies build an entirely new category, disrupt an existing one or reinvent itself after decades. 

I also really enjoy coaching executives - founders, rising and established CEOs, emerging executives - to find their unique voices and bring priority industry, company and product messages to the market and their internal teams.

Digital health is one of the most dynamic, complex and evolving industries. To be successful requires a strong understanding of longstanding, decades-old systems, standards and regulatory processes. But it also requires an incredible amount of positivity, focus and perseverance to break through and finally make change. I absolutely love working in that dichotomy. 

I led global comms for GE Healthcare’s Digital Health and Innovation divisions - counseling the company’s CIO and CDO and leading comms for crises, M&A (incl. a $1B divestiture), employee relations, external relations, cybersecurity (WannaCry, Petya) and product announcements. Before that, I built integrated marketing, advertising and PR programs for clients like Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Grifols Biotherapeutics and loads of healthcare providers across the U.S. 

Nothing makes me happier than looking back over the last several (weeks, months, years) to see awareness, attitudes and actions among priority audiences have shifted - due to programs we have driven in partnership with our clients. I get a lot of inspiration by looking at how far we’ve come and then pivoting to dream up the future (all rooted in business objectives, of course!).   

A tiny town of 300ish people in Central Indiana (There are literally no stop lights.)

Though I’m a city human through and through, I really miss: walks through the woods with my grandpa (en route to feed the cows - naturally), reading under a blanket on our front porch swing during a rainstorm, 100% silent and still nights where every star is on full display, bonfires - so many bonfires, 4th of July and Labor Day parades and lemon shake-ups at the Boone County 4-H Fair (where I did NOT show any animals, for the record).