International Women’s Day: A Look at CEO Rachel Apsey’s Impact
For International Women’s Day, Medstrom is taking an in-depth look at the remarkable success of joint CEO Rachel Apsey and some of the other senior women we are proud to call valued members of our team.
Rachel began her career as a nurse and midwife and was nursing for many years before starting as a Clinical Advisor within a multinational bed and mattress company. Throughout Rachel’s career, spanning many roles, she has always been incredibly passionate about improving patient outcomes, finding new innovations and making a real difference to healthcare. It’s this passion that has driven Rachel throughout her 40-year career and the ongoing success she enjoys today.
“When I first met Rachel at my interview, within ten minutes I wanted to work with her.”
Inspiration Comes Easily
As a manager, Rachel has been described as particularly focused yet empathetic and understanding – a skillset that has served her well over the years. Rachel remembers the best piece of management advice she’s ever been given – which was to surround herself with good people who are motivated, passionate and want to succeed. ‘Inspiring’ her team is something Rachel seems to have a natural knack for. It’s a word that is mentioned in every interview with her colleagues. “When I first met Rachel at my interview, within ten minutes I wanted to work with her. I felt like I could really learn from her. She has a very infectious personality and I saw it as an inspiration from the moment I met her,” describes Helen Brassington, the Commercial Director of Medstrom. “Rachel inspires me on an everyday basis”, says Medstrom Marketing Manager Natalie Nelson, “and I genuinely don’t think I would be in the position I am or have the career I do without having someone like Rachel to look up to.”
Women Thrive At Medstrom
The prominence of women amongst the senior team of Medstrom is an evident feature, and one that has occurred as a result of the combination of Rachel’s innovative focus and passion for helping people strive in their career.
“The abundance of women in employment at Medstrom is historic, yet ongoing and deliberate. We have cherry picked the right people, and our choices have shown that the right person can so often be a woman.”
And the effect is noticeable. Natalie explains how the consistent presence of female leaders when she started her career has actually made her more ambitious: “seeing so many women in senior positions has made it feel so much more attainable”.
Paired with Medstrom’s flat hierarchy and Rachel’s “focused, encouraging and empathetic” management style, you can understand why inspiration strikes so many young women entering into Medstrom’s work force, of whom the overwhelming majority stay to build their careers at the company. Rachel’s passion for identifying raw talent and promoting the hiring of young people into full-bodied roles filled with responsibility and potential is a particularly unique facet of her management style. Marketing Manager Natalie is a great example of such an approach: “I was twenty when I first joined Medstrom, and when you’re starting out, seeing people like Rachel in a senior position is really meaningful. I’ve been very lucky in never having huge barriers to cross in terms of equality because I’ve always had someone like Rachel to look up to.”
What Does the Future of the Workplace Look Like?
Sometimes being a woman with clinical expertise has been an advantage – Rachel describes the process of negotiating contracts and dealing with senior nurses (usually women); the ease of dialogue and the ease in identifying each other as competent equals helps to rapidly break down barriers. Nurses can sometimes be suspicious of ‘men in suits’, she says. There’s a less obvious offer of collaboration in amongst that dynamic. When ruminating on how the workplace has changed for women, Rachel has observed that improved opportunities now exist for women to progress and achieve senior positions. Nowadays, Rachel says, women have a much more tangible grip on the compartmentalisation available to them when it comes to successfully separating their professional and private lives.
“Rachel has proven to me that you can be a CEO whilst also being caring and authentic.”
Honesty Creates Success
When asked what things have helped Rachel be successful in the workplace, Rachel takes a minute to think. “You know, I think there’s a few things. First and foremost it’s honesty and transparency – with all my team, I’m totally honest with them.” This sentiment was echoed by Helen and Natalie, not just in regards to the team that work around Rachel closely, but about the atmosphere of Medstrom as a whole. “Rachel instils ultimate trust,” said Helen, “and that’s led to a really open environment.” This kind of leadership style has trickled down into every area of the company, it seems. Helen details how you can see Rachel’s history as a nurse and midwife in her method of management – the idea that it is clearly the team against a problem, and never seen as one individual’s problem. “If there’s a problem, I’ll see it, but I immediately draw a line under it once resolved and that’s it, we move on,” Rachel describes.
In Helen’s words, Rachel is naturally fast at identifying solutions. She treats everyone as an equal, encourages everyone around her to conduct themselves confidently, creatively and independently. In Natalie’s words, Rachel leads with integrity and heart. She’s “supportive” and “reassuring” and gives you the room and freedom to not only make your work your own, but to also make mistakes. To operate with compassion. To focus on the customer and patient. To completely abandon and discourage ego. “Rachel has proven to me that you can be a CEO whilst also being caring and authentic.”
