There was big news at the Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce’s February luncheon: cardiovascular medical device manufacturer Cordis, which has its global headquarters in Business Park East in Miami Lakes, is hiring 300 employees.
“We’re really excited about the impact in the town of Miami Lakes,” said Samine Jernigan, operations-manufacturing vice president at Cordis. Town government has invested in the municipality to make it attractive for a global headquarters, she said..
Also on the roundtable: Lourdes Boue, chief executive officer of Doctor’s Hospital and West Kendall Baptist Hospital; her colleague Dr. Fernando Moya-Huff, who specializes in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine, Baptist Health South Florida and David Ramos, president, Fision Florida by Hotwire Communications. Tico Casamayor, the chamber’s president of Public Relations, was moderator.
Jernigan said Cordis is based in 70 countries and its biggest challenge is likely making sure it handles regulations simultaneously at local, state, national and global levels.
Boue spoke about the importance of creating a culture within an organization. She suggested finding jewels in speeches by coaches of professional sports teams.
Moya-Huff, a surgeon whose patients include athletes on the region’s professional teams, said, “What is our culture? You could be Messi, or you can be the quarterback of the Dolphins or a just a normal high school kid, we’re going to give you our best ...”
Companies, like physicians, must be nimble, the panelists said.
Moya-Huff said 99.9% of the surgeries he performs use arthroscopic techniques rather than how he was trained. Robots are replacing humans in ultra-precise surgeries. He predicted that Artificial Intelligence will be the biggest challenge to a doctor’s expertise and treatment plan for a patient.
“Change is here to stay and you need to continue to adapt ... to excel and ... be excellent and deliver the care that your customer or your patient needs,” he said.
Ramos said of the fiber optic industry, “Everybody hates the cable company, the IRS and their dentist’s office. We want to make customers want to do business with us.”
Building an infrastructure that can handle clients’ emergencies and customer service, and selling it at a competitive price are key, he said.
“If you call, there is a human on the other side,” he said. “You don’t get transferred to India or someplace else. We make sure it works, make sure you don’t have to worry about it.”
Wireless internet standards are getting faster to meet customer demand for connectivity, he said.
“5G is a thing of the past. WiFi 7, WiFi 8, it’s growing so fast and if you’re not prepared for it, you will fall behind.”
Chamber President Ray Palacios said, “A CEO client of mine told me something that shaped my last 15 years: If you stand still, everybody else will pass you by. You have to keep moving forward.”
In the photo: At the Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Feb. 11, from left: David Ramos, president, Fision Florida by Hotwire Communications; Dr. Fernando Moya-Huff, orthopedic surgery and sports medicine, Baptist Health South Florida; Lourdes Boue, chief executive officer, Doctors Hospital and West Kendall Baptist Hospital; Samine Jernigan, operations-manufacturing vice president, Cordis and moderator Tico Casamayor, president of Public Relations for the chamber. Photo: Alexandra Herrera.