Martin Curley, Director, Digital Transformation and Innovation, Health Service Executive
Martin Curley is Director of the Digital Transformation and Innovation at the Health Service Executive (HSE), helping enable the digital transformation of Ireland's health service. Most recently, Martin was Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the HSE. Prior to joining the HSE, Martin was Senior Vice President and group head for Global Digital Practice at Mastercard.
Previously Martin was a vice president at Intel Corporation and Director/GM of Intel Labs Europe, Intel's network of more than 50 research labs which he helped grow across the European region.
He also served as a senior principal engineer at Intel Labs Europe, leading Intel's research and innovation engagement with the European Commission and the broader European Union research ecosystem. Prior to this, Curley was Global Director of IT Innovation and Director of IT Strategy and Technology at Intel.
Earlier in his Intel career, he held a number of senior positions for Intel in the United States and Europe. He also worked in research and management positions at GE in Ireland and Philips in the Netherlands.
Martin has a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering and a master's degree in business studies, both from University College Dublin, Ireland. He received his PhD in information systems from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Curley is the author of eight books on technology management for value, innovation and entrepreneurship.
He is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, a fellow of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, the British Computer Society and, the Irish Computer Society. Martin is co-founder of the Innovation Value Institute at Maynooth University, a unique industry-academia collaboration driving research and development of advanced IT and Digital maturity frameworks.
He was previously a visiting scholar at MIT Sloan Centre for Information Systems Research and a visiting research fellow at the CERN Open Lab in Geneva. He was the inaugural winner of the Engineers Ireland Innovation engineer of the year in 2006 and was jointly awarded European Chief Technology Officer of the year for 2015-2016.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Twitter for its immediacy.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
My key area of interest is Digital Transformation and Innovation of Health Services through Digital Innovation. Digital technologies combined with exponential mindsets can create game-changing results, outcomes and life expectancy increases. Healthcare is very complex, but I helped create an Innovation methodology that helps to orchestrate digital innovation efforts into a relatively synchronized and impactful flow.
We call this methodology Open Innovation 2.0. We are applying it in Ireland and are making good early progress on transforming our health service. We are aiming to make Ireland a digital health leader in Europe by 2025. But the ambition is bigger than that - Healthcare is global, and together with global colleagues, we want to work together to drive better health outcomes for all people on our planet. Catalyzed by digital, many paradigms will need to change.
We need to shift focus from illness to wellness. We need to change our vocabulary from a focus on Healthcare to just health. Today we can already monitor and treat many conditions from home. I have been driving a digital health innovation strategy called 'Stay Left, Shift Left'.
Stay left is about keeping well people well, or if you happen to have a chronic condition, you can be managed best of all from home.
Shift Left is about moving patients as quickly as possible from Acute to Community to Home settings.
Each time we target a digital intervention, we are looking for four outcomes, sometimes called the quadruple aim, improving care, reducing cost, improving quality of life and improving the clinician/patient experience. Routinely we can now find digital interventions that deliver on all four of these interventions - for example, and an Alivekor Kardia mobile can produce a six lead ECG in 30 seconds at home on a 150 euro device compared to a 10 minute ECG performed by a skilled operator in a hospital on a machine costing >5000 euro.
Citizens can take responsibility and can be immediately alerted if they are suffering from, for example, atrial facilitation. They can then seek help armed with data that can be sent at the push of a button to their physician.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
The opportunity to impact, improve and possibly help save lives. The opportunity to have an impact. The opportunity to work with good and motivated people. The opportunity to work with amazing digital technologies and solutions. The opportunity to do something national and global.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
From my thirteen-year-old son, "Dad, follow your heart."
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
The opportunity to make things better. The goal of sustainable, intelligent living. Collaborating with good people to make a difference. I try to live by the motto 'Dream, Dare, Do!
What are you proud of in your life so far?
My children, family, the teams and companies I have worked for and the strong results and impact delivered. Several books.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
At conferences.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
Ability to quickly build trusted relationships, vision, innovation and a 'Just do it' mentality.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
Unfortunately that not everyone is good or has a common interest at heart. I try to do business using an aphorism of Doug Busch, ex Intel CIO “Assume Good Intent”. But I have learned even when people’s lives and livelihoods are at stake this doesn’t always hold true.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
Larry Keeley, Innovation Strategist at Doblin.
Richard Straub, founder of the Global Drucker Forum.
Both are leaders, visionaries and exceptionally hard-working.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
Of course, my children are of the utmost importance to me, so blessed to see them blossoming into fine young adults and starting their journeys. Otherwise, I love the sport and outdoors, soccer, skiing, kayaking, swimming and hiking.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
The pandemic has been a big bang disruptor for enabling the accelerated adoption of digital health solutions.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
Until recently, I didn't, but now I have, and it is very important, particularly when making critical decisions. Yes, I mentor a few CEOs of start-up companies. They generally know their own way but occasionally can benefit from a slight course correction.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Dive in! We are witnessing a unique Cambrian explosion of digital health solutions. This is a once in several generations opportunity to shape a dramatic transformation that can affect and improve everyone's life on the planet.
What do you feel is the most common reason people fail or give up?
High expectation entrepreneurs usually start with a vision that far exceeds the resources they have available. Unless this gap is closed as the business grows the business will likely be unsustainable. The inability to use an agile approach where one fails fast and learns fast can also often be a reason for failure.
Finally, Andy Grove used to say - Don’t fall in love with the technology, fall in love with the business model – failure to focus on the end customer and making the value proposition viable for all is another choke point.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
Many phrases but Margaret Mead's quote come to mind "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I think companies like Philips and Intel are doing a good job out there.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Success is achieving results that make a difference. Profit and care for people can be achieved in unison. A shared vision is the most important factor in transformational change.