Recap of the first Inspiration Series with Kari Krogstad

Youth Coordinators, Urusha Maharjan and Laura Herget led this one-hour webinar for students and young professionals entitled, Global Health Leadership in the Private Sector - a conversation with Medistim CEO. Keynote speaker, Kari E. Krogstad, CEO of the medical technology company Medistim, discussed women leadership and advice for young people in a complex working environment within global health. Following the discussion, there was a 15-minute question and answer session in which attendees posed questions to Kari on leadership and career guidance. Further details of the event can be found here.

Kari shared her personal journey using insights from her 30 years of experience within global health and her most current position at Meditism. She shared her personal opinion that women leadership should be about looking at individuals, not just genders. She explained that young women should be recruited in technical and scientific fields in order to maintain a balanced gender structure. The life science sector and Medistim are on the right track in this respect. At Meditism, 4 out of 9 in management, 2 of its 5 board members and 50% of all employees are women. In addition, Kari explained that good goal setting is necessary to achieve gender equality in leadership.

During her time in the USA she got to understand work competition and pressure to perform. Her advice to young people is to stay true to themselves and to not lose their curiosity to learn. Kari finds a good mix of academic education and practical experience important to gain a foothold in the competitive job market. She discussed the importance of always performing well at any position and not planning for leadership positions since these skills are acquired as the responsibilities and challenges follow. She also advised believing in yourself and staying focused.