In episode 63 of the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, our guest is the Founder of Orion Health, Ian McCrae.

He is regarded by many as one of the early “heroes” of the New Zealand tech sector, but Ian McCrae refers to himself as simply a passionate engineering entrepreneur, and he remains committed to his mission to leverage technology in order to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare for every person.

After an undistinguished high school education, he found his way at Auckland University where he graduated with an engineering degree and a Masters. Along the way he took a break to hitchhike around the world, a journey that saw him in London during the sharemarket crash and in Iran during the revolution, a period which enhanced his already substantial levels of resilience.

Back in New Zealand, his Masters thesis led him to Antarctica where he modelled the ice shelf flows long before it was cool to do so. A series of jobs in the tech space led him to decide that the health sector was where the opportunity was and Orion Health was born. 

Ian’s story of establishing a global business, on limited funding and heavily reliant on suitcases and shoe leather, has plenty of lessons for every aspiring entrepreneur. 

During the Leaders Getting Coffee Podcast, he speaks with Bruce Cotterill about his combination of sales skills and software knowledge creating a critical combination enabling his success. There’s plenty of chat about the early days of cracking the US market and the ups and downs that followed.

Five years ago, his life was upended with the diagnosis of a brain tumour. And as you might expect from a technology leader with a passion for healthcare, he has piloted his treatment programme via his own software and the AI tools that we all have access to. The result has seen him outlive his original diagnosis four-fold and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

He’s also outspoken about what those same AI tools should mean for the health system, and he sees opportunities to overtake our unaffordable current approach to healthcare and move directly to a new way, one which sees the patient at the centre of their own care and AI providing the interface between the system and the needs of the population. 

This is the opportunity to hear from a man who is a massively successful New Zealand entrepreneur. But that man is also patient in our health system, one with strong and well qualified opinions on the future direction of one of our government’s biggest challenges. 

Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 63 with Bruce Cotterill and Ian McCrae, Founder of Orion Health and Brain Tumour patient.

Download it here.

In episode 63 of the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, our guest is the Founder of Orion Health, Ian McCrae.
He is regarded by many as one of the early &ldquo;heroes&rdquo; of the New Zealand tech sector, but Ian McCrae refers to himself as simply a passionate engineering entrepreneur, and he remains committed to his mission to&nbsp;leverage technology in order to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare for every person.
After an undistinguished high school education, he found his way at Auckland University where he graduated with an engineering degree and a Masters. Along the way he took a break to hitchhike around the world, a journey that saw him in London during the sharemarket crash and in Iran during the revolution, a period which enhanced his already substantial levels of resilience.
Back in New Zealand, his Masters thesis led him to Antarctica where he modelled the ice shelf flows long before it was cool to do so. A series of jobs in the tech space led him to decide that the health sector was where the opportunity was and Orion Health was born.&nbsp;
Ian&rsquo;s story of establishing a global business, on limited funding and heavily reliant on suitcases and shoe leather, has plenty of lessons for every aspiring entrepreneur.&nbsp;
During the Leaders Getting Coffee Podcast, he speaks with Bruce Cotterill about his combination of sales skills and software knowledge creating a critical combination enabling his success. There&rsquo;s plenty of chat about the early days of cracking the US market and the ups and downs that followed.
Five years ago, his life was upended with the diagnosis of a brain tumour. And as you might expect from a technology leader with a passion for healthcare, he has piloted his treatment programme via his own software and the AI tools that we all have access to. The result has seen him outlive his original diagnosis four-fold and he&rsquo;s showing no signs of slowing down.
He&rsquo;s also outspoken about what those same AI tools should mean for the health system, and he sees opportunities to overtake our unaffordable current approach to healthcare and move directly to a new way, one which sees the patient at the centre of their own care and AI providing the interface between the system and the needs of the population.&nbsp;
This is the opportunity to hear from a man who is a massively successful New Zealand entrepreneur. But that man is also patient in our health system, one with strong and well qualified opinions on the future direction of one of our government&rsquo;s biggest challenges.&nbsp;
Leaders Getting Coffee &ndash; Episode 63 with Bruce Cotterill and Ian McCrae, Founder of Orion Health and Brain Tumour patient.
Download it here.

Kiwis seem to be debating the big issues more than ever before. Whether it’s house prices, the state of the economy, or the performance of our political leaders, most of us aren’t lacking for an opinion.

One of the things we don’t talk about that much is the need for good leadership. And it’s not just the politicians that need to take note. Whether you are running a sports team, a small business, a big business, or even a school, good leadership will see goals achieved and better outcomes generated.

Join company director and business adviser Bruce Cotterill as he talks to leaders about leadership. 

Kiwis seem to be debating the big issues more than ever before. Whether it’s house prices, the state of the economy, or the performance of our political leaders, most of us aren’t lacking for an opinion.
One of the things we don’t talk about that much is the need for good leadership. And it’s not just the politicians that need to take note. Whether you are running a sports team, a small business, a big business, or even a school, good leadership will see goals achieved and better outcomes generated.
Join company director and business adviser Bruce Cotterill as he talks to leaders about leadership.