About this episode
In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Massimiliano (Max) Colella, CEO of CMR Surgical.CMR Surgical is developing Versius, a surgical robot designed to make minimally invasive procedures more accessible across specialties.Max brings more than three decades of healthcare leadership experience spanning medtech and hospital systems. He previously held leadership roles at Johnson & Johnson and Smith & Nephew across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, and later served as CEO of Evercare Group, a TPG portfolio company.In this interview, Max discusses how to prioritize capital allocation between platform development and product line expansion, when internal processes need restructuring, the importance of having the right culture, and why undertaking market research ahead of launching into a new market is crucial. He also shares his approach to hiring — and on maintaining clear board governance boundaries.Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:First, if you’re into learning from medical device founders and CEOs and want to know when new interviews are live, head over to Medsider.com and sign up for our free newsletter.And if you’re ready to level up your medtech game, you should check out Medsider Courses — 8-week masterclasses covering topics like fundraising, M&A and exit planning, design and development, clinical and regulatory strategy, and commercialization.These courses, featuring hard-earned lessons from elite medtech CEOs, can be purchased individually or come free with our All-Access Pass.If you'd rather read than listen, here's a link to the full interview with Max Colella. KEY MOMENTS FROM THE INTERVIEW(03:08) - An overview of Max's background and the journey that led him to CMR Surgical
(06:53) - Why Max chose surgical robotics — and how Versius is designed to differentiate from existing systems
(16:18) - How Max restructured internal processes at CMR to eliminate large-company bureaucracy
(21:09) - How market research reshaped CMR’s U.S. strategy beyond ambulatory surgery centers
(28:48) - Max’s capital allocation philosophy: prioritize system performance and stability before expanding capabilities
(32:19) - Max's take on Techmed and the future of robotics
(36:36) - Why clearly defined roles between board and management are critical for governance
(41:10) - Max’s philosophy around hiring for mindset over skill
