Michael Lobban has taken the skills he learned in the air force into the pharmaceutical industry.
What’s your story?
I am a senior international healthcare executive with 25+ years’ experience across medical devices and pharmaceuticals in regulated markets. I began my career as a medic in the Royal Air Force, shaping a disciplined, risk-aware leadership approach. I have held senior international roles with Johnson & Johnson (Acclarent), Stryker ENT/Entellus, Mentor Medical, and Boehringer Ingelheim. Currently, within Karl Storz, I work at board-adjacent level on growth strategy, market entry, distributor governance, and pricing. I bring commercial realism, operational credibility, and a governance-led mindset, and I am seeking NED and advisory roles.
What excites you most about your industry?
I work in the global medical device and healthcare innovation sector, primarily in regulated, procedure-based specialties. What excites me most is translating innovation into real clinical impact by aligning evidence, reimbursement, training, and governance. Many outside the industry underestimate how often good technology fails due to misaligned regulation, education, or market access. The sector is moving toward value-based healthcare, real-world evidence, and stronger board accountability. Organisations that integrate governance, data, and disciplined execution will deliver the most sustainable outcomes.
What drives you in your career to push beyond what other people consider normal?
What drives me is a low tolerance for complacency where outcomes matter. My early career in the Royal Air Force taught me that standards exist for a reason, and that quiet failure is often more dangerous than visible risk. I’m motivated by building things that last — whether that’s capability, governance, or culture — not by short-term wins. I tend to push beyond what feels “normal” because in regulated, high-impact environments, normal is rarely enough to deliver sustainable results or protect the people who ultimately rely on the decisions being made.
What have been the most useful skills you have learnt and applied in your journey?
The most useful skills I’ve developed are decision-making under pressure, disciplined execution, and constructive challenge. The Royal Air Force taught me how to assess risk quickly and act decisively when consequences are real. In international healthcare roles, I’ve applied this by building compliant market-entry strategies, governing distributor performance, and aligning innovation with evidence and reimbursement. Equally important has been learning when not to act, knowing when to pause, test assumptions, and ask better questions. These skills have allowed me to operate effectively across regulated environments, cultures, and organisational maturity levels.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
The best advice I received was: “Don’t confuse activity with impact.” Early in my career, it stopped me equating being busy with being effective. I’ve applied it repeatedly in senior roles, focusing teams on a small number of decisions that genuinely move outcomes, rather than endless initiatives. For example, in international market entry, prioritising evidence, reimbursement, and governance early avoided costly rework later. That mindset has helped me create sustainable growth, make better trade-offs, and challenge organisations to focus on what truly delivers long-term value.
Who inspires you?
I’m inspired by Elon Musk, not because he’s controversial, but because he consistently challenges accepted constraints. What I find most instructive is his insistence on first-principles thinking, questioning why things are done a certain way before accepting inherited assumptions. That mindset has influenced how I approach strategy and problem-solving, particularly in regulated environments, by encouraging deeper questioning rather than incremental improvement. It hasn’t changed my values, but it has reinforced the importance of intellectual courage, long-term thinking, and being comfortable standing apart from consensus when evidence supports it.
What have you learnt recently that blew you away?
Recently, what’s struck me most is how quickly real-world data and AI-driven evidence generation are beginning to influence regulatory thinking in medical devices. I work in regulated healthcare innovation, where many still assume adoption is driven by technology alone. In reality, success depends on evidence, reimbursement, training, and governance moving in step. The industry is heading toward value-based decision-making, tighter capital discipline, and far greater board accountability for outcomes. Those who integrate data, compliance, and execution, rather than treating them as silos, will define the next phase of sustainable growth.
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
If I had my time again, I would have started earlier, not by working harder, but by thinking at board level sooner. Early in my career I focused on delivery and execution; valuable, but I underestimated the impact of governance, capital allocation, and long-term strategic framing. The lesson for others is to lift your gaze earlier: understand how decisions are made, not just how work gets done. That perspective accelerates judgement, broadens influence, and ultimately makes execution more effective rather than less.
How do you unwind?
I unwind by doing things that force me to switch off mentally as well as physically. Time outdoors, whether it’s walking, fishing, or snowboarding, helps reset perspective and quiet the noise. I also value structured fitness, reading, and time with my family, which keeps me grounded and balanced. Volunteering with an out-of-hours emergency motorbike service is another way I decompress; it’s demanding but purposeful, and it reminds me why calm thinking and perspective matter, both professionally and personally.
What is a major mindset change, belief shift or ‘ah ha’ moment that you’ve experienced in relation to your career?
A major mindset shift for me came from being made redundant earlier in my career. It forced me to confront the risk of having all my eggs in one basket and assuming loyalty and performance alone guarantee security. That experience changed how I think about resilience, optionality, and long-term planning. Since then, I’ve been far more intentional about building transferable skills, broad networks, and strategic perspective rather than relying on a single role or organisation. It reinforced the importance of adaptability, not just as a career safeguard, but as a leadership mindset.
Everyone in business should read this book:
Everyone in business should read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter It challenges conventional thinking about work, income, and security, and highlights the difference between earning money and building assets. What makes it valuable isn’t that every idea is perfect, but that it forces readers to question assumptions about risk, employment, and long-term financial independence. It helped me think more deliberately about ownership, optionality, and resilience, lessons that apply as much to leadership and career planning as they do to personal finance.
Shameless plug for your business or career:
Clients should reach out to me when they need clarity in complex, regulated environments. I specialise in turning innovation into scalable, compliant growth by aligning strategy, governance, and execution. What I do better than most is bridge the gap between board-level intent and operational reality, ensuring decisions are commercially sound, risk-aware, and deliverable. With deep international experience across medical devices and healthcare, I help organisations enter markets, govern partners, and build capability in a way that creates sustainable value rather than short-term wins.
How can people connect with you?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-lobban-69848124
Social Media Links?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-lobban-69848124
This interview is part of the CallumConnects series.