Diabetics Doing Things with Sean Salmon, EVP and President Medtronic Diabetes

[00:00:00] Rob Howe: Hello ladies and germs, it's Rob. I'm back after a little bit of an inconsistent posting schedule recently. COVID-19, I guess I can blame it on that. Maybe it's just stress. Anyhow, one of the benefits of COVID-19 is the scheduling aspect of things. People are more available. And I got some time with a very special guy. He is the Executive Vice President of Medtronic Diabetes. His name is Sean Salmon. And many of you know that I'm a Medtronic Diabetes ambassador, a MiniMed Ambassador. So I occasionally get some access behind the scenes at Medtronic to interview some of the business leaders behind the scenes at diabetes. So while Sean doesn't live with diabetes himself, I think you'll be extremely, extremely surprised at how insightful he is about a patient's life with diabetes behind the scenes. All right, with that, I'm going to turn it over to me for this interview with Sean Salmon. Welcome to Diabetics Doing Things. This is my podcast, and I've been working closely with Medtronic over the past few years to collaborate on some really cool interviews, and I'm super excited to introduce you, Sean Salmon, as the guest today. We're telling the stories of amazing people living with diabetes from all across the world, and that includes leaders in diabetes. So why don't you introduce yourself to the Diabetics Doing Things community and what you do at Medtronic Diabetes?

[00:01:28] Sean Salmon: Great, Rob. Thanks so much for the opportunity. My name is Sean Salmon. I'm a recently appointed president of the diabetes group at Medtronic. So I think I've been in a role now for just about six months. But I had spent about 16 years with Medtronic, which is a little bit more than half of my career. So long time Medtronic employee and first time caller.

[00:01:53] Rob Howe: First time caller. Yeah. And I think we will have a little bit of a talk radio rhythm to this interview. So kind of before we get into the meat and the bones of this interview, obviously 16 years of Medtronic, you've seen a lot of things and really looking forward to your perspective on how all that experience with Medtronic is transitioning to you now leading the diabetes side. I'd like to get to know you a little bit personally. You mentioned it's about half your career has been spent at Medtronic. I'd love to know kind of what led you into this line of work and a little bit about

[00:02:25] Sean Salmon: yourself and your family as well. Yeah, sure. So I guess if I go all the way back, I was, when I was an undergraduate, I was a pre-med major. I'm still a pre-med major, but I had this desire to go into healthcare. After getting injured, I was a scholar athlete and I got a bad ankle injury playing basketball and wound up getting surgery and couldn't compete any longer after that. So it kind of led me to an interest in healthcare. And as I said, I started out on the intent of going to medical school and somewhere along the way, I kind of got derailed. I was doing some translational research. That's preclinical research that gets moved into a human experiment in a hospital in Boston where I'd worked. And I guess there's what I had my cathartic awakening that health care wasn't really, at least in academic medicine in Boston, wasn't what I thought it was. So I wound up actually joining a company, one of the first companies to pioneer a minimally invasive procedure to treat heart disease. And it's sort of just a series of accidents. I got into that side of cardiology and saw just a ton of innovation over the last 30 years. it's really been pretty remarkable. And I've done the last majority of my career in the kind of switch between medical devices, did some time in pharmaceuticals and back to medical devices with Medtronic. I came here to turn around one of the businesses in the cardiology space and have spent the last 16 years building that business out. It's just been a remarkable journey and done a lot of really interesting things beyond just the coronary arteries, we've moved to heart valve disease and treatment for high blood pressure as well. Very novel device-based treatment for that, which is just getting its evidence together now. But it's been a really amazing journey.

[00:04:27] Rob Howe: Thank you for sharing, Sean. I think for most of our listeners have an idea of what Medtronic does in the diabetes space, but maybe you could take a minute and talk about some of the other devices that Medtronic produces and is the market leader in? I know you mentioned cardiology, where you, the business unit, but maybe just give us a little peek behind the curtain of everything that Medtronic has its hands in.

[00:04:53] Sean Salmon: Well, it's not, we've got that much time, but it's a big company and it's, yeah, no, it's, you know, Medtronic's foundation was, it was literally founded in a garage in Northern Minnesota by an electrical engineer in partnership with a physician. And they were working on a device to restore conduction or your normal heartbeat. That was really the genesis of the company, so something called a pacemaker. And we've got now, in addition to that pacemaker part of cardiology, it's moved into all kinds of different appliances for vascular disease or that happened to your legs or it happened to your heart, heart valve disease like I described before. a myriad of electrical conduction problems that require treatment with device-based therapies. That's just all sort of in the cardiology realm. And we use some of the similar devices, those neurostimulators for pain management. We use them for movement disorders. We use them for something called deep brain stimulation, which can help with like Parkinson's disease and just a huge array of certain neurological and pain conditions that we treat. We also have probably the largest endosurgery business or general surgery business in the world. These are minimally invasive and maximally invasive ways of conducting surgery in the chest and the abdomen. There's a whole myriad of diseases. With the spinal division, we have a neurovascular division for strokes, ear, nose, and throat. So probably the one that's most top of mind right now is the critical care business that serves the current COVID crisis. We make ventilators and pulse oximetry machines, a lot of the critical care machines that are used for the sickest of patients that are in surgical and intensive care units and hospitals. So a big company, I'm sure I left a bunch out.

[00:06:48] Rob Howe: Sorry for interrupting. I know that I've seen some chatter and people who are Twitter users and kind of involved in the Twitter sphere may have seen some information regarding the ventilators from Medtronic and SpaceX and Elon Musk talking about providing some ventilators to hospitals that were in need throughout the country, which is pretty cool to see Medtronic's name on that.

[00:07:14] Sean Salmon: Yeah, that's been an interesting collaboration. It turns out that there's a critical component for those ventilators that it's the hardest thing for us to source. And it's really kind of a negating item that's kept a lot of the ventilator production from being available to us. And it turns out that SpaceX, part of Tesla, makes a nearly identical part. And they vertically integrate. They make it themselves. So it's been a great partnership to kind of unclog the supply chain and make sure that we can supply the world.

[00:07:43] Rob Howe: Definitely. and obviously the quarantine, COVID-19, coronavirus are top of mind for Medtronic patients all over the world. Taking the scope of that down a little bit, how are you and your family doing and how are you guys keeping busy during this time at home? I've done a little bit of research on you, so I know your dog is named Zamboni, so there's going to be some sort of hockey component there.

[00:08:11] Sean Salmon: Yeah, so look, we've been trying to find creative ways to keep the kids occupied and busy. It's really fun, honestly, to be together as a family. I don't think we spent as much time together, probably ever. So for the last six months coming in this role, I've been on a lot of airplanes, and it's just been great to have a family together. We're finding a new appreciation for teachers now. My wife and I are getting some experience with some homeschooling, which has been fun and interesting. But, you know, we've been playing games. We've been doing a huge project list of things I've been trying to get done around the house for years. And, you know, cooking a lot, which has been fun, teaching the kids how to cook. They're not helping that much, but it's kind of fun to engage them in that. And, of course, Zamboni, who you mentioned, is getting a lot of walks, probably more than he's ever had in his life. He's also thrilled to be here. He's happy that everybody's here to pay attention to him. I don't have a hockey story for Zamboni. He's actually, we had this, I could tell you the story if you want. It'll take a while.

[00:09:16] Rob Howe: Well, I mean, let's do the cliff notes. Why not?

[00:09:19] Sean Salmon: Okay. So the quick story is I lost a bet to my son, a bet I never thought I was going to lose, my oldest son. And the bet was that if he won, we would get a family dog. And we'd put our dog down a couple of years prior to that. And my wife had just swore we couldn't go through that pain and agony again. never never again we get a dog I lost the bet didn't want to renege on it so we wound up taking the kids down to a farm here in Sonoma County where I live and this is an interesting place because they bring in dogs from kill shelters there's a program called pause for pilots pilots for pause me that wrong and they rescue dogs from kill shelters and bring them to this farm and we went there and there's just this puppy field and among the 20 or so dogs are there it as one dog just really stood out, just great sweet temperament. And his shelter name was Zamboni. Nobody knew why. I think that they just randomly named dogs, but it seemed to fit him. He kind of looks like one. He licks a lot. So it's probably a good fitting name for him, but nothing to do with hockey.

[00:10:25] Rob Howe: Great. Well, I think, you know, part of, I don't have to do an extensive customer research study to know that my guests love pet stories and dog stories specifically. So thanks for giving us a little bit of insight as to what things are like in the Salman household. So shifting gears a little bit, I want to talk about your career. You're at Medtronic for 15 years. The opportunity to come over to the diabetes side presents itself. What drew you into that opportunity? And what do you see that's intriguing about diabetes in 2020 and beyond? What challenges are there that you and your team were focused on?

[00:11:07] Sean Salmon: You know, it's interesting. I spent a lot of time, you know, in healthcare and diabetes has always been sort of a comorbid condition of heart disease that I've dealt with. And I worked on a couple of drugs in the field too, more on the type 2 side of things. And you know, I told you the story and the conversation we had, but the very first time I managed an employee was when I was working at Johnson & Johnson and she was a type 1 diabetic, probably on the, like the very first mini med pump that ever came out. It was a while ago. And, um, you know, just seeing how she struggled through her condition and you deal with it and just the, the extra effort that she had put in. And she is, she was a very inspiring person, you know, took care of her own diabetes and really had a great career. It was just really productive, really inspiring. Kind of like, I guess, like the people you feature in your podcast, just somebody doing some really amazing things. And so she inspired me. And then it always had been something that had been on my mind. And I guess fast forward a few years later, my wife had developed gestational diabetes when twins were, when she was pregnant with twins. And so we had to stick her fingers and counter carbs. And we did wind up in the ER one day for what we thought was a DKA, but it wasn't. She actually had some other condition going on. But those were sort of things that were there along the way. Had friends with diabetes, type 1 and type 2. And I think the most motivating thing for me was about the time that they started talking to me about the job, maybe six months before that. A good colleague and friend of mine at Medtronic, his daughter, who's the same age as my twins, was diagnosed. And now here's somebody that he and his wife are just such impressive people. And he climbs mountains for fun. They've traveled, they've backpacked all through Asia. They've been through just all kinds of trials and tribulations in their life. And their daughter's diagnosis is just so, it just floored them so much. And just to see the way they struggled. And these are two highly accomplished, bright people who, you know, I just can't imagine what it must be like for people with less capability, less means to have to deal with this struggle. That really motivated me. There's no secret that Medtronic is really not performing at the level that they should be for patients. We're not coming up with the kind of technologies and innovation cadence that we should be. One of the things that really motivated me to take the job was he told me, I need you to go help do this. can you go help do this? And, um, no, it was just something that I really wanted to go do. There's a lot of things I can do at Medtronic. There's a lot of opportunities, but it's a place I think I can really help make a difference and it's such an important place to help. And, uh, I think we've got all the capabilities, which is the good news. Um, I think it's just a difference in the way we are approaching things. be a little more mindful about what we're trying to do is fit into making the life of somebody living with the disease or somebody who loves somebody who lives with the disease just that much easier and you know he gave me after I did accept the job and gave me a little going away party for my last job he gave me this clock that I keep on my desk and it's it's a countdown clock. That clock is days before his daughter goes off to college. It's just a reminder of how important this is to get it right. As a parent myself, that fact that 17-year-old, he's going off to college next year. I'm terrified to let him go off into the world. I can't imagine that in a world where you've got a child suffering with type 1 diabetes. His his challenge and his motivation to me has really been feeling me to say, look, we, we can make this, we can try to take the burden of disease down. We can try to make the reliability of managing this disease better. And just allow people to forget a little bit about what just consumes them 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So that's, that's sort of the story of how I got engaged in this.

[00:15:28] Rob Howe: Wow. We, that story is, is powerful. and I suppose for you as well, very poignant, getting to see that clock ticking down every day as you kind of sit at your desk going about your business and it's there as a reminder. I want to focus on something that you said that really stuck out to me. I do interviews with business leaders quite often and I think it's pretty rare that somebody comes on the show and says that as a whole sort of blanket statement, we're not doing the best job that we could be doing. Like you just said in that previous answer, you know, what comes to mind when you think of the things that you and your team are now focused on doing better for patients? Obviously, you know, you mentioned being mindful of the entire life and of all the things that people with diabetes are going through and are striving for. But, you know, knowing that you want to do a better job than what's currently being done or what's been done historically, what specifically comes to mind for you?

[00:16:26] Sean Salmon: Yeah. You know, it's interesting. this part of Medtronic's been really purpose-driven all along, and the passion in the people that work in the diabetes business is really something special, even within Medtronic, a company that's known for its just caring approach to driving innovation. And I think that there's been this really well-intentioned effort to come up with what's been termed this artificial pancreas, all the way back to the MiniMed days, it's been this driving purpose. And I think that Along the way, things like the 670G have come along as the first automated insulin delivery device that are really fantastic in terms of the kind of outcomes that could be produced for time and range being in a great place. But there's attacks to that, one that's bounded by some of the safety conditions around the device and some of just the abundance of caution, I suppose, for turning over control to a machine the first time that was done. And what it's sort of the net effect that has been, the way people feel about being interrupted to take a calibration and alerts, alarms, are just burdensome. And the idea of a pancreas is you don't have to think about it. It just sort of does its job. And we've added burden to the disease. We've also fallen behind on some important things that we invented, like a continuous glucose monitoring. We invented that field a long time ago along with insulin pumps and didn't really prioritize again that user experience. How easy can that be? Whether that's as simple as how difficult is it to tape on or the requirement for calibration or a lot of other things. The good news is that all the competencies are there. We can make it a lot better, a lot simpler, and there's a lot in the pipeline that's going after that now. But really trying to balance that, trying to get the right mix between providing excellent glycemic control, but really building on the freedom that we can offer. No matter how people choose to manage their disease, whether they just want insights from a CGM, whether they want full automation, there's a whole range of things. But putting on equal footing, really, the experience of a patient that's going to live with their disease and our technology. And that experience transcends just the product, right? It goes to everything that we do, from the quality and capability of our training, the support that we can provide 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that should be consistent. So that entire experience of service and technology, as well as how we innovate toward, you know, some of the things that are really exciting that we're working on, the ability that you could take one of the bigger variables that are sort of left to solve is just meal handling. And there's some really exciting things that we can do with the data science that can very accurately predict and confirm that you're eating. And you can manage the basal and bolus completely automatically if that's what somebody wants to do, if they want to turn that control over. We also are working on technologies that can give insights that just for things like if you want to exercise and you want to be able to predict how much should you eat for carbs prior to that workout. And just based on knowing you, the artificial intelligence algorithms they're working on, you can train these algorithms so that they really can highly personalize that decision you're going to make. Or if you're going to stack insulin because you've had something to eat and you want to know if it's going to take effect. So all the kind of guesswork and mental calculation and things that can really burden a patient, we have the capabilities of fixing. and it's really exciting to be able to work in a place that's got all this capability. We just got to make sure that we tune in also to how do people want to experience that? How much are they willing to do to train an algorithm, if anything? And there's going to be different preferences for that. So it's very exciting and it's very interesting. But I think the good news is that nobody really ever lost their passion or their interest. I think it was sort of maybe an unintended consequence of being there first with a technology that really added burden, but had also a lot of benefit. I mean, people forget what it was like to sleep through the night that first time without having to worry. So, you know, the 670G has been really, truly remarkable, and the 510 has been remarkable, but we clearly can do better, and we will. We've got a lot of great improvements to make, but the technology side, as I said, is just part of it right the other part of it is that that lifelong experience that partnership that we hope to have with people is uh it's something that we can really just uh continuously improve you know

[00:21:19] Rob Howe: you hear a lot in the community like diabetes is different for everyone or my diabetes isn't the same as your diabetes you know regardless of type right and you know people have different preferences different behaviors, different interests, different ideas of what a life looks like. I think it's a good time to kind of transition into the campaign, like more worry less, like as you guys are continuing to innovate and focus on those core products and really bring those up. The idea is very tangible to somebody like me, who's really concerned about being able to do the things that I want to do to, you know, as a diabetic doing things. Now, as you guys are, you know, thinking about, you know, patience and, and living more, worrying less, taking away some of that mental burden, any particular wins that you think you mentioned, you know, sleeping through the night. And it's funny, it's very tangible to me, because in between the time that we talked last time, and this time, someone had messaged me on Instagram, just asking about saying, hey, I think I'm going to switch over to 670G. What do you think? It's in my consideration set. And a number of things that I love about the system and things that I've learned about it over the years, but one that I for sure take for granted is I wake up in range every day, and nights are just very predictable for me. And I thought in that moment, it's like, that might be the most impactful thing to tell this person is like, simply if I had to just say one thing that I really like is that I don't really worry about morning blood sugars. Certainly, I still have diabetes, but that little win there creates enough space for me to go continue to do and live the life that I want to live. When you think of things like that for patients, what comes to mind?

[00:23:10] Sean Salmon: Well, I think you're right that everybody's experience is different. Everyone's motivations are different. And I think the campaign you mentioned, there's a lot of things that people worry about that that go beyond their technology or even the challenges they have day to day with their disease, which just seems randomly different some days, it's an expensive disease to have. There's a lot of worry that people have now about they continue to have insurance or they have employment. So there's a lot of things that people worry about that doesn't stop us from trying to drive innovation, which can take away incrementally the things that people don't wanna deal with. I've talked about meal handling, that forgetting to bolus is a big stress for parents of teenagers. You know, they're constantly annoying their kids about, did you bolus, did you bolus? And being able to do that in a discreet way remotely from a phone or a watch is something we're working on. And also making it happen automatically. The next iteration of our product will do that for small meals. And then ultimately, you know, we get to the point where you can, I've talked about these algorithms and what's interesting about AI is you can train these things. The more information you give an algorithm, the more customized it gets. So I use the analogy with my team. It's sort of like, you know, if you want to go get fit, you can start walking. That's a great way to get fit. It's good for your cardiovascular health. Or you can take on a rigorous exercise program like a P90X, you know, something really challenging. And you have to have those different selectable options for people. So maybe somebody wants to have the easiest possible automated system, we can offer them a really good time and range, you know, 70% at the ADA guideline level. But just the convenience of not having to think about things or do much. And others are going to be like, you know, ultramilers. You're trying to get every ounce of mileage out of the gallon of gas they have in their car, and they want to make sure that they're really tuning that system exactly how they are, how they want it to be. And we'll be able to offer that range of capabilities depending on how much interaction you want to have with technology. It's not forever. I mean, these algorithms learn over a period of time, and then it continuously upgrades and personalizes and personalizes beyond that. But life is variable too, right? You have to deal with stress and illness and other things that kind of come along with it that can kind of throw an algorithm off. But it is really incredible how the technology can be deeply personalized for those who want to deal with it. But recognize that those choices that people make, where it's just not as all-consuming for other people that want to really tune it up and they want to do good enough and live a normal life. And I think we can offer a range of benefit even with the same product.

[00:25:57] Rob Howe: Awesome. It's awesome to hear that. You mentioned uncertainty around different variables for patients, whether it's financial, physical, or health-related. right now, a big variable has thrown a wrench in everyone's engine. And I would guess is probably the number one cause of anxiety for people, whether they have diabetes or not, they're worried about COVID-19, they're worried about coronavirus. And that extends into those variables like finances and physical health. So how is Medtronic supporting the diabetes community right now? And how are you thinking about patients at this time?

[00:26:34] Sean Salmon: Yeah, we're thinking a lot about patients right now. I guess you kind of think about what we had to go do, like everybody else in the world. We moved our entire workforce to work from home, those who could work from home. Obviously, if you're in a distribution center or in a factory that makes these products for our suppliers, they have to be in the buildings that they're at. So the first thing we're trying to do is make sure the community gets their supplies. And that's no small challenge, making sure that you have a functioning supply chain globally that works. It was, you know, when we picked people up and moved them physically to their homes to make sure that we continue to give product support, technical support on the phone, the ability to order. So all of that's been stood up in a relatively seamless way. We were able to keep, you know, wait times down. We also had, gratuitously, launched a web-based tool that you could, from a computer or any kind of device, mobile device, order your supplies without having to call into customer service. You can check on the progress of those orders. So it's been really kind of helpful for a lot of people to be able to just have the peace of mind. They can put their supplies, like on a standing order, so they don't have to think about it anymore. It's going to show up. But we've also had to, you know, get creative in the way we do things like for patients, new starting therapies, or even a lot of the endocrinology offices, we've been helping them transition to this sort of mobile way of working. So we've been leveraging all the technology, Skype and all these technologies to really kind of move that to a more remote experience. And that might have some enduring benefit, but there's some real convenience factor for certain patients that they just don't want to have to go into a healthcare facility right now. And to be able to get on therapy without having to do that has been something that people have really appreciated and enjoyed. And I think on this financial strain side of things, now this is evolving. We're working with a few of the charities for some contributions specifically for supplies. And of course, we have a patient financial service number. In fact, I could just plug the phone number here for anybody who may be interested in this. Our financial services team is there available to take questions and to help people through any kind of loss of content in our supplier or their job. The phone number for that is 800-646-4633. That's 800-646-4633. And then you select option number four in the prompts there. So, you know, there's a ton that's going on here. and trying to try to help people in the community. It's been, you know, we also have, you know, Medtronix is a big company, so there's a lot we're also doing on the charitable contribution side. We have a foundation that gives a lot of money. We've gifted something like $11 million out to various charities, not necessarily specific to diabetes, but around there. And we have a matching program all the time. But during this period of crisis, the company has stood up a two-for-one match. So for every dollar that an employee contributes, Medtronic will put in $2 to match that. And a couple of things to do. And I'm personally doing the JDRF virtual ride right now and trying to fundraise a little bit there and trying to get everybody else to stay active at home and do a little good while they're doing it. So those dollars, again, are company matched for all those kinds of contributions. We're doing what we can and trying to take care of each other and take care of our patients and their providers as well. There's a fair amount of pain and suffering going around out there. We're trying to be here for people.

[00:30:24] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I think that for sure, that's appreciated. Like you said, it's not always directly associated with diabetes, but there's a lot of pain and suffering out in the world right now for reasons surrounding the pandemic. And I'm glad that you guys are doing your part and leading the way there. How's your ride training? I went to my first JDRF ride last year. That is a significant event. I don't even think I was prepared for it. It is a crazy amount of energy. Training for Amelia Island, yeah, there's a, I will warn you, there's a long bridge. I think at sort of the end point of one of the of the course right before a turnaround and it's like two miles gradually up a hill the whole way so that was the feedback from the Medtronic team last year was they were they weren't quite prepared for that last hit

[00:31:17] Sean Salmon: all right well that sounds that sounds okay yeah I've been riding about 20-25 miles a day no one's clocking my mileage so you'll check my word for it it's all been a stationary bike we're not supposed to be on the trails out here. So I'm just sitting on the stationary bike, plugging away at it, but I'll be ready for Amelia Island. That doesn't scare me. We've got big hills around here. So I can't wait to get back out there and tackle some of those. Cycling is kind of one of my stress relieving hobbies. It's really fortuitous. I get to do this activity I love and do some good with it.

[00:31:52] Rob Howe: Definitely. And I think I am in the same boat as you because I know I'm looking forward to the next time that we're all gathered together as a diabetes community, like all of us in the same place together. You know, a big part of my, you know, work that I do with Diabetics Doing Things is like in-person interactions with people with diabetes. And I know I'm feeling the distance from now and I'm sure many others are as well. So looking forward to seeing the next JDRF ride where we're all back out together supporting, you know, a great cause, you know, for diabetes and for people with diabetes. So looking forward to, you know, that being part of the future.

[00:32:33] Sean Salmon: Absolutely. Can I draft on your wheel? Is that okay? Yeah, yeah. Great draft.

[00:32:37] Rob Howe: I'm a big guy, so I eat a lot of wind. So if you want to draft on my wheel, you're more than welcome. So as we kind of think about, you know, going forward with Medtronic Diabetes, Like, what is one thing you'd like someone with diabetes who's listening to this to know about the direction of Medtronic Diabetes under your leadership and what you hope to gain from the work that you're doing?

[00:33:02] Sean Salmon: Look, I think the first and most important thing that people should know is that Medtronic Diabetes business is filled with just some really remarkable people that truly have a passion to help. They really care. They're really engaged in trying to figure out how to use innovation to make life better. And, you know, it's remarkable, just the spirit and passion that's there. And I think there's been a lot of energy, a lot of acceptance about a different focus that I talked about, just being really more holistic about how we can care for patients and really returning to the core business. I think we got a little bit off track and a couple things we're experimenting with. But the passion is there, the capabilities there. I think when those things are working well, solutions are just right behind the corners, right around the corner from that. So I think we've got a great group of people. We've got all the right capabilities. We have to do better, and we will.

[00:34:02] Rob Howe: Yeah, definitely. And I think as an ambassador, it's important for me to hear that, but also as a patient. Somebody who wears the therapy, it's good to know. And I think one of the things that I've been most surprised by in my time working closer with Medtronic than a lot of patients get to be is how much the people behind the scenes know about the individual challenges and struggles and needs and wants of people with diabetes who are on the other side. You know, from UX team to the design team to the product team to the customer service team to the marketing team and kind of everywhere in between, people at Medtronic understand what people with diabetes want and are working towards those solutions for them for better outcomes. And I think it's just as a patient, getting to see people whose career it is to, whose job it is to make a better life for people with diabetes is particularly inspiring. So thank

[00:34:58] Sean Salmon: you. Thank you. So it gets us out of bed every morning, Rob. It really is.

[00:35:05] Rob Howe: Thanks again to Medtronic Diabetes for making this happen. And thanks to you for listening. Again, some of those links that Sean mentioned in our interview, I'm going to publish in the show notes. So if you're looking for something specific, be sure to check those out. See you next time.