The Man With The Magic Touch
By Tim Moran, X-OLOGY Magazine, A publication of Automation AlleyChristophe Sevrain can see all the pieces of technological magic that exist in Michigan. He's also the business magician who knows how to bring them together in new and exciting ways that draw gasps of admiration, even from people who knew each one of those pieces before.
But unlike a stage magician, Sevrain, 44, stands behind his legerdemain. He'll explain it, patiently. He'll admit the things he doesn't know, and, if the process seems to be going wrong, he marches forward to claim responsibility and to make it work.
His Bloomfield Hills-based consultancy CJPS Enterprises has been doing business since 2000. He began it in Chicago following a two-year stint with Baxter Health Systems. Sevrain's area of expertise has been high-tech medical products focusing on point-of-care patient diagnosis, real-time medical data management and medical cost containment.
"Sometimes I may have ruffled feathers a little bit. My job wasn't to be a nice guy. It was to get results. That was why we got it done."
"There's a great opportunity to lower the cost of healthcare, without always using the hospital. Get the hospital focused on what they do best. We don't do surgery at home," Sevrain says, noting that quick, accurate diagnosis at clinics, doctors' offices and care facilities outside of the hospital can help cut the workload at the vital centers.
Companies he has worked with have created products including wand-like hand-held sensors for on-site chemical analysis of patient samples, a rapid-screening device to identify promising drug compounds and a specialized pocket device that allows physicians to carry and update full patient records electronically.
"Really, since I started my career I've always been in medical devices. So all the companies I've been involved with either were medical device companies or had a business in the medical field. That's why we have developed more knowledge and strength in that industry, even though our skills are really not limited.
"Strategic planning, that's not medical device-specific. Outsourcing, that's not either. But if you go to our Web site, you will see that our connections are really in the medical device industry," says Sevrain, gesturing broadly as he speaks. Though he's been away from his native France for decades, the rapid-fire delivery and Parisian accent mark his conversation.
"So we are known for that Rolodex" of high-tech medical clients, he continues. "We are also known for being very hands-on. Unlike most other consulting firms that give advice, counsel and market research, we are actually very known for the execution.
Michigan companies also have the kind of expertise in logistics, manufacturing and quality that the medical industry treasures.
"A good example of that is Delphi," he says. Sevrain put his consulting business on hiatus for two years to work as the head of the automotive supplier's attempt to diversify into medical services, a move that was meant to leverage the company's engineering and materials technology in order to generate a non-automotive revenue stream. Sevrain's firm was called in to help Delphi plan the new business.
"Delphi wrote a plan that did not work. It was not until I got into Delphi that the sales happened, quickly," he says.
Why didn't the initial plan work? Sevrain says that part of the problem in any industry is what happens when an answer is imposed from outside, without an inside hand to interpret or implement it. Without such commitment, it is hard for others to buy into the plan.
Many consultants could have pocketed their fee and simply blamed Delphi's large size or the nature of an auto supplier not ready to build medical devices. Not Sevrain, who threw himself into Delphi's medical operations and rapidly built sales.
"Sometimes I may have ruffled feathers a little bit. My job wasn't to be a nice guy. It was to get results. That was why we got it done. And it worked, and it was fine, and then you make friends."
Metaphor for Michigan?
For Sevrain, the Delphi experience is something of a metaphor for Michigan. The state seems too comfortable, too long-term, too self-deprecating to realize its enormous opportunities, he says.
Since moving to the state in 2003 to follow the career of his wife, an automotive executive, Sevrain has been surprised at the assets he's found. There are great schools for their four children, ages 6 months to 17 years; the people are great and it's a state where the work ethic is very good, he says.
"I didn't think I'd have many clients in the state. When we came, I didn't think of Michigan as being very 'medical,' but I said the key is to have an airport and I'm easy. Now we've committed to staying. We love it here. It's great for the kids," he says.
Michigan companies also have the kind of expertise in logistics, manufacturing and quality that the medical industry treasures - as well as assets like a huge installed base of plastics-makers, high-tech manufacturing equipment, a knowledgeable workforce and just-in-time inventory experience.
But he's noticed that a history of big-industry thinking may have insulated people from automatically taking the kinds of entrepreneurial risks that lead to technology growth and entrepreneurial success.
"I think we have to do things that are less comfortable. And you don't get breakthrough results with incremental thinking. I think you really need to take a little risk, you know, but it has to be uncomfortable. Otherwise, it just doesn't happen; otherwise, we would have done it already. It takes a little different thinking," he declares.
"The key is putting competent people in charge and allowing them to operate. Too often, people want the newcomers to fit in their mold. Allowing the mold to be distorted is what's good for growth in new areas and creativity."
He says he finds many excellent business development tools in the state already - and expects that the environment will continue to become better for entrepreneurs.
Asked why Michigan economic leaders have often cited the need for venture capital, Sevrain rapidly apologizes for not being a VC expert. But the answer is simple, he says.
"My experience with venture capitalists is pretty good, but not very deep, because often the funding comes from strategic partnerships rather than VC. My experience with VC is that they invest in good deals wherever they are, but sometimes to make a good idea more compelling, you need to have a management team with experience in the field or you need a connection to a big company. Maybe in the past that connectivity wasn't there in Michigan because there aren't many companies that work every day with Johnson & Johnson.
"I think if we start showing good technologies and make it compelling, I think they will come here," the consultant says.
The other part of the equation, though, is that VC firms look for large investments where they can make big dollars from a success. The work of an investment is the same for $5 million as for $50 million - and Michigan entrepreneurs have tended to look only for $2-3 million at a time. The risks are small, but so are the rewards. "Maybe what we're looking for is still smaller than what [venture capitalists] want to do," he says.
Sevrain knows where all the pieces are. The audience might think the magician's top hat is empty; that the technology and the funding and the risk-taking management might never come together. Ebullient, charming, energetic, he's about to change Michigan's mindset when it comes to med tech.