Kent Thiry on intrapreneurship
From Distinguished Speakers Series: Kent Thiry, DaVita · · Duke University - The Fuqua School of Business
“We think it's terrible to create a big company that then has to survive by buying other big companies. It's terrible to become a big company and be too narrow, so that you cannot sustain growth forever. And so we think it's a absolute strategic imperative to get good at intrapreneurship.”
On , Kent Thiry, Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at DaVita, spoke about intrapreneurship during Distinguished Speakers Series: Kent Thiry, DaVita on Duke University - The Fuqua School of Business.
About Kent Thiry
In a 2017 talk at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, Kent Thiry discussed challenges in the dialysis industry, attributing "80% of the difficulties" to reimbursement cuts and emphasizing the need to adjust cost structures. He stated that the U.S. has "the most generously funded health care system in the world" and argued that the industry bears responsibility for waste, which has led to political involvement. Thiry also noted that legislation affecting kidney care, which he said accounts for 7% of the Medicare budget, had passed the House Ways and Means Committee by a vote of 39 to one, and he predicted it would save money while improving quality. Thiry reflected on his decision not to run for governor of Colorado, describing it as a choice between adding value through his current role or spending time on a potentially unproductive political campaign. He also discussed the increasing pressure on companies to take public stances on social issues, noting that while 80% of his organization supported such a stance on one issue, 80% of the board opposed it as an unnecessary risk. Additionally, he described intrapreneurship as a "strategic imperative" for companies to remain competitive.