Polarean Imaging PLC's (AIM:POLX, OTC:PLLWF) new Vice President of Sales, Alan Huang explains his background and plans to boost revenue.
Alan Huang: My background has primarily been in MedTech imaging solutions for radiology and radiation oncology departments.
I have a PhD in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, where I focused on developing novel imaging techniques within the field of magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI.
I spent the past 12 years of my career at Philips Healthcare, taking on increasing roles in research and development, marketing, product management, and sales.
My last role at Philips, before joining Polarean, was as General Manager of the MRI division for North America, where I managed an annual revenue of $300 million.
I was directly responsible for a team of about 25 people across sales and marketing. My experience is mainly in the radiology industry, but I also had roles at Philips focused on bringing new technologies to market in radiation oncology and neurology.
Proactive: What attracted you to join Polarean?
Alan Huang: I was really impressed with the leadership team, including Christopher von Jako and Alex Dusek.
I had actually met and collaborated with them during my time at Philips. I was also impressed with Polarean’s innovative functional lung imaging technology and the significant clinical challenges it addresses.
Another important factor was that Polarean has its own reimbursement code for this technology.
My experience has taught me that when you have innovative technology addressing specific clinical needs, combined with strong reimbursement dynamics, you have a recipe for growth.
I believe my background in radiology and expertise with innovative technologies can help grow Polarean to the next level.
Proactive: Can you tell us a little about your role at Polarean? What are your main focuses, and what strategies have you employed to help meet these?
Alan Huang: My main and sole responsibility is to drive revenue for the company globally.
Right now, I'm focused on the US, given our FDA approval and favourable reimbursement dynamics.
However, we are planning to form partnerships with organizations to expand our technology outside the US.
In the US, I'm guiding our sales team with a focused three-pronged strategy.
First, we’re leveraging our existing customers—about 21 of them—to drive utilization of our technology in both clinical and research settings to increase revenue.
We’re also working on upgrading our research polarizers to clinical polarizers at US customer sites, which allows them to perform clinical scans.
We've recently seen successes at Kansas University Medical Center and the University of Virginia Health System, and we're in the process of upgrading systems at institutions like Duke University and the University of Iowa.
Second, to drive new system sales, I’m developing a targeted customer segmentation strategy that focuses on high-potential opportunities to quickly generate revenue.
This approach targets sites that see high patient volumes in our primary clinical areas.
I estimate there are about 100 healthcare systems where our technology could have a significant impact, helping us grow our customer base.
Third, I'm working on business development with the three major MRI companies to boost our visibility within radiology departments.
We already have a strategic partnership with Philips and are actively strengthening our relationships with General Electric and Siemens.
In fact, later this month, we will be presenting our technology to GE’s US MRI sales team for the first time.
We've already done this with the Siemens MRI sales team, and we frequently work with Philips’ sales team due to our existing collaboration. With these efforts, I’m confident we can continue to grow sales rapidly.