Joe Buttacavoli | VP Finance - Americas
As the only Nanosonics team member to have worked out of both the company headquarters in Sydney, Australia as well as in the US, Joe Buttacavoli, VP of Finance in the Americas, brings a unique perspective to the company that has grown from a young start-up, into a global enterprise during his tenure of just over a decade.
“When I first joined Nanosonics in 2008, there were only 34 full-time employees in the entire company, and the trophon device was still in product development. After learning about trophon technology, I was intrigued by the innovation and the prospect of disrupting a niche area of the infection prevention market. The positive impact that this product could have on people’s lives, and the environment, was compelling to me and I wanted to be part of the team supporting the commercial launch and adoption.”
“In my first role at Nanosonics I was supporting the corporate finance function as the Management Accountant. One of the most important responsibilities at that time was cash management including forecasting our cash flow. Sales could not come soon enough as our team was in the process of working to obtain the regulatory approvals required to commence sales into the Australian and New Zealand markets. The thought of attaining FDA approval and launching sales in the US was beyond our forecast view. To think that 14 years later, we would be celebrating the 25,000th trophon device installed in North America is truly an incredible accomplishment.”
While Nanosonics has successfully grown and redefined the global standard of care in ultrasound infection prevention, a few growing pains along the way ultimately cultivated a space in which creativity, collaboration and a shared mission, came together. “There was certainly no shortage of challenges over the years at Nanosonics. In the early days we had a cross functional team implementing an ERP system capable of meeting our manufacturing, quality and financial reporting requirements. This included designing new processes for the commercial business we were aspiring to be ahead of product launch. Our team was fortunate to have systems experts in our corner to guide us through those fun war room sessions where the underlying systems infrastructure supporting the business was born.”
However, the Nanosonics team shared more than just a workspace and a goal to improve healthcare practices for infection prevention – they also made time for some fun and friendly competition. “When I was in Sydney, we had a Nanosonics football (soccer) team with lunchtime games every Tuesday at the sports facility across the street. Individuals from all different departments in the company were involved. Win, lose or draw, these games were a highlight of many work weeks!”
Joe continued to serve in various capacities in the company, in both Australia and later the US, as Nanosonics also continued to grow. “For a six-month period, I worked as the acting CFO, prior to our current executive, McGregor Grant’s appointment. This provided the opportunity to work directly with the Board on matters including the incorporation of our US legal entity. I then continued to serve as the Financial Controller prior to handing over my duties to Marydith Palazo upon moving back to the US in 2012.
The fun continued years later in 2015, when I was offered an opportunity to rejoin Nanosonics in a US-based role to lead the finance and administrative operations for the North America region as the company began building out the direct sales, distribution and service business. It was neat to be, shall I say a boomerang, and reconnect with colleagues in Australia while now working across the Pacific with the Regional Leadership team to extend the reach of the trophon product in my home country. I can say that regardless of physical location, our global team shared a common vision and belief that the trophon technology would revolutionize ultrasound probe high level disinfection (HLD) reprocessing, and this was a motivating force in our contributions each day. Today, Nanosonics employs over 330 people globally, with more than 80 in North America and growing.
I’m incredibly proud to be part of a team that has taken a new and innovative product from development, through commercial launch and now being the standard of care in North America, having a positive impact on millions of lives. This really hit home for me personally, when my wife was pregnant and we walked into a Scripps Health facility for her ultrasound, and saw a trophon device prominently displayed in the room!”
The trophon® family includes trophon® EPR and trophon®2, which share the same core technology of ‘sonically activated’ hydrogen peroxide.
