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Romel Rodriguez is tackling one of the most significant and challenging issues of our time, and that suits him just fine.
“I was given a stretch assignment to oversee and assess what’s happening with tariffs in the world,” explains Rodriguez, director of supply chain management for the Cardiac Assist Product Area at Getinge. “We’re in such a dynamic geopolitical environment right now, so staying up to date on global politics and connecting that to our business strategy is, to me, very exciting.”
It’s the ideal fit for Rodriguez, who thrives under pressure. He oversees supply chain operations and drives efficiency at Getinge, which manufactures medical products with specialties in intensive care, cardiovascular procedures, and operating rooms. His areas of responsibility include purchasing, warehousing logistics, and supplier quality engineering.
The tariff initiative is providing Rodriguez and his team with an opportunity to learn and grow while also helping the company. Rodriguez guides a team of thirty, with four direct reports. His leadership style is to delegate responsibilities, avoid micromanaging, and clearly communicate the company’s strategy and why its work is important.
“It’s so important to have that sense of purpose,” Rodriguez says. “That’s the way our team stays motivated and even how I motivate myself. You’re not just doing a job. You’re part of something bigger.”
That larger sense of purpose has influenced Rodriguez’s path from the beginning. Rodriguez credits much of his resiliency and determination to his upbringing. The youngest member of his family, he was born in New York City, and his family moved back to their home country, the Dominican Republic, when he was three.
When Rodriguez was eight, his father had a stroke that revealed underlying heart issues. The family moved back to the United States, where his father recovered. Rodriguez spent a lot of time with babysitters as his mother worked long hours as a waitress to support the family. He couldn’t speak English, which embarrassed him, and so he attended an accelerated ESL class.
“Within six months, I was not only speaking the language but reading at an advanced level, so they upgraded me to an advanced reading class,” Rodriguez recounts. “It all allowed me to focus and remain determined to make things work. I saw it as my way of contributing to my father’s recovery.”
The family eventually returned to the Dominican Republic, where Rodriguez graduated from high school with honors at sixteen. He attended the Santo Domingo Institute of Technology (INTEC), the most prestigious engineering school in the Dominican Republic, on an academic scholarship.
“I want to give back to those coming from a different country who are trying to establish a career in corporate America.”
Romel Rodriguez
At such a young age, Rodriguez wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He switched programs to focus on industrial engineering after his first trimester because of a desire to improve companies through better processes and procedures.
“Industrial engineering has a very broad scope within the field,” Rodriguez notes. “You can work in the service field or manufacturing, which is where my core competency is. That’s what drove me to that decision.”
He got his start in the medical devices industry as an engineering technician at Edwards Lifesciences. The company’s mission to make people healthier gave him a sense of purpose. He spent two years at Edwards and two years at Cardinal Health, before deciding to leave the Dominican Republic, which at the time was experiencing an extreme economic crisis. He worked for Cosmetic Essence Inc. and Sabert Corp. in the United States before joining Getinge.
One of Rodriguez’s proudest accomplishments at Getinge is his leadership of a project management operations team responsible for medical equipment installations. At the time, the team had low customer satisfaction scores. Under his leadership, the team improved the overall customer experience by focusing on training, processes, and customer expectations, which led to a dramatic turnaround.
“By focusing on the key things that were impacting those customer service scores, we went from a 40 percent net promoter score to higher than 60 percent within a year or so,” Rodriguez shares.
He stepped into his current role as Getinge emerged from the pandemic, which meant he had to address a lot of supply chain challenges. “We fell into back orders because of that,” Rodriguez explains. “We climbed out of that by being strategic and intentional with measuring what mattered most and putting focus where it needed to be.
“We were able to stabilize, or rather, we are in the midst of stabilizing,” he continues. “Because you’re never done stabilizing supply chains and providing much-needed medical devices to the industry. It takes continuous and sustained improvement to do so.”
In addition to his supply chain work, Rodriguez takes special pride in working as a sponsor for Getinge’s recently launched Getinge Hispanic Network employee resource group, which focuses on community and representation. That work includes helping people with job interviews and providing them guidance on their career path.
“The ERG program is relatively new for the company, so we’re still finding our footing there,” he says. “But it’s a great group of professionals, where we share each other’s journeys and try to foster paths for others. It’s a way to give back.
“I’ve been blessed to work with a company that embraces inclusivity,” he continues. “You have to be qualified and have the merit to justify your recognition and movement within the organization. Diversity of thoughts and ideas are very important to us. I want to give back to those coming from a different country who are trying to establish a career in corporate America.”
It’s another example of Rodriguez leading by example, which is a foundation he’s built his own impressive career on.
