Mike Mussallem (Rose-Hulman 1974), Chairman and CEO of Edwards Lifesciences, Credits Early Job Experiences, a Passion for Innovation, and Integrity as Three Cornerstones for His Success as a Leader
By Tad Lichtenauer | Director of Communications
Growing up in Gary, Ind., just outside of Chicago, as the middle son of immigrant parents from Lebanon, Mike Mussallem (Rose-Hulman 1974) learned early on the value of hard work – and also developed an early love of the Chicago Cubs, which continues today even as he now calls California home. As Mussallem reflects on experiences in his childhood or formative years that have shaped him into the leader he is today, he recalls two stories that taught him important lessons.
Mussallem shared recently with students at Georgia Institute of Technology a story describing his job as a paperboy for 72 customers in his family’s neighborhood. This job included making sure the newspapers were delivered on time and in the way each customer wanted. As a part of that job, he also had to collect 35 cents from each customer every two weeks.
“Talk about a learning experience and a sort of real-world business degree,” he said. “I learned a lot — from how to avoid dogs, to people who would duck you and not really want to pay, and other people who were so generous, and others who just wanted to talk, and everything in between. All those things sort of accumulate and turn you into who you are.”
The second story Mussallem told the students was from his time working in the steel mills during summers, weekends and school breaks, in order to fund his college education. At that time, the steel industry in the region was very active and prosperous, and jobs were readily available.
“I learned a lot in the steel mill,” he said. “What’s funny is sometimes you learn good habits and sometimes you learn how to avoid the bad ones.”
On his first day in this steel mill, he was assigned the job of painting hand rails. Full of enthusiasm to demonstrate how quickly he could finish the task, Mussallem painted a quarter mile of handrails in his first morning. During his lunch break, the union steward pulled him aside and said, “Son, you are only here for the summer. Most of us are here all the time. Why don’t you take a break this afternoon?” For Mussallem, this taught him the importance of viewing situations from diverse perspectives and understanding what motivates colleagues and employees – and the need to always align expectations.
Rose-Hulman & Lambda Chi
While enrolled at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, Mussallem decided to major in chemical engineering since he loved chemistry and math and heard that jobs in chemical engineering were interesting and lucrative. He recalls that as a young student in college, this was what he focused on most – while later on his focus broadened to career challenges, ability to positively impact society and development opportunities.
At Rose-Hulman, he also decided to join the Theta-Kappa chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha to enhance his social opportunities and have a better chance to cultivate new relationships.
“While I was raised in the Midwest, I wasn’t from the local community around Rose-Hulman, so connections like the fraternity were important for me as I made the transition into college,” Mussallem said. “Lambda Chi provided the right mix of what I was looking for both socially and in creating a community away from home. I remember my brothers as loyal, supportive and fun-loving friends whose relationships were really valuable during the stressful college years.”
Mussallem’s sophomore year presented him with a few extra challenges and another Theta-Kappa chapter member stepped in to offer support and solutions.
“One special guy to me was John White (Rose-Hulman 1974), who helped me a lot during my sophomore year, which was a challenging time for me, both academically and financially,” Mussallem said. “He lived in town, and his family took me in and provided me support until I redirected myself. It was life-changing for me and I will always remember them and the significant impact they had on my life.”
Today, John White lives in Anchorage, Alaska, is retired from British Patroleum and works as a consultant for the Alaska LNG Project. He remembers meeting Mike his freshman year and being part of a group of friends who were recruited by the chapter. Their friendship continued to grow as they went through the process of associate membership and Ritual Initiation.
White remembers how glad his family was that they could make the offer to help.
“This got him over the hump and he was able to complete school,” White said. “We were happy to have him and he has never forgotten. Certainly living with us was not as exciting as the dorm, but I remember we did a lot of homework together!”
Innovation
Mussallem went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Rose-Hulman in 1974.
After graduation, he went to work for Union Carbide making Prestone antifreeze. After that, he became interested in healthcare and medical technology, and was hired by Baxter in 1979. Over a period of 20 years with Baxter, Mussallem had a wide range of responsibilities, culminating with leadership of the company’s cardiovascular division, which was focused on development of heart valve and other heart-related technologies.
“I liked that area because it provided more immediate and personal feedback from customers about the success or failure of the heart valves being built,” he told the Georgia Tech students.
In the late 1990s as part of the company’s business analysis, Baxter’s management decided to spin off the cardiovascular unit and on April 3, 2000, Mussallem assumed leadership of the new company and rang the bell on the New York Stock Exchange, launching the beginning of Edward Lifesciences.
He has served as chairman and CEO of Edwards Lifesciences since the beginning and today the Irvine, California-based company is the global leader in patient-focused innovations for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring. To help guide the employees of Edwards Lifesciences in their daily decision-making and work – and celebrate what makes Edwards a special and unique company – Mussallem and his leadership team created the company’s “secret sauce.” The ingredients in Edwards’ secret sauce include focusing on patient first, promoting a learning culture, encouraging employees to dream big, welcoming surprises, seeking diverse perspectives, and not being afraid to make mistakes. When talking to the students at Georgia Tech about his company’s culture, he said:
“You know what, please just raise your hand and say, ‘I made a mistake, but I have plan B. We’re going to turn right and probably be able to fix this thing.’ And we’re resourceful and we’re smart and we’re going to figure it out. Let’s please admit your mistakes, not blame others, take it on and go. Learn from it. A key element to promoting and sustaining innovation is to have this type of culture.”
Integrity
Core Values form the foundation of Lambda Chi Alpha’s approach to developing young men and future leaders. The Seven Core Values that the fraternity teaches — Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Service & Stewardship, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage — equip each undergraduate brother with a clear moral compass that orients them, no matter the environment or consequences, toward making ethical decisions.
Mussallem said integrity is one value that resonates highly with him.
“Integrity is a key value both for me personally, and also for the employees of Edwards Lifesciences,” he said. “In fact, it is one of our core competencies that we seek out and encourage for our employees. I believe that if you do what’s right, and conduct yourself in an honest and genuine way, you can live a very rewarding life. It is important to strive to model integrity to your family, friends and the communities you belong to at work and beyond.”
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