Meet Gwendolin Mah, the Head of International Programs at MedTech Actuator. Gwendolin is responsible for designing and delivering the Global Navigator program that helps growth-stage startups explore pathways to bring their innovations to the Asia-Pacific region. Her role involves facilitating market knowledge building, mentoring, and introducing startups to the startup ecosystems in the region, primarily in Japan, Singapore and Australia.

What drives and inspires Gwendolin in her role is her ability to make a significant contribution to the journey of healthcare entrepreneurs and their innovative endeavours, even if it’s in a small yet crucial capacity.

“At MedTech Actuator, we are very fortunate to come across many life-changing technologies. It is such a privilege to be involved by helping to bring these healthcare innovations out of their home shores,” says Gwen.

Gwendolin is excited about the future of MedTech Actuator and its programs. She is eager to see the program expand and extend to different parts of the world. As the Head of International Programs, Gwen is responsible for working with startups from different parts of the globe and helping them explore the MedTech ecosystem through programs like Global Navigator Japan, Global Navigator Australia and Desafía Singapore.

Prior to joining MedTech Actuator, Gwendolin had seven years of experience teaching ballet to young children and over a decade of experience in the media industry, including directing and producing videos, dramas, documentaries, and TV commercials for major brands such as McDonald’s, Samsung, and the SEA Games, bringing with her a wealth of diverse experience. 

Gwendolin transitioned into her role very smoothly and her years of managing 10 different departments and stakeholders in a time-sensitive environment, as well as her constant need to understand different industries and products, gave her the skills she needed for this role.

We are thrilled to have Gwen on our team and look forward to seeing the impact she will make on the MedTech industry in Asia-Pacific.

Meet our team

More on how the MedTech Actuator team is supporting Asia Pacific’s next wave of health innovators – meet: 

• Sebastian Gomez, Chief Financial Officer
• Matt Frith, Chief Commercial Officer
• Betty Zhang, Early Innovation Programs Lead

Chief Financial Officer Sebastian Gomez manages the financial operations of MedTech Actuator in Australia and Singapore. He brings strategy and business development acumen to mentoring and supporting founders across our programs – building their expertise in valuation, negotiation, forecasting and more.

With an MBA from Monash University and postgraduate qualifications in corporate finance and strategy, and project management, Sebastian has held positions in mergers and acquisitions, strategy, and business development. His international experience spans projects across the Americas and Asia Pacific in sectors including mining, services, and real estate.

“What really inspires me in my work with the MedTech Actuator is using my finance and strategy background to potentiate projects and initiatives that one day will change the future of healthcare,” says Sebastian.

Sebastian is excited about the growth on the horizon for MedTech Actuator programs and startups alike.

“I am driven to expand our programs internationally and to provide our startups with more opportunities to grow and become successful businesses.”

Sebastian has seen that MedTech, BioTech and HealthTech are challenging areas to work in for entrepreneurs, with no quick or easy results. 

“However, through the MedTech Actuator’s endeavours to provide the right support, funding and dedication, we have seen huge progress and encouraging outcomes in a very short period of time.”

Meet our team

More on how the MedTech Actuator team is supporting Asia Pacific’s next wave of health innovators – meet: 

• Maria Pelipas, Head of Programs
• Gobind Singh, Program Officer
• Makenzie Thomas, Program and Community Coordinator

Last year the MedTech Actuator^TM opened a second office – in Singapore. As part of our expansion through Asia Pacific, Project Officer Gobind Singh is supporting the work of Singapore-based founders to improve and save lives with health innovation.

As Project Officer Gobind helps to surround startups with the ecosystem support they need to bring their MedTech, HealthTech or BioTech innovation to the patients and clinicians who need it most.

With a focus on program delivery of the MedTech Actuator – Asia Pacific’s MedTech accelerator – Gobind connects startups with intensive mentorship, industry collaboration and capital raising support to help achieve in 15 months what can typically take 3 years or more.

“My role is where the MedTech Actuator’s rubber hits the road,” says Gobind. “I handle logistics, operations, communications, bookings and planning the program.”

Once the program begins, Gobind is the first point of contact for startups in Singapore. “I consult on their pitching, decks, IMs, strategy, and anything else they throw at me.”

Before joining the MedTech Actuator, Gobind was a fellow at the RMIT Health Transformation Lab where he broke down complex problems, generated new insights, and fostered new communities to help address the thorniest questions of health system reform, transformation, technology, and value.

In his role with the MedTech Actuator, Gobind is inspired by the success that startups can experience as a result of the program – and the human impact that having the right support can lead to.

“Watching startups succeed after taking feedback on board really inspires me,” says Gobind. “It makes me feel like I have contributed to the growth or commercialisation of the startups, which will in turn save human lives or make their recovery faster.”

Gobind has observed a common challenge experienced by MedTech startups in the process of commercialisation, with founders losing sight of the initial reasons that they began their trek down the entrepreneurial path.

“It is important to clarify, renew or even rework those initial aspirations as it will make the journey less bumpy – and the MedTech Actuator can help,” says Gobind.

“I am incredibly excited about the MedTech Actuator program’s growth to become the go-to MedTech accelerator in Asia Pacific.”

Find out more about MedTech Actuator – Asia Pacific’s MedTech accelerator.

With a career that spans the US, Australia, Belgium, and Russia – managing international activities for over 200 startups – MedTech Actuator Head of Programs Maria Pelipas is supporting Asia Pacific’s next wave of health entrepreneurs to improve and save lives.

A seasoned program manager, Maria has experience in BioTech strategy consulting, partnerships, accelerators, investment funds, a startup, and innovation agencies. She holds a Master of International Relations from Tomsk State University, Russia and a Master of European Studies from the University of Brussels, Belgium – and is qualified in project management, venture deals and tech transfer management.

“My role involves managing the flagship MedTech Actuator – Asia Pacific’s MedTech accelerator,” says Maria. “We help founders to achieve in 15 months what usually takes three years or more – the program is unusually long for an accelerator due to the complexity of the medical space.”

Maria explains that bringing a MedTech, HealthTech or BioTech innovation to market requires an industry-specific acceleration model. As a life sciences startup, they are likely to design and manufacture a physical product, navigate clinical trials, regulatory submissions, reimbursement models and multiple customer and stakeholder groups.

“It definitely brings a lot of exciting challenges which we tackle as a team and with our dense ecosystem of partners,” says Maria.

Maria has enjoyed supporting teams through diverse challenges including founders moving at a different pace across verticals such as medical devices and digital health, and founders with research backgrounds taking the first steps to nurture their idea into a solid business.

“What excites me the most is seeing the growth in real-time,” says Maria. “I would even compare it to being a passenger in the backseat of a fast moving car – you help startups accelerate by fine-tuning the course. It is pure enjoyment to plant those seeds and watch the growth unfold.”

Maria has recently onboarded a new cohort of Asia Pacific’s best MedTech and HealthTech entrepreneurs and will kick off the program in the weeks ahead. Maria anticipates a dynamic journey for the startups that span Australia and Singapore and looks forward to lots of in-person glitz and glamour for all startups.

Maria is blown away by the MedTech Actuator team, saying that it is a kind and welcoming environment where people with different backgrounds and experiences come together to drive health innovation forward.

“Running this program reminds me of building a startup – we come up with MVP ideas; choose the best solution; pivot when we face obstacles; and keep building the best experience for our startups,” says Maria.

“I am impressed with how far the MedTech Actuator team has come since the program’s inception in 2018 and look forward to taking this to the next level, applying all of my skills, knowledge, and passion.”