Brett Estervig has extensive experience in the medical sales industry, holding various leadership positions at companies such as Smith+Nephew, Orthofix, and Sonoma Orthopedic Products. With a background in economics from the University of Iowa, Brett has managed sales teams, distributorships, and products related to orthopedics, sports medicine, and biologics. Throughout their career, Brett has excelled in driving sales growth and achieving business objectives.
Leadership and Impact
If you had a magic wand and could permanently solve one of your company’s biggest challenges right now, what would that be?
If I had a magic wand and could solve one thing, it would be to accelerate the pace between innovation and adoption for surgical implants and technology platforms. One component of the new Smith+Nephew RISE strategy translates this wish into real‑world impact. We plan to do this by ensuring our differentiated product portfolio, supported by best‑in‑class sales and marketing execution, consistently reaches more patients. When innovation, customer engagement, and commercial excellence come together, we can scale adoption and elevate outcomes across Orthopaedics, which ultimately benefits both patients and providers.
Looking back over the past three years, what are the two most impactful things you have accomplished in your role? Impact can be strategic, organizational, cultural, commercial, or partnership driven.
I was on the Sports Medicine side of our business for the majority of my 20-year career with Smith+Nephew, but there was an opportunity to move over to Orthopaedics a few years ago and I took it. It has been deeply rewarding to see all the changes we have made over these past two years. As a leadership team, we have spent a lot of time looking at how we’re competing in the market, how we serve customers and how we’re engaging our teams. We have focused on getting the right people in place, building a strong culture of trust and driving strategic execution and accountability. A big part of the transformation was moving to a business unit model aligned across all functions to drive Orthopaedics forward. We’ve done a lot of work to break down barriers between teams and embed a ‘win as one’ mentality in Ortho and I’m extremely proud that we have delivered against our commitments to the company each of the past two years.
The Human Side of Leadership
What is your “superpower”, a skill or strength you genuinely love to use in your role and feel you are especially good at?
My superpower is building genuine connections with people. I spend as much time as possible with our sales teams and surgeon customers because the best ideas don’t come from sitting in an office behind a desk. Being in the field, listening to real challenges, and creating forums for candid feedback helps us stay competitive and deliver solutions that truly resonate. We create opportunities to bring surgeons together during sponsored education events with a focus on hands-on labs so they can use the products and tell us about their experience. We also rely on our Innovation Councils and ‘Orthopaedics for All’ sessions to solicit candid feedback from HCPs about our products and technologies. That direct feedback helps us refine our portfolio and stay ahead in a highly competitive market.
The AOC and the Power of the Collective
How can the AOC better utilize its digital platform to support meaningful, efficient connections between industry and academic leaders, and to unlock the collective power of its membership?
Harnessing the collective power of the Smith+Nephew network with that of the AOCs can only be a powerful proposition. As a company, we want to be part of the conversation about what Orthopaedics looks like 5, 10, and 20 years from now. Providing AMCs with the opportunity to better understand our goals only helps align our efforts to improve patient outcomes and surgeon experience. Through digital matchmaking, co-branding/promotion of medical education events, and clinical study matchmaking, it will be easy to identify our partnership opportunities.
Reflection and Perspective
How do you think AI will meaningfully change your role, or the way your company partners with academic medicine, five years from now?
Given the rapid pace at which AI is transforming our world, it will likely continue to enhance how we innovate, communicate and collaborate—improving everything from diagnostics and surgical planning to education and outcome prediction. Technology may evolve, but it won’t replace trust or relationships, which are fundamental to how we work with our surgeons and academic partners.