Ashley Sexton

International Sales Manager, Clinical Innovations Europe Ltd

Q: How long have you been with the company?

A: I joined the company in January 2009

Q: What made you choose a career in this industry?

A: My previous role had lots of contact with the medical industry and providing marketing ideas for them. I was most attracted to the very ‘pro-life’ ethos Clinical Innovations has developed. As one of my customers at the time, we both agreed that we saw great potential for further successes in working directly together.

Q: What is your professional background?

A: I studied initially in Business, then to date my career has primarily been focused on the sales management and marketing within the UK and Europe. I have a sound background in the marketing and key account management of various commercial and consumer brands over a total of 12 years. I have a wealth of experience within the private and public sectors, having worked closely with healthcare professionals, specialists, medical distributors and internal sales teams, both national and international. My experience has enabled me to work successfully at all levels and functions.

Q: Do you find your job rewarding and if so how?

A: I mentioned that Clinical is a very pro life company. This is mostly because we pride ourselves on the value that the products we distribute can bring, measured not just in the value of the product, but also in the advantages provided to both patient and consultant. Each product we design and take to the marketplace must provide benefits to both. We also pride ourselves on our strength and the response of our customer service’s clinical and technical backup.

Q: Does your job involve a lot of travelling?

A: Just a little! We currently have 25 distributors who look after 27 countries in Europe. I visit each of them at least twice a year in order to provide training to their own consultants and help to develop strategies for each individual marketplace. I also support our own sales team with regular visits across the UK which enables me to keep ‘a finger on the pulse’ here at home.

Q: How did the company begin and how long has it been running?

A: The company has been running since March 2001. After a few changes in structure, the organisation is now headed up and owned by Phil Barclay (CEO). Whilst Phil was finishing an MBA in Oxford, an opportunity arose to investigate the Obstetric marketplace in Europe. With a colleague, he wrote an academic report, developed a new scoring system to help in decision making for market entry, then formed a new company to service the marketplace. Phil was fortunate to be introduced to a new and innovative product– Kiwi Omnicup (USA). and a team of employees dedicated to the support of our customers. We now have 11 employees in the UK and 25 distributors who look after 27 countries throughout Europe. Although the organisation has a set structure, we operate as a team, working together to answer customer queries and solve problems together.

Q: Where is the company based?

A: Our main offices which house all of our administrative functions are based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, with a second building dedicated to warehousing and logistics less than 1 mile away.

Q: What is the company focus?

A: Our main focus for 2010 is to to continue working towards helping Clinical Innovations (Europe) develop across the UK, Europe, but mostly internationally, and to continue providing products and services that give positive outcomes for patients wherever they are in the world.

Q: What makes you different from your competitors?

A: Each product in our portfolio has been developed by assessing current products and solutions in the marketplace and improving on them, by solving a problem or filling a need. This means that everything we offer has a unique advantage over our competitors. CIE is a forward thinking company and is always striving to develop its product range to meet the customer’s needs. We are currently developing new products or more advanced products to replace the current out of date technology, which are inadequate for the jobs they were designed for. As a company we offer complimentary training for all customers that are new to the product and training is repeated as and when necessary I believe this is an essential part of the medical business.

Q: How important are good customer relations?

A: As an organisation and as individuals, we care about what our customers think of our performance and the products, services and support we provide. We encourage all of our customers to communicate any feedback and issues they may have, so that proactive steps can be taken. Listening to our customers is also our main source of ideas for new products and helps us to continue to deliver benefits in many procedures for both patient and Consultant.

Clinical Innovations (Europe) Limited
28 Blacklands Way,
Abingdon,
Oxfordshire
OX14 1DY
United Kingdom
Tel: 01235 530022
Email info@cieuropean.com
Web: www.clinicalinnovationseurope.com

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