A decade ago, Alex Barty spent his days making pinot noir on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Today, he’s working with Australia’s only dedicated digital and connected health accelerator, that invests significant funding to digital health startups that could transform healthcare for people worldwide. It was the career pivot that even he couldn’t have predicted.
“If you told me 10 years ago that I’d be where I am now, I’d never have believed you,” says Alex. As part of the team at ANDHealth, a renowned not-for-profit organisation, Alex’s role involves filling the crucial funding gap between healthcare innovation and those scaling for impact. “We’re Australia’s most high-impact accelerator,” he explains. “It’s an interesting company in a unique space, and with a unique purpose.”
Alex works with companies on the cutting edge of innovation to accelerate the commercialisation of evidence-based digital and connected health technologies. This includes supporting startups using AI to detect signs of multiple sclerosis, those addressing causes of perinatal death for mothers, and even startups developing new biomarkers for heart attacks. “It’s a lot of science, it stretches your brain, but it’s so interesting,” he adds. “I feel like I’ve become a better person for it.”
An unconventional path
Alex’s journey to ANDHealth, as well as his MBA (L&E), hasn’t exactly been linear. “To go from thinking I was going to be a neuroscientist to being a wine maker and sommelier and getting into tech and then doing my MBA (Leadership and Enterprise), I’ve done a lot of different things in a 15-year timeframe,” he says. This ever-evolving journey however ultimately led Alex to the decision to undertake his degree at the University of Sydney.
Initially balancing full-time work with full-time study, Alex made the decision nine months in, to leave his job, and focus entirely on his degree. An experience he looks back on fondly. “The tools, the connections, the network it gives you – these are friends I’ll have forever,” he says. “I know a lot of the opportunities that have come my way, including the role I have now, are knock-on effects from doing my MBA (L&E).”
The program’s innovative approach to real-world challenges and situations was pivotal for Alex. “When Guy Ford, who was running the MBA program, began experimenting with using students as consultants for university researchers, I joined a project assessing the commercial viability of a therapeutic drug monitoring assay for platinum therapeutics – primarily used in chemotherapy treatment,” he explains. “It was an interesting experience to go through, and evolved into part-time consulting work for the School of Chemistry and the Faculty of Science.”
This led to a period of independent consulting for Alex, which informed much of his service offering for the following year. “The MBA (L&E) really crafted a lot of that framework that I provided as a service afterwards,” he adds.
A philosophy of success
Since finishing his degree and venturing into the world of ANDHealth, the most rewarding moments for Alex come from being able to deliver life-changing news to founders with big goals and ambitions. “There have been times when I’ve been able to get on the phone and say, ‘hey congratulations, you’ve just been awarded $2 million to do this awesome thing that’s going to change the lives of all these people around the world’”, he says.
Another point of joy comes from having the opportunity to enable and support the success of his co-workers and team members. “One thing I love most about what I do, is helping people be put in positions to succeed – whether it’s supporting someone in my team or someone in a company we’ve worked with.”
This has been reflective of Alex’s own career journey over the years. “I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am in my life without the people who’ve given me opportunities,” he says. “I’ve had a weird career background where people have taken chances on me – and I’d like to think that I do the same, and give people the opportunities to succeed and fail on their own terms as much as possible.”
As for what comes next, Alex remains characteristically optimistic and committed to a future filled with possibilities. “I have no idea what the future holds, but the pattern I’ve always followed has been one of creativity and diversity in what I do,” he says. “I’d like to keep it that way.”