Copy to clipboard 
Enovis eclipsed $1 billion in recon sales for the first time in 2024 and is poised to grow in the high single digits, surpassing $2 billion in total worldwide revenue in 2025.
Gary Justak, President and General Manager of Enovis’ Foot & Ankle business, said an aggressive M&A strategy, highlighted by the additions of Novastep and LimaCorporate in the past two years, has helped fuel the company’s growth.
“We’ve also made significant internal investments in product development. In some areas, we’ve spent more on R&D than many of our competitors,” Justak said. “Our goal is to solve real-world clinical problems by developing solutions in-house, outsourcing strategically or acquiring the right partners to fill gaps in our portfolio.”
That approach to innovation and acquisitions has transformed Enovis into a very different organization than it was just a few years ago. Justak discussed the team-building strategies and forward-focused mindset that has led to the company’s recent success.
What are the biggest barriers to innovation in orthopedics, and what is needed to overcome them?
Justak: It’s difficult to invest in NPI projects if you’re constantly getting caught in a cycle of sustaining successful products that are already on the market.
We’ve taken a unique approach. When we made six acquisitions on the foot and ankle side of the business, it was critical to preserve the R&D teams at each site. We kept separate budgets for those teams, allowing them to manage innovation within their specific sites and indications. That structure gave us the ability to push the envelope and focus on the creation of differentiating technologies.
The real question is: How do you give teams the time and resources they need to focus on long-term innovation? What is the next wave of breakthroughs that will truly lead the way in orthopedics?
Regulatory hurdles and pricing pressures will always exist. But for me, the priority is making sure you preserve the innovation engine within the organization — no matter the size or scale — and keep teams focused on delivering products that make a difference.
How do you foster better collaboration among multidisciplinary teams?
Justak: Strong leadership is about more than managing — it’s about resilience and maintaining focus on the project at hand. That mindset was critical when we completed three acquisitions in six months and had to integrate the new teams into the Enovis infrastructure.
We aligned processes across our four global design sites, keeping each design team intact. From there, we built a consistent framework that focused on how we generate ideas, move proofs of concept into the stage-gate process and run product business reviews to understand the market and opportunity we’re pursuing.
My philosophy is to avoid entering projects we expect to cancel. That’s why it’s important to put up-front significant effort into understanding the market and the clinical problem you’re trying to solve. This mindset allowed us to be very nimble and quick to market. Our goal is to commercialize products in less than 24 months. Ultimately, it comes back to making sure your teams focus on solutions.
What’s your best advice for scaling new ideas while remaining focused on advancing core products?
Justak: It’s all about failing fast. In our approach to ideation, any idea can come from anywhere, whether it’s an employee or a surgeon we work with. We’ve built an intake process that encourages submissions, and a dedicated “skunk works” team takes those ideas and quickly turns them into proofs of concept. The goal is to create something tangible we can touch, test and evaluate for commercial viability — and then fail fast if it’s not worth pursuing.
That structure keeps our core teams focused on in-scope, in-flight innovation, while the skunk works team decides whether an idea merits further investment or should be scrapped in favor of another direction.
I encourage companies to try anything within a structured process, not to let big ideas pull you off your strategic path and leverage external partners where you can. A new concept doesn’t always need to be your core competence. The key is finding the best partners to help you succeed in developing the idea and bringing it to market.
How do you push through inevitable stagnation to develop differentiating products?
Justak: Teams naturally plateau after reaching a breakthrough. The challenge is to push through that plateau to the next level. When we see teams getting stuck on a design, we pull them together to focus on finding those breakthrough moments. That not only drives progress but also reinforces how critical a device can be for the future of the business. It motivates teams to solve problems quickly without compromising product integrity.
Our teams are organized by indication, but they’re part of a larger system that they can tap for fresh ideas. We also leverage our surgeon advisory board to help us identify and push new concepts. Leveraging all the resources you have access to helps find the breakthrough that pushes the envelope of what’s possible. You can be a “me too” player or you can truly solve unmet clinical needs through advanced materials and instrumentation.
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from current successes that you’re applying to future goals?
Justak: Leaders must constantly view talent as the key driver of the business. The team structure you start with is never the same as the one you’ll end up with down the road. Just because someone is in one role today doesn’t mean they’ll be in that role six months from now. Leadership requires flexibility and the ability to see how people can create impact for the company you’re trying to become.
Also, someone who has spent a lot of time in medtech won’t be automatically impactful for the business you’re trying to create. They need to have an entrepreneurial mindset and think about problem solving outside of the scope of their responsibility.
People in a growth-minded business must think about the problems they’re trying to solve, act quickly and wear multiple hats. That doesn’t come naturally to everyone, particularly people coming from larger strategics with built-in support functions.
The people who thrive are those who can solve problems across functions, adapt as roles evolve and run toward uncertainty rather than away from it. They’re the ones who help drive the business forward.
