In this episode of Inspiring Women, Tracy sits down with Laurie McGraw to explain why that leap was the smartest bet she could make, and what a career spent transforming complex businesses has taught her about trust, discomfort, and leading when the future is still being built.
Tracy traces her path from finance major to med-tech powerhouse, a curiosity that started in her father's basement machine shop, where she couldn't drive the family car until she could change the oil, change a tire, and do a brake job. She breaks down the three-part filter she runs every role through (impact, people and culture, and hard problems), why a $4.5B company hit the sweet spot between agility and scale after the giants, and why the fragmented, private-equity-fueled veterinary industry is one of the most interesting problems in healthcare today.
Then it gets practical.
How she built credibility running an MRI business she knew nothing about by learning the product first.
Why admitting what she's not good at is one of her greatest strengths.
How she gets comfortable being uncomfortable, makes fast decisions without a "conditioned gut," and coaches both women and men through the real tradeoffs of career and family, including one piece of advice a colleague thanked her for 20 years later.
In This Episode, topics covered are:
- The basement machine shop that made her curious about how everything works
- Why she left $450B companies for a $4.5B one, and what she gained
- The three-part filter behind every job she's ever taken
- Inside the vet industry: small independent practices vs private-equity consolidation
- How to build startup culture and speed inside a large, complex company
- Running the MRI business when she didn't know an MRI from a CT
- Why knowing what you're bad at makes you a stronger leader
- Getting comfortable being uncomfortable later in your career
- Managing emotion and protecting credibility as a woman in the room
- Paying it forward: accelerating the next generation of women leaders
- The stay-at-home-spouse feedback story a colleague never forgot
🎧 Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw