ºÚÁÏÉçÇø

The first guest in the new CAS “Trailblazers and Game Changers” alumni speaker series, alumnus and CEO of Distalmotion Greg Roche, wasted no time in demonstrating why his academic and professional experiences at Miami and beyond serve as an inspirational model for Miami ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs.

Roche enrolled at Miami with the expectation of being pre-med, but he quickly realized a different path. He graduated in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in sociology instead, which inspired the title of his lecture, From Science (to Law) to Business: All Roads Are Not the Same. 

Although Roche attended law school at Cleveland State University after Miami, he never practiced law. Nevertheless, he told lecture attendees filling up the Shideler lecture hall that law was the best business degree that he ever received. 

“Law is the core essence of business. It teaches you the most important things, like how to speak in front of people and humility through the Socratic method and cold-calling,” said Roche. “I think it can be so beneficial for everybody.” 

Roche emphasized the importance of a positive mindset and discussed steps for how to achieve one. He encouraged ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs to never compromise their integrity. 

When asked how he recommends ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs maintain their values when new entering the workforce, he said, “If you ever have to compromise your values, you’re in the wrong place.” Sacrifices must be made, he emphasized, but none that compromise your morality. 

“Work ethic and drive separate the good from the great,” Roche said. “Underpromise and overdeliver, trust your decisions, and do what you love.” 

When discussing his success, Roche was also very transparent about his failures. 

“Failure leads to success,” he said. “Although one of my two startup ventures would not be a success, it allowed me to understand what it takes to actually build a successful business.” 

He shared some of the adversities he faced and encouraged his audience to “fail fast” and not make the same mistakes over again. Roche illustrated this point by telling about a friend who pushed him to join Stryker, a medical technology company, where he finally decided what he wanted to do. This led him to Distalmotion, a medical equipment manufacturer based in Épalinges, Switzerland.

Discussing the realities of Fortune 500 companies, Roche emphasized the importance of putting the people and culture before the strategy and execution of the company. “Revenue is vanity, but cash is king” is a mantra that he used to further his point that you need to have a purposeful focus to grow profit. 

“You create your own luck,” he said. “Consistent over-achieving performance and asking for the next role is the only way to create opportunities which may not otherwise be presented.”

Roche concluded his lecture with questions from the audience, as well as with a brief description of why his sociology degree is so important to him. 

“I didn’t know it was such a good thing going in,” he said, “but the ability to be able to read and understand people and groups is the pinnacle of any business.”

“Leadership is not about you, it is defined by what you do to empower others to be successful.”