Sheena Jack is the CEO of HCF. She has been a key member of the HCF executive team for more than 10 years, first as Chief Financial Officer and then as Chief Strategy Officer from 2014.
What gets you firing every morning?
I think it’s generally a really great time to be in business; there’s just so much opportunity in terms of innovation, and technology is enabling whole new ways of doing things and whole new ways of solving problems. I think it’s an exciting time and Catalyst is a big part of how we leverage that.
Who inspires you when you think about innovation in the Australian business community?
I really think about all the entrepreneurs and types of people we’re interacting with through Catalyst. There are all these people out there that just have an idea about how to solve a problem and then they take that idea and they have the passion and the nerve to actually try and develop a business around it and I just think that’s really inspiring.
That’s also why it’s so important for organisations like HCF to support those entrepreneurs, because it’s really tough. Turning even the most brilliant idea into a functioning business and getting traction is really hard, and I think what they do is really amazing.
Tell us what have been the highlights of the HCF Catalyst Accelerator program?
The highlight for me has really been the vast range of ideas that we’ve seen. I think that it’s really fantastic that through the Catalyst program we’re able to support those businesses, because whether we invest or not they’re really great ideas that can actually help shape how healthcare works in Australia.
Another highlight has been seeing the connections form between the different businesses. Often there’s value in the idea in its own right, but there can be another level of value that comes from connecting the businesses up and actually knowing what other people are working on in the healthtech space.
What excites you about HCF Catalyst and working with Startups?
One of the enormous areas of value we get is translating the passion of the entrepreneurs and the range of ideas they have to staff within HCF. Giving our staff more visibility of what’s occurring is incredibly inspiring to them as well, and I get really excited about that. It’s so motivating and inspiring and it becomes infectious, and that’s a really valuable thing for our staff to engage with.
Ultimately, the real focus here is expanding that enthusiasm, because at the end of the day what we’re trying to do is generate great ideas that can help our members improve their health outcomes, and we’re helping all of the community at the same time. That’s a real win win.
Tell us something people don’t know about you?
Both of my parents started several businesses, so I have been interested in startups my whole life.
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