Judge Sessions with Wavia, SEIKK and MedTech Actuator

Welcome to the Pause Awards show, where we invite past winners and future judges to talk about their journeys, inspiration and lessons learned in their professional careers and beyond.

In this episode, George Hedon, Founder of Pause Awards, speaks with Christina Gerakiteys (Co-CEO, Wavia) Rupert de Paula (Creative Director, SEIKK) and Makenzie Thomas (Program and Community Coordinator, MedTech Actuator) They discussed crucial skills needed in business, their idea of success, industry foresights and more.

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For our second round of judges interviews, George kicked off by asking the trio what they considered to be some key skills for excellence in business.

For me, it’s perseverance and enthusiasm. There’s a lot of challenges you face, particularly as the leader of a business. So you need to be able to come in with both those skills.

Rupert de Paula, Creative Director, SEIKK

I’ve got four – agility, adaptability, speed, and the vision to set long term goals.

Christina Gerakiteys, Co-CEO, Wavia

It’s a balance of being visionary, and being able to have the operational braind and really get down into the details.

Makenzie Thomas, Program and Community Coordinator, MedTech Actuator 

Chatting about what success meant to the three of them, their responses were extremely interesting and varied.

Success is enabling the enablers – the founders I work with. And I always ask them to look at success from a point of ‘How many people are you impacting?’ Because you may not necessarily be a unicorn, but you could still be impacting a billion people.

Christina Gerakiteys, Co-CEO, Wavia

I’ve always been far more interested in rewarding, creatively fulfilling projects rather than those that make me heaps of money. Changing the world in a positive way is my version of success.

Rupert de Paula, Creative Director, SEIKK

My notion of success has evolved. It used to be getting through as many tasks as possible. Now, it’s about finding a balance, leaning more into personal fulfilment in my role and not trying to do everything together.

Makenzie Thomas, Program and Community Coordinator, MedTech Actuator 

We then dug into some business advice that stuck with them through their respective journeys.

A piece of advice that really stuck with me is when I was told that work isn’t a test. That working together, and being reiterative is normal. Challenging each other and making minor gains is what’s important. So don’t lose heart, just keep going.

Rupert de Paula, Creative Director, SEIKK

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received is about teams and having the really hard conversations early. You’ve got to be really honest with each other.

Makenzie Thomas, Program and Community Coordinator, MedTech Actuator 

The best piece of advice was something I was told by one of my teachers – ‘Wherever you go, whatever you do, always paddle your own canoe.’ – which was so amazing. It basically means that even if you don’t know the answers, be brave enough and follow on. And this really stuck with me.

Christina Gerakiteys, Co-CEO, Wavia

Discussing some quick foresights into the industries they work in, the judges said:

We’re at the forefront of digital integration. So in terms of creative industries, it’s web3 and how this sort of decentralised web is going to help with challenges and creative opportunities ahead.

Rupert de Paula, Creative Director, SEIKK

In healthcare, it’s going to be everything from regenerative medicine right through to new medical devices. I’m personally excited about what’s happening with fem tech. We’re seeing a lot of innovation come through in that space.

Makenzie Thomas, Program and Community Coordinator, MedTech Actuator 

I guess we are in times of great convergence. We work with startups in all different industries, so for me, it’s about bringing it all together. It’s about connecting the dots, the enablement of the enablers. There’s no such thing as a silo anymore, it’s about the age of convergence.

Christina Gerakiteys, Co-CEO, Wavia

Before we rounded the chat off with some quick fire questions, George had just one more question to ask – where are things going to be in the next 3 years in their individual industries?

We’re all going to be coexisting in this big metaverse playground that we’ve invented for ourselves. And I think that there will be siloed digital experiences for everyone.

Rupert de Paula, Creative Director, SEIKK

I think in healthtech, it’s the opposite. We’re going to see a lot of issues like employment numbers and staff shortages. So while Rupert’s thinking futuristic, healthcare is going to be catching up and coming back to normal after the past few years and hopefully see improvements in operational efficiencies.

Makenzie Thomas, Program and Community Coordinator, MedTech Actuator 

I hope that we’re able to all come together better to find balance, especially after all the disruption that’s happened over the last few years. We’ll find a balance with the convergence of technology, because we now have the ability to be hybrid.

Christina Gerakiteys, Co-CEO, Wavia

The judges also shared personal anecdotes about their past professional learnings, work-life balance, and habits that have led to a more fulfilled life.

Don’t forget to check out the entire conversation below.