DGTL Voices with Ed Marx

Episode: CEO Journey and Leadership Philosophy (ft. Adam McMullin)
Date: October 22, 2025
Host: Ed Marx
Guest: Adam McMullin (CEO, AvaSure)

Overview

This episode of DGTL Voices features an in-depth conversation between host Ed Marx and Adam McMullin, CEO of AvaSure, focusing on Adam’s leadership philosophy, his journey from engineering student to serial CEO, and the innovations his company is driving in virtual care for healthcare. The episode explores the formative experiences and pivotal moments that have shaped Adam’s career and leadership style, along with practical insights on building resilient teams, advancing healthcare technology, and personal strategies for dealing with stress and fostering creativity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Connectivity and Giving Back (00:00–05:44)

• Ed and Adam’s Connection through Running and Conferences

  • Ed and Adam share stories of running together at industry conferences, using morning runs as both a fitness routine and a way to build relationships and support charitable causes.

  • Adam is recognized for his generosity, having “quadrupled” donations for charity runs (00:41).

    “You’ve been gracious and kind to quadruple all of those [donations].”
    — Ed Marx (00:41)

• Mentorship and Mutual Growth

  • The two discuss how they became friends and mentors to each other, with Adam having provided early guidance to Ed during his own transition to a CEO role.

2. Influences, Playlists, and Life Mantras (02:34–05:44)

• Adam’s Podcast Playlist and Learning Approach

  • Adam prefers podcasts focused on business and history over music, highlighting “Acquired,” “Founders,” and “The Rest Is History” for their educational value (02:44–04:10).

    “I try to figure out how does that apply to what I’m doing in my life and work.”
    — Adam McMullin (03:54)

• Life Mantra: Resilience

  • Adam shares a memorable piece of advice:

    “Don’t fold like a cheap tent.” (04:22)

  • He emphasizes the necessity of resilience, embracing challenges, and learning from difficulties, citing inspiration from Nvidia’s Jensen Huang on the growth that comes from “ample doses of pain and suffering” (04:45).

3. Early Life, Education, and Pivotal Moments (05:44–09:18)

• Origin Story and Cultural Adaptation

  • Born in Toronto, Adam’s move to Florida at age 12 brought major cultural shifts, sparking adaptability and an appreciation for opportunity in the US (05:57–07:24).

• The Impact of Sports on Leadership

  • Participation in both wrestling (individual) and football (team-based) cultivated his sense of accountability, competition, teamwork, and self-improvement.

    “It unleashed a real competitive spirit and just made me a better person.”
    — Adam McMullin (08:38)

4. Career Trajectory: From IBM to Healthcare (09:18–14:57)

• Foundational Years at IBM

  • Adam describes IBM’s exceptional commitment to training and mentorship, early responsibility, and the tough feedback from his first 360 review as essential to his growth in EQ and management skills (09:30–12:44).

    “Pages of feedback and comments… it was just like, you know, kicks in the gut and it just, it was an amazing for me experience because it was so humbling. But then they gave me a coach to work through it and become better.”
    — Adam McMullin (11:03)

• Transition to Healthcare

  • Recruited by a peer from business school to Hill-Rom, Adam sought more autonomy and meaningful impact, particularly given his wife’s nursing background and his growing appreciation for healthcare’s role in society (12:51–14:57).

    “I found a sixth gear personally for the impact that you could start to make for care teams and patients.”
    — Adam McMullin (14:33)

5. CEO Leadership Roles & Lessons Learned (15:10–18:00)

• From New Leader to Serial CEO

  • Adam discusses his CEO stints at three companies, including Voalte, FDS, and now AvaSure, focusing on scaling businesses, empowering teams, and ensuring strategic clarity (15:10–15:44).

    “You better be all in… and I get really excited about walking into a business.”
    — Adam McMullin (15:45)

• Examples across Industries

  • Led Voalte (transitioned from founder, learned hands-on aspects of CEO work)
  • Led FDS (helped community pharmacies expand into clinical care, learned about healthcare’s varied domains and the importance of pharmacy in rural communities) (16:45–17:43).

6. The AvaSure Story – Vision, Impact, and Evolution (18:00–22:43)

• What Drew Adam to AvaSure

  • AvaSure’s pioneering of virtual safety observation appeals to Adam for its measurable impact on workforce productivity, patient safety, and bottom-line costs for hospitals (18:04–20:33).

    “With virtual safety, Avasure was able to take 16 of those roles, turn them into one by doing that virtually and setting up a virtual care center…”
    — Adam McMullin (18:37)

    “…you’ll reduce your falls by 50%.”
    — Adam McMullin (19:19)

• AvaSure’s Growth and Key Changes (20:40–22:43)

  • As CEO, Adam focused primarily on:
    • Building a complementary leadership team, mixing company veterans and new talent (20:55–21:39)
    • Doubling R&D investment to meet the practical demands of health systems (21:41–22:43)
    • Ensuring the company remains agile and positioned for continued growth in a competitive market

7. The Future of Healthcare Tech & AvaSure’s Role (22:52–24:59)

• Strategic Priorities

  • Increasing patient safety and operational ROI for hospitals

  • Expanding use of virtual care to reduce “leakage” and maximize resources

  • Investing in computer vision for safety, efficiency, and caregiver protection

  • Focusing on partnerships and ecosystem integration (Epic, Cerner, smart hospital tech)

  • Notably, AvaSure’s tech workforce is 15% clinicians—stressing the blend of technology and clinical expertise for sustainable, practical change management.

    “We’re not going to do it all as one company, but because we have been around... we’re making sure we work really well across, you know, Epic and Cerner, but also the ecosystem around that whole smart hospital...”
    — Adam McMullin (24:22)

8. Leadership Philosophy and Personal Practices (25:07–29:57)

• Managing Stress and Fostering Creativity

  • Adam emphasizes the value of getting outside, drawing from trusted relationships, and sharing challenges to lower stress and get perspective (25:46–26:41).

    “There’s a proverb somewhere about sharing your problems, and it lightens the load.”
    — Adam McMullin (26:10)

• Building a Personal ‘Board of Directors’

  • Encourages leaders to cultivate enduring, two-way support networks (26:42–27:32).

• Leadership Defined by Giving

  • Adam summarizes his evolving leadership principle as focusing on what leaders give (not just what they get): enthusiasm, knowledge, genuine care, and modeling integrity (28:30–29:57).

    “Leadership is really about giving things to people... I try to think about how do I bring four things to the team: enthusiasm and energy, help them grow their knowledge, genuine care, and modeling integrity.”
    — Adam McMullin (28:46–29:18)

Notable Quotes

• On Resilience:

  “Don’t fold like a cheap tent.”
  — Advice shared by Adam McMullin (04:22)

• On Growth Through Hardship:

  “If you want to become great, you gotta put yourself out there, wrestle through things, fail, learn, get into that meat. And I think that’s just an important part of life.”
  — Adam McMullin (05:08)

• On Early Career Feedback:

  “[It was] just like, you know, kicks in the gut … But then they gave me a coach to work through it and become better.”
  — Adam McMullin (11:03)

• On Leadership Maturity:

  “You sort of fuse your personal self, bring your personal self to work, and you realize, you know, leadership is really about giving things to people.”
  — Adam McMullin (28:48)

• On What Leaders Give:

  “My enthusiasm and energy … help them grow their knowledge … genuine care … and modeling integrity.”
  — Adam McMullin (29:17–29:18)

Memorable Moments & Timestamps

• Running at HIMSS in Las Vegas & Taking a Selfie with “Elvis” (01:23–01:44)
• Adam's Candid Admission: “I'm going to just seem a little dry toast on this one because my playlist is almost all podcasts...” (02:44)
• First Real “Gut Punch” 360 Review at IBM (11:01)
• Passion About Health Tech and Impact—Nurse Inspiration (14:33)
• Hiring and R&D Investments at AvaSure (21:39)
• The Call for LEADERS to Form a Personal Advisory Board (26:42)
• Adam’s Leadership “Four Things” (29:17–29:57)

Conclusion

This episode is rich with practical wisdom on leadership, personal growth, and healthcare innovation. Adam McMullin’s journey illustrates the importance of resilience, mentorship, adaptability, and the steady pursuit of impact through both technology and human connection. His advice, from not “folding like a cheap tent” to giving enthusiasm, knowledge, care, and integrity as a leader, punctuate a philosophy that is both grounded and aspirational for anyone navigating healthcare, technology, or leadership.