Ethics is a small word with a big impact. According to his peers, few people are as skilled at championing business ethics than Tom Schumacher, vice president and global chief ethics and compliance officer at Medtronic.

He recently received the 2017 PwC Award for Leadership in the Advancement of Ethics in the Medical Device Industry. “It feels good to be recognized by your peers, but I think this is more an award for the company,” Schumacher told Medtech Insight. “At some point, most people will want to feel like their work is doing something for more than their pocketbook. If you figure out how to create an environment that rewards that impulse, you’re going to have a more loyal and engaged workforce.”

“At some point, most people will want to feel like their work is doing something for more than their pocketbook. '

Tom Schumacher, vice president and global chief ethics and compliance officer

The award is given annually to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the advancement of ethics and ethical behavior in the medical device and diagnostics industry. Schumacher and his team of more than 140 people are charged with maintaining business ethics across the entire Medtronic global operation, which employs 88,000 people in 160 countries.

Schumacher has been instrumental in enhancing ethics and compliance as part of the company’s mission and incorporating ethical behavior awareness into the employee performance review process. Histeam also works with international third-parties that do business with medical device companies, to train them in ethical business practices. He was also honored for that work.

“Tom’s leadership and excellence in advancing business ethics and compliance in the medtech space exemplify all the qualities that this award represents, and I congratulate him for this well-deserved honor,” said Christopher L. White, chief operating officer and general counsel at the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), which solicits nominees for the award and picks the winners. The awards were presented at the annual Global MedTech Compliance Conference in Amsterdam.