The Honourable Scott Brison, BMO Vice Chair, BMO Wealth, recently held a fireside chat with Frank Baylis, Executive Co-Chair of Baylis Medical Technologies, as part of a BMO industry luncheon event, held in partnership with Medtech Canada and AdvaMed, that brought together medical technology CEOs and industry leaders. Chair of Baylis Medical Technologies, as part of a

A Canadian entrepreneur, engineer and former Member of Parliament, Frank Baylis’ unique career bridges public policy, private enterprise and social equity. Baylis is actively leading initiatives to modernize Canada’s healthcare system, champion innovation in AI and technology, and support the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Listen to their conversation:

The following is a summary of their conversation.

Baylis’ mother, Gloria, founded Baylis Medical in 1986. She had no external funding sources, no network of wealthy friends or family, and venture capital didn’t exist in Canada at the time. Still, she was driven to create an importer and reseller of cutting-edge medical devices (the company has since transitioned to researching and developing products in-house).

“She started [Baylis Medical] in 1983 in her house, incorporated in ’86, I joined her in ’89, and then my partner, Kris Shah, came right after that,” Baylis said. “We had certain guiding principles that were hers. We’ve never left them, even today. We’ve grown, built, sold off pieces, but we’ve always kept those guiding principles and her vision. That has been consistent.”

Baylis and Shah, who share Executive Co-Chair duties at Baylis Medical, have maintained an entrepreneurial partnership for 45 years, which is why Baylis has a unique understanding of the traits that lead to sustainable success.

“It’s like any strong relationship,” Baylis said. “If you don’t have mutual respect, if you’re not both adding value, if you’re not foundationally cohesive, it’s not going to work. You need someone who compliments you. You need to know what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are. And if you don’t have any weaknesses, then you’re lying to yourself and you’re not going to find a good partner.”

In their case, Shah’s technical expertise and organizational skills balance Baylis’ sales acumen. That came in handy when Baylis stepped away from the business to enter the world of politics.

“It’s really good that he took over because as the company got bigger, it became a different company,” he said. “When you go from 50 to 250 people, you can’t run it like you did when you hit 50. When you hit 1,000, it changes again. I believe Kris brought more structure, which we needed as we got bigger and bigger.”

Noting that school came easy for him, Baylis said he didn’t always push himself as hard as he could have. But he’s carried that lesson with him throughout his business career.

“The only fundamental thing that I’d do differently is I would make more of an effort in everything I’m doing,” Baylis said. “Now, I try to hold myself accountable. Whatever you choose to do, just do it, but really, really do it. Don’t do it halfheartedly.”