An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Know Your Customers — With target markets worldwide, Mips has taken a vested interest in understanding our customer base in different regions, and partnering with experts across the globe for deeper knowledge.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Max Strandwitz, CEO of Mips.
Max Strandwitz is the Chief Executive Officer of Mips. Most recently, Max served as Chief Financial Officer of Mips from 2016 to 2019. Previously, he built his career in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, as the CFO Operations at Cloetta AB and Finance Director at Unilever Supply Chain Company and Unilever Nordic. Max has a degree in Economics from Borås Högskola in Sweden.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My career background is very different from the work that I am doing today. Prior to Mips, I built my career in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, primarily within Unilever. In 2016, I was contacted by a friend who was the Chairman of the Board of a very small ingredient brand company, Mips. I had never heard of Mips before, but was soon interested in the company, and especially its product, the Mips® safety system. Since joining the company, I have not regretted my decision, or a single day since I began working here.
Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Mips’ mission is “leading the world to safer helmets,” and it’s always rewarding to hear from our customers about the impact Mips has made.
In my job, there is a lot to be proud of. The most special moments for me are when I get letters from people across the world who claim that Mips made a difference in their accidents. That is something I carry with me all the time.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
Play hard but fair.
Ok thank you for that. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
Global helmet wearing adoption, with an emphasis on helmets that help reduce rotational motion to the head. This goes hand in hand with increased awareness of rotational motion, and its role in causing concussions.
How do you think this will change the world?
There are far too many unprotected heads in the world. Too many people do not wear helmets when they should, whether they be skiing, mountain biking, or on a construction site.
When we fall and hit our head — whether it be on dirt, ice, or the pavement — this almost always occurs at an angled impact. This is the key problem that the Mips® safety system works to address. The low-friction layer inside of helmets allows multi-directional movement of 10–15mm on certain angled impacts, which is intended to help reduce rotational motion to the head.
Pioneer studies from the mid-20th century have shown that rotational motion is a key component in some traumatic brain injuries such as concussions and diffuse axonal injury. The rotational motion causes shearing of the brain tissue, which can cause traumatic brain injuries. After these pioneering studies, more recent studies have supported the prevalence of rotational motion in diffuse traumatic brain injuries.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 1.6 to 3.8 million sports and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) occur each year. It’s critical that everyone takes action to protect their heads, starting with more frequent helmet usage.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
Certainly not, in fact we believe the opposite is true. Increased awareness of both rotational motion and the benefits of helmet usage is necessary to help educate consumers on the risks associated with TBIs, and how they can help protect themselves.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
Mips was developed to achieve better protection against rotational motion transferred to the head. We know wearing a helmet can help prevent many of the injuries that would occur otherwise, but our co-founders Peter Halldin and Hans von Holst were convinced that the helmets generally available were not providing sufficient protection. This led to the creation of the Mips safety system, designed to help provide added safety for helmets in many accidents.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
Rotational motion is a common cause for concussions and more severe brain injury in oblique hits to the head. Yet according to a recent survey conducted by consumer survey company Nielsen and commissioned by Mips, about 70% of American and German helmet buyers are unaware of rotational motion.
Oftentimes, TBIs are poorly understood. Educating consumers about the risks of rotational motion, and the role of helmets, is a critical step in widespread adoption.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.
- Think Big Picture — Don’t set the bar too low when planning your goals, whether that be for yourself, or your company.
- Focus On Your Team — Build out a team of trusted colleagues who are experts in their field or specialty, so that you can focus on what you need to.
- Prioritize Kindness — We’ve worked hard to establish a company culture that centers around kindness and respect, within our business and with our customers. This has created a positive work environment, and I’d advise anyone to implement this as soon as they have the chance.
- Consider Your Impact — As a growing company, Mips is highly aware of the impact that our work has on the environment and the society, and are taking steps to become more sustainable.
- Know Your Customers — With target markets worldwide, Mips has taken a vested interest in understanding our customer base in different regions, and partnering with experts across the globe for deeper knowledge.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
Say what you are going to do, and do what you say you are going to do.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
They can follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Mips: Max Strandwitz’s Big Idea That Might Change The World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
