Interview: Gray Chynoweth, Chief Membership Officer for ARMI | BioFabUSA

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead.   I love this quote because it gives me the courage to work on big problems with small teams and the confidence to know that our efforts can have an impact.”

 
Gray Chynoweth serves as Chief Membership Officer for ARMI | BioFabUSA where he oversees membership development and marketing activities and acts as a catalyst for the emerging biofabricaition ecosystem.
Prior to joining ARMI | BioFabUSA in January of 2018, Gray was an executive at multiple information technology companies.   As an early executive at Dyn (acquired by Oracle), Gray helped scale the company from less than 20 to more than 450 employees, raise $50,000,000 in venture capital funding, grow revenue 30x and establish global operations, with offices in the US, the UK, and Australia.
Gray holds a J.D. and M.A. in Public Policy from Duke University and was awarded a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley, where he graduated magna cum laude.

Mr. Gray Chynoweth will be presenting at our upcoming 3DHEALS Boston event.

Jenny: When was the first encounter you had with 3D printing? What was that experience like? What were you thinking at that moment?
Gray: My first experience with 3d printing was on a tour at DEKA with Dean Kamen when we visited the machine shop.  This occurred many years prior to starting my work with Dean at ARMI. What captured my attention about the technology was the design flexibility and innovation enablement that it offered to engineers and entrepreneurs.
Jenny: What inspired you to start your journey/company/career/research in 3D printing (bio-fabrication/bio-printing)?
Gray: Over my career, I’ve been able to scale companies and build commercial and community ecosystems.  It was exciting to think that I could deploy these skills, which had been focused in and around the IT industry, in an industry where products the save lives and help wounded warfighters.
Jenny: Who inspired you the most along this journey in 3D printing (bio-printing/bio-fabrication)? This can be a mentor, a patient, a celebrity, anyone basically. You can name more than one as well.
Gray: Dean Kamen’s vision that engineering breakthroughs and a diverse ecosystem of collaborators could act as the catalyst for rapid innovation and commercialization of engineered tissues and organs inspired me to join ARMI | BioFabUSA.
Jenny: What motivates you the most for your work?
Gray: From improving lives to reducing healthcare costs, to developing a next-generation manufacturing industry that provides quality job opportunities, the potential impact of ARMI | BioFabUSA’s work are deep, broad and profound.
Jenny: What is/are the biggest obstacle(s) in your line of work? If you have conquered them, what were your solutions?
Gray: ARMI’s mission is to make practical the large-scale manufacturing of engineered tissues and tissue-related technologies, to benefit existing industries and grow new ones.  To do this we’ll have to overcome many obstacles. Tissue and Organ manufacture need new manufacturing tools. They need better and better understood, regulatory pathways and standards frameworks.  They need capital. They need the costs of their therapies to be reimbursable. They need hospitals and clinicians that are ready, willing and able to deliver their therapies to patients.
Jenny: What do you think is (are) the biggest challenge(s) in 3D Printing/bio-printing? What do you think the potential solution(s) is (are)?
Gray: 3D bio-printing is only one part of the tissue and organ manufacturing process.   For 3D bio-printing to truly enable the manufacturing of engineered tissues and organs, these printers must be effectively integrated into an automated manufacturing process, not simply be suitable to stand-alone or prototyping activities.
Jenny: What advice would you give to a smart driven college student in the “real world”? What bad advice you heard should they ignore?
Gray: I’ve valued the lessons I learned from reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Covey) and the 48 Laws of Power (Greene) and doing completing the StrengthsFinder workbook.
Jenny: What was/is the biggest risk you took in your career?
Gray: I left a promising partner-track career as a lawyer to join a small IT startup.
I left a set of deep connections and history of proven success in operations and IT to work in business development and BioTech.  
Jenny: What do you enjoy in your spare time? What are you passionate about outside of your work/3d printing?
Gray: I love New Hampshire and trying to make it a better place for people to stay, work and play.
Jenny: What is your favorite quote? Why?
Gray: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead.   I love this quote because it gives me the courage to work on big problems with small teams and the confidence to know that our efforts can have an impact.