In a recent episode of the Veterans Corner podcast, Unify Medical President and CEO Douglas Carroll sat down with host George Hinistrosa, a retired Air Force and Army veteran, to discuss how military service can shape leadership and long-term success beyond the uniform. The show’s mission is to equip transitioning service members with real-world insight from veterans who have built meaningful careers across industries, and Carroll’s journey offers a compelling example.
Before his multiple wins in several breakthrough medical device companies, Carroll served as an Infantry officer in the Army’s famed 101st Airborne Division, where training and experience instilled in him the ability to lead under sustained pressure and intense uncertainty. Those lessons became the foundation for a subsequent career spent building and scaling medtech startups, including six companies that were ultimately acquired. With recent victories including the initial launch and scale of Novadaq’s’s global business culminating in its acquisition by Stryker in 2017, to serving as Chief Commercial Officer at AI start-up Gauss Surgical through the COVID-19 pandemic where it too was acquired by Stryker in 2021, Carroll has consistently been called upon to turn emerging technology into solutions that improve patient outcomes.
In the interview, Carroll reflects on his transition from military service to the private sector, emphasizing that it was never a pivot, but rather an application of the same core skills in a different environment. He draws clear parallels between leading soldiers in austere environments to leading a startup, highlighting concepts like mission command, grit, and servant leadership as universal principles that transcend industries.
Carroll also speaks candidly about the responsibility to give back, from mentoring teams to endowing the Douglas and Kristin Carroll US Army Gray-to-Gold Ring Award at The Citadel. His message to transitioning service members is both practical and reassuring: the military prepares you for what comes next, the bonds you build endure, and leadership is ultimately about serving the people around you.
Watch the full Veterans Corner interview with Douglas Carroll below.
