This week, Jessica sits down with Dave Mowry, CEO of Breg, to explore how culture helped transform a company that had reached a financial breaking point. When Dave stepped into the CEO role, Breg had just two weeks of cash remaining and was borrowing money simply to pay the interest on its debt. Less than three years later, the company is preparing for an EBITDA budget above $50 million, compared with roughly $17 million when the turnaround began. 

Dave shares why the turnaround began with listening rather than imposing a new strategy. He explains how Breg had strong products and talented people who had become overlooked and disengaged, and why rebuilding trust required leadership to demonstrate through actions that things would be different. He also introduces his framework of believers, skeptics, and cynics, and explains why leaders should leverage the believers, win over the skeptics, and recognize when cynicism has become an obstacle to change.

The conversation also explores how achievable goals can restore confidence inside an organization. After years without bonuses, Dave and his team reset expectations around a goal employees could realistically reach, delivered on their commitment, and used that early win to create momentum. From there, Breg reinvested in its culture, empowered employees to act with greater autonomy, and shifted cultural ownership away from a small group of executives toward leaders throughout the organization.

Dave and Jessica also discuss why culture cannot simply be delegated to HR or treated as a communication initiative. They explore how visible wins, storytelling, grassroots ownership, and employee engagement can turn change from something pushed down by leadership into something driven from within the organization. For Dave, the results demonstrate that investing in people and culture is not separate from financial performance. It is one of the forces capable of producing it.

About Dave Mowry

Dave Mowry, Breg’s Executive Chairperson, stepped in as interim CEO in May 2024. Dave is an executive with extensive leadership experience at medical device companies, having led publicly traded and private equity-owned businesses across several market segments. Dave has specific expertise in the orthopedic industry, having run Tornier, Inc. (now part of Stryker), a leading extremities business, as President and CEO prior to its acquisition.

Dave is excited about Breg and its future. He is committed to working with the management team to identify and make critical investments that will deliver near-term improvements, drive continued market share growth, and build the business into a market leader. Dave’s orthopedic experience will serve Breg well as we work closely with our distribution partners, customers, and their patients to provide best-in-class products through value-added services.

Dave and his wife reside in Orange County, a short commute to the Breg offices in Carlsbad, California. He has two daughters and three grandchildren and considers himself an avid sports fan.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidhmowry/

             Website: https://www.breg.com/

Host: Jessica Kriegel

• Website:jessicakriegel.com

• LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/jessicakriegel

• Instagram:@jess_kriegel

Culture Partners

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