Our Founder

Honoring the innovator, the entrepreneur, and the 3-decade-long vision of our founder and CEO, Dan Daniels to transform healthcare safety.
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Our Founder

Circle Images ddaniels“As a leader you always look for what’s not there – where are the gaps? To be a leader, you need to have a vision for a different future to where we are now”

From his first job in a potato chip factory where he challenged mechanical shortfalls that were impeding production efficiencies, to the moment he met a microbiologist who instilled a passion and vision that would change the course of his life; our founder Dan Daniels has lived courageously and relentlessly in pursuit of “a different future”, forever energized by his mantra “our best is yet to come”.

Heralded as an innovator, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and a world changer, Dan’s principled belief in the value of humanity and the responsibility of wealth has channeled his time and energy into innovation, social empowerment and catalyst leadership. Pioneering not only a product and business methodology that saves lives, but challenging accepted norms around healthcare safety, environmental responsibility, and regulatory accountability, Dan fought enormous challenges including anti-competitive market hostility, near-bankruptcy (more than once), and over 20 court cases that put his principled beliefs to the absolute test.

“We’ve had years of what I consider failures; going to bed every night ‘everything is broken, we don’t have the banking in place, we’re getting blocked by competitors’… Having the courage to get up every day and push through to the next level is the making of all of us.”

The Journey

A few of the obstacles overcome in the pursuit of Dan’s vision:

  • Challenging 64 independent competitors in an overcrowded market with no experience, little capital, a small runabout van, and only his mom on the payroll
  • Having researched every needlestick on record, designing a sharps container that would resolve the 13 safety risks associated with needle disposal
  • In defiance of a financially lucrative disposable container model, designing robotic washing equipment (made up of over 15,000 individual parts) that would service reusable containers to a best-in-class microbiological standard
  • Challenging EPA regulations towards reusability and non-burn technology, shifting thinking away from single-use and incineration
  • Challenging lobbyists to get a UN minimum standard for sharps container safety
  • Losing money year after year, with a business model that has a minimum 10 year payback strategy
  • 20+ breakthrough court cases including a case against the ACCC that went to the supreme court in Australia and won, becoming a landmark case that every law student must study

Breaking the Mold

Without contextual familiarity, it’s hard for most of us to visualize change; to normalize it into our present reality and understand how it will impact us positively or negatively. Such was an example of a Scottish nurse that attended a meeting where Dan was presenting in 2000. After seeing his presentation she said “I only turned up to be polite and respectful because you had travelled around the world to be here, but honestly I had no interest because I thought you were going to present a bucket and a toilet brush. I had no idea that it would be a robotically-supported container.” After meeting Dan and hearing his story, her worldview was changed.

“The lessons that I have learned through our business; it’s those hardships and the challenges we overcome that gives us the apprenticeship, skills and qualifications to succeed”

39 years on, since founding a fledgling business in a home garage at the age of 21, Dan has driven market transformation in six countries, challenging instilled beliefs around reusability and environmental governance, innovating solutions to problems that were deemed “impossible”, and advocating for a safer healthcare for clinicians around the globe. He has defied the model that has defined our competitive market; in Dan’s words “Their vision was to make a whole lot of money out of healthcare, our vision was to make a difference in healthcare and deliver a clinical outcome.” For 39 years Daniels Health has stayed true to its mission “making healthcare safer” despite the financial uncertainties, the missional adversity and the overwhelming temptation to give up and opt for an easier path. This tenacity is testament to the resolve of Dan Daniels, and his ability to galvanize people around his belief in protecting people and protecting the environment.

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