We are the makers of possible: Building Bonds to Last a Lifetime

Dave Toth vividly remembers his first week at BD in the Summer 2022. It happened to be the same week his mom started her first round of chemotherapy for cancer.

 “She snapped a picture of the BD Alaris^TM Infusion System while sitting in the doctor’s office and I kept thinking how critical that system is for the healthcare industry overall – for hundreds of thousands of people around the world. It confirmed why I came to BD in the first place – to help contribute to advancing the world of health^TM,” Dave shared.

Mechanical Engineering Turned Design Assurance Leader

As a Senior Director of Design Assurance, residing in San Diego and working solely on the BD Alaris^TM Infusion System, Dave explained that his role is to work closely with systems, hardware (mechanical and electrical) and software engineers to ensure the integrity of the system in accordance with its requirements while working to resolve potential product issues at their earliest point of prevention: Design. Dave graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.

“I cannot do my job without working with the larger team and I appreciate how BD’s culture facilitates collaboration and getting things done the right way. My role allows me to get an in-depth view of the lifecycle of a Med Tech solution from idea to decommissioning and I love that,” said Dave.

Prior to coming to BD, Dave worked at another Med Tech company, as well as a bio tech organization. He had heard of BD and thought it may be a place where he could fully utilize this skills, experience, and problem-solving mindset to make an impact and he was right.

“I wanted to come to BD and make a difference, even just 1% -- that would be huge. Being able to work with the entire cross-functional team on the updated BD Alaris^TM Infusion System 510k clearance, which was received in the summer of 2023 -- was one of the greatest opportunities of my career. We’ve built bonds with each other that transcend normal corporate America business relationships. I feel so proud of the work we did in getting the product back onto market,” he noted. “It was all-hands-on-deck and we engaged and came together – everyone supporting one another – nothing short of amazing.”

Possibilities, Perspective and Person

If you spend any time speaking to Dave, you cannot help but get inspired by his passion for BD, his natural curiosity, and the ease at which he shares his philosophy about the workplace – which he boils down to “Three Ps.”

“I look at things through possibilities, perspective, and person – and I use the last word intentionally. First: possibilities are out there to enhance what we do as an organization and where we need to go, we just need to rally people around our strategy even more …. second, perspective is about understanding what the customer needs and what we need as a company to deliver to them, which anchors back to possibilities. Third, our organization starts with each individual person – we build trust with each other on a one-to-one basis – understanding each other’s motivations and what inspires us. If you can understand these three things, we can drive efforts and deliver results that truly matter,” Dave explained.

In his personal time, Dave and his wife enjoy skiing, running, biking, and traveling, which is a huge passion for them. They have traveled to Iran, Japan, and a handful of other countries and appreciate learning about other cultures and cuisine. Another big love is gaming.

“I am lucky to still be close with the group of friends I had at Purdue -- many of whom have gone onto earn their PhDs in various STEM fields and although we’re scattered across the country, we try and set aside a few hours each month to connect and compete through video games. I’m competitive so it’s a lot of fun,” Dave concluded.