Tina Vidal-Duart never imagined her career would lead her into the center of healthcare and disaster response. “I set out to be an international lawyer,” she recalled. “But life had other plans.” That unexpected turn led her to become CEO of CDR Health, one of the fastest-growing providers of healthcare services during crises, from pandemics to hurricanes.
Her first step into healthcare was not carefully planned, it was a leap of faith. While pursuing her master’s in international business, Vidal-Duart was recruited to a healthcare startup focused on acquiring distressed hospital assets. “I knew most startups fail,” she said. “But I was young, I had no children, and I thought, what do I have to lose?” As the only employee for a time, she wore every hat, HR, accounting, business development, legal, and compliance. “It was exhausting, but that breadth of experience taught me everything about running a business,” she explained. By 25, she was already a hospital CEO, turning around struggling facilities and selling them to regional providers.
Then came the 2008 financial crash, drying up capital for new acquisitions. Instead of retreating, she said yes to every opportunity that came her way. The willingness to take risks expanded her experience into logistics, green energy, and even managing some of the top MMA fighters. “Nothing was off the table. Every yes made me more adaptable and confident.”
That mindset also drew her into the company her husband owned in engineering and emergency management. She helped restructure operations, and when COVID-19 struck, CDR was activated to source and distribute PPE, medical supplies, and lab capacity for the State of Florida. Out of that moment, CDR Health was born, now part of the broader CDR family of companies, which includes CDR Maguire Engineering, CDR Financial Services, and CDR Emergency Management.
For Vidal-Duart, leading CDR Health during the pandemic was both professional and deeply personal. “I believed the only way to save my family’s life was to be on the frontlines of information,” she said. When her husband contracted COVID in early 2020 and came within hours of being put on a ventilator, she drew on knowledge of experimental treatments to secure a therapy that saved him. “The next day, he was a different person,” she recalled. That experience cemented her mission: to save as many lives as possible by expanding access to care.
CDR Health went on to treat millions of patients, pioneering faster delivery of monoclonal antibodies that helped thousands recover. “We were able to serve 3,000 people a day at multiple sites,” she said. According to the company, it has delivered more than $500 million in healthcare services, opened thousands of hospital beds during hurricanes, and provided care to over 250,000 refugees. “When someone writes to say their spouse or parent survived because of our treatment, that’s why I do this,” Vidal-Duart said.
Her story is also one of sacrifice. At the height of COVID, she was a new mother, often away from her children for weeks. “I saw them only for a couple of hours on Sundays,” she admitted. Even now, when disasters strike, she sometimes sleeps on the floor of emergency operations centers alongside her teams. “I could pay someone else to do it, but showing up matters,” she said. “Presence, follow-through, and sacrifice are what make the difference.”
Vidal-Duart believes her journey offers lessons for the next generation of leaders, especially women. “If your goal is to set the world on fire, take risks while you are young,” she advised. “Understand that it won’t be a 40-hour workweek. It’s 18 hours a day, seven days a week. But the payoff can be extraordinary.” For those less ready to gamble on a startup, she recommends internships across industries. “Expose yourself to as much as possible so you are never pigeonholed. That flexibility is a superpower.”
She also challenges young professionals to reject fear. “Most people operate from fear, but nothing great was ever built by playing it safe,” she said. Opportunities, she noted, rarely arrive at convenient times. “When the chance comes, it might mean canceling your vacation or stepping outside your comfort zone. But if you turn it down, nothing in life changes.”
That philosophy continues to shape CDR Health as it grows its footprint in healthcare, disaster response, and beyond. From managing crisis relief to delivering frontline care when hospitals are inaccessible, the company remains committed to protecting communities in their most vulnerable moments. For Vidal-Duart, it is both work and purpose. “Every statistic is a life saved, a family kept whole,” she said. “And that’s what drives me every single day.”
