Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based VP’ operating in the Medical Device space. If you think a VP’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Rukiya Packer
Vice President of Vitality Medical
Rukiya Packer is the Vice President at Vitality Medical.
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About Vitality Medical: Vitality Medical provides quality home medical supplies and hospital equipment.
Adam Dunn
Vice President Information Technology Operations of Vitality Medical
Adam is a full time problem solver. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 2010 with a B.S. in Information Science and Technology and later graduated with his M.S. in Information Systems from Utah University in 2013. Since starting with Vitality Medical in 2009, Adam assumes the role of IT Director by using his web experience to improve customer’s online experience. Before working at Vitality Medical, Adam worked as an Operations Specialist for a local credit union where he managed web development and online processes to streamline consumer loans.
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About Vitality Medical: Vitality Medical provides quality home medical supplies and hospital equipment.
RJ Fitch
Vice President Operations & General Manager of WuXi AppTec
Innovative senior management leader Raymond J. “RJ” Fitch possesses more than two decades of experience in the biotech and global healthcare industries. As the Vice President of Operations & General Manager for WuXi AppTec Advanced Therapies, Mr. Fitch leverages his knowledge of site operations and supply chain functions to oversee logistics operations, biological testing services, engineering, and other operations at the company’s Philadelphia location. RJ Fitch is responsible for three facilities within the Philadelphia site. Mr. Fitch began his career more than 20 years ago, graduating from Philadelphia University with a bachelor of science in biology. After working for Merck & Company, he joined Sanofi Pasteur as a director of vaccine aseptic filling & formulation. He stayed with the company for seven years, rising through the ranks to become the senior director of influenza viral manufacturing. Mr. Fitch later served as the associate vice president at Genzyme, a Sanofi company, and vice president of Sanofi Pasteur in Toronto, Canada. During his time with Sanofi Pasteur, RJ Fitch returned to school to earn an executive MBA from the New York University Stern School of Business.
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About WuXi AppTec: WuXi AppTec provides a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services that enable companies in the pharmaceutical.
Jason Moskowitz
VP of Sales, Clinical Care Division of Drive Medical
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Joseph Lewarski
Senior Vice President/General Manager, Clinical Care & North America Manufacturing of Drive Medical
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Karen Lerner
Regional Vice President of Pressure Prevention of Drive Medical
Karen is a registered nurse, wound care and rehab specialist with over 25 years of industry experience. Karen has extensive experience as a public speaker, educating DME providers and clinicians on a variety of topics. Karen’s speaking engagements included testifying before Congress on behalf of the HME industry. Since October 2013, Karen has worked as part of Team Pressure Prevention at Drive Medical. Prior to coming to Drive and for over 10 years, Karen was VP of Clinical Services at a Northeast based DME, responsible for Pressure Prevention, Respiratory and Rehab sales, as well as service and training. Before DME, Karen worked in sales for a hospital equipment and support surface manufacturer. Karen began her career as a critical care nurse specialist in major teaching hospitals from Florida to NJ. Karen received her undergraduate degree from Duke University and her graduate education from the University of Florida.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Josh Gordon
Vice President of Inside Sales for North America of Drive Medical
After graduating from Penn State University in 1999, Joshua Gordon spent several years growing a sales portfolio in recruiting and admissions for the Katharine Gibbs School. Josh joined Drive Medical in 2002 as a Territory Business Manager for the Philadelphia Region. In 2009, Josh took his experience from outside sales and developed a new Inside Sales Department for the company.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Michael Serhan
Executive Principal & Executive Vice President of Product Development of Drive Medical
Michael Serhan is an Executive principal to Drive Medical. Michael joined the company in 2004, with the Company’s merger of Dr. K international, a West Coast manufacturer and distributor of durable medical products, where he served as President and Principal stock holder. At Dr.K, Mr. Serhan was able to redirect the company’s direction and grow annual revenues to approximately $14 million. In the industry from 1987, Michael has served as West Coast division President of an approximately $180 Million publicly traded company. Michael is primarily responsible for product development and product design, overseeing core product categories, and handling large national customers for Drive Medical.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Ryan Mahoney
Regional Vice President – Midwest Sales Division of Drive Medical
A graduate from University of Dayton and previously working for a homecare provider in the Pittsburgh market, Ryan joined Drive Medical in 2009 as a Territory Manager for Western Pennsylvania. With a highly successful territory, Ryan earned the 2010 Rookie of the Year award, the 2011 Rep of the year award and was promoted in 2012 to Vice President of Sales for Drive’s Midwest division.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Jeffrey Schwartz
Executive Vice President of Sales of Drive Medical
Jeffrey Schwartz is a principal founder of Drive medical. Jeffrey served as the Vice President of Sales of Diamond Medical and National Healthcare from 1987 until 1992. Following the sale to a publicly traded healthcare company, Jeffrey served as the Vice President of Sales of such public company until 1996. In 1996, Jeffrey formed Jofra Enterprises, Inc., a distributor of medical products, located in Mt. Vernon, New York, which was subsequently acquired by a publicly traded healthcare company in 1998. Jeffrey served as the Executive Vice President of Sales of the publicly traded healthcare company from 1998 through 2000.
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About Drive Medical, Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Rowley Jackson
Senior Vice President of Corporate Accounts of Drive Medical
Rowley Jackson has been in the medical products industry for over 25 years and has served in many capacities from managing sales to product development. Rowley has been with Drive Medical since the beginning. He was the first vendor for Drive, supplying product from a domestic manufacturer where he served as the Executive Vice president. Rowley joined Drive in January of 2001 to create its initial sales force.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Seth Diamond
Vice President of Ecommerce Division of Drive Medical
Seth Diamond has been part of the Drive team since its inception. In his tenure, Seth has held many roles and his diverse contributions have made him an integral factor in Drive success. His knowledge of durable medical equipment, sales experience and background in Ecommerce has allowed him to flourish as V.P. of the Ecommerce Division. Seth’s responsibilities include the management and development of the Drive brand via the World Wide Web.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Greg Eaton
Regional Vice President of Respiratory Sales of Drive Medical
Greg Eaton started with Drive Medical in July of 2015 through the acquisition of DeVilbiss Healthcare. Greg brings over 29 years of medical sales and sales management experience in Orthopedics, Spine, Sleep and Respiratory. Greg started his medical career with Medtronic as a territory sales manager in Indianapolis, and earned President’s Club honors in his first year. Medtronic promoted him to management covering the Southeast District based out of North Carolina. Greg then moved to a start up territory opportunity with ResMed, specializing in sleep disordered breathing. During his tenure, Greg was instrumental in growing a small market of less than $500,000 annual sales to a market of $50 million and was honored with 5 President’s Club awards. Greg then accepted an opportunity in the Spine industry with Orthofix as the Regional Director. His leadership took the Mid-Atlantic Region to 3 consecutive years as Region of the Year and President’s Club honors. After his time with Orthofix, Greg was recruited back to the Sleep and Respiratory industry by Devilbiss Healthcare as the Eastern Region Manager.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Francheska Markman
Vice President of Customer Service of Drive Medical
Francheska Markman is a Customer Service and Call Center professional with over 18 years of experience. Most recently, Francheska led and directed a 65-seat Customer Service and Accounts Receivable Departments at Southern Wine and Spirits, a mutli-million dollar national distributor of adult beverages. Francheska has been recognized for her strength in strategic work flow planning, managerial expertise of a fast paced, high volume call center, resourcefulness and commitment to success.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Tony Crisitello
Senior Vice President of Long Term Care of Drive Medical
Tony Crisitello joined Drive Medical in 2014 as Senior Vice President – Long Term Care. Tony responsible for strategic development and growth of this division through both acquisitions and organic growth in North America. Prior to joining Drive Medical, Tony was Co-Founder and President of Next Day Medical, a regional distribution business based in Baltimore, MD. Tony sold this business to McKesson Medical Surgical in 2012, and held various leadership positions in their organization during the two year integration period of Next Day Medical. Tony holds a degree in marketing from Old Dominion University and has attended several executive level programs at NYU Stern School of Business, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Vanessa Saltmarsh
Regional Vice President of Drive Medical
Vanessa Saltmarsh joined Drive Medical in 2012 as the Director of Respiratory Business Services. In this role, she called on her 16+ years of industry related experience to provide direction and leadership to key accounts. Prior to joining Drive Medical, Vanessa began her career at evo Medical Solutions, where she took on progressively responsible roles in the areas of sales, marketing, and operational management. Vanessa has been recognized as a leader in respiratory sales, program development and strategic account management. In August 2015, Vanessa was promoted to Regional Vice President of Respiratory Sales, where she owns responsibility for key account management, training, marketing communications content, and salesforce clinical support for Drive’s respiratory category.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
David Pugh
Regional VP Respiratory of Drive Medical
David Pugh joined Drive Medical in 2012 as Regional Vice President, Respiratory Sales, bringing 29 years of sales and sales management experience in the home healthcare sector. David began his career with DeVilbiss Healthcare in a sales capacity in 1986. David was subsequently promoted to Regional Sales Manager and then to Sales Director. Through an acquisition in 1996, David joined Sunrise Medical and held various roles including the Director of Respiratory Business Development, Vice President, and finally National Accounts. David joined evo Medical Solutions in 2004 to develop and run their sales organization. David hired and directed sales groups until leaving to join Inspired Technologies in 2008 as Vice President of Sales. During his career at Inspired Technologies, David hired and directed the start up sales group, launched 5 new products in 2 and a half years, and assisted in the development of the SmartDose Auto Adjusting technology. David holds a Business and Marketing Degree from Georgia State University, Atlanta GA.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Thomas Antonio
Vice President of Financial & CFO of Drive Medical
Thomas Antonio joined the Company in February 2004, and is primarily responsible for financial reporting. From 1986 through 1997, Thomas Antonio served as the Assistant Vice President and Controller of Charan Industries, a privately-held company which owned and operated bowling centers throughout the United States. From 1997 through February 2004, Thomas served as the Chief Financial Officer of several privately-held companies located in the metropolitan New York area.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Dan O’Malley
Regional Vice President of Pressure Prevention Sales of Drive Medical
Dan O’Malley joined Drive Medical in 2013, as Regional VP of Pressure Prevention Sales in connection with the Company’s acquisition of a national manufacturer of durable medical products. Dan is primarily responsible for the Company’s category sales in Pressure Prevention for the homecare and long term care markets. Dan has 20 years of experience working in the acute care, long term care, and homecare settings in the medical device, rehabilitation, and durable medical equipment industries. More recently, Dan served as the National Sales Manager for Mason Medical Products, a manufacturer of Pressure Prevention products. Dan is a 1995 graduate of the University of Massachusetts.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Steve Wakser
Vice President of Sales for Southeast of Drive Medical
Steve Wakser started with Drive in January 2009, with over 10 years of experience in the DME industry running a successful dealership in Ohio. Steve quickly grew his Michigan territory to top numbers and achieved Rookie of the Year in 2009 and Rep of the Year in 2010, with over $6 million in sales. Continued success led Steve to Regional Vice President of the Southeast in 2012. Steve holds a Bachelors Degree in Communications from Kent State University.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Jim McGuiness
Vice President of Sales – Retail Division of Drive Medical
Jim McGuiness joined Drive Medical in March of 2010. Jim brings over 25 years of executive sales leadership experience from the Consumer Package Goods industry (GSK & Bayer Consumer Healthcare). Jim is a graduate of LSU and currently resides in Dallas, Texas. Jim is responsible for leading the Retail Sales Division for Drive Medical.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
John Zelczak
Regional VP of Respiratory Sales of Drive Medical
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Christopher Cheek
Vice President of Distributor Sales of Drive Medical
Christopher Cheek joined Drive Medical in July of 2014 as Vice President of Distributor Sales through the acquisition of MEDQUIP Inc. Christopher brings with him over 25 years of successful experience within the medical products industry and has specialized in distributor-wholesale partner management for most of his profession. In January 2006, Christopher joined MEDQUIP shortly after its inception as National Sales Manager and relocated to the company’s headquarters in South Carolina in 2008, where Christopher served as the organization’s Vice President and General Manager. Throughout his career, Christopher has served in many capacities within the industry including Director of Business Development for a major manufacturer and distributor of orthotic braces, compression hosiery and durable medical equipment. Other positions held include National Sales Manager of a leading Medical Hosiery Manufacturer. Christopher’s experience within the industry is comprised of an extensive history within the business and has a strong acumen in sales management, marketing, product development, sales training and continuing education.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
John Zelczak
Regional VP of Respiratory Sales of Drive Medical
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Christopher Cheek
Vice President of Distributor Sales of Drive Medical
Christopher Cheek joined Drive Medical in July of 2014 as Vice President of Distributor Sales through the acquisition of MEDQUIP Inc. Christopher brings with him over 25 years of successful experience within the medical products industry and has specialized in distributor-wholesale partner management for most of his profession. In January 2006, Christopher joined MEDQUIP shortly after its inception as National Sales Manager and relocated to the company’s headquarters in South Carolina in 2008, where Christopher served as the organization’s Vice President and General Manager. Throughout his career, Christopher has served in many capacities within the industry including Director of Business Development for a major manufacturer and distributor of orthotic braces, compression hosiery and durable medical equipment. Other positions held include National Sales Manager of a leading Medical Hosiery Manufacturer. Christopher’s experience within the industry is comprised of an extensive history within the business and has a strong acumen in sales management, marketing, product development, sales training and continuing education.
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Will Fraser
VP Corporate Accounts of Drive Medical
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About Drive Medical: Drive Medical is one of the fastest growing global distributors of durable medical equipment.
Ron Pellegrini
Vice President & Head of Field Service LD/POC of Siemens Healthineers
Ron Pellegrini’s career with Siemens Healthcare spans over 20 years. It began as a licensed Medical Technologist specializing in Chemistry with the U.S. Air Force and at hospitals in Dallas / Fort Worth area. His experience led him to an engineering position with Ciba-Corning Diagnostics. He has held the position of Regional Service Manager and Technical Sales Manager for Chiron & Bayer Healthcare. He held the role of National Technical Sales Director at Siemens and was a Zone Vice President in the Midwest & Western Zones for both the In Vivo and In Vitro businesses prior to taking on his recent role as Vice President, Head of Field Service for LD/POC. Ron was awarded Rookie of the Year, Regional Manager & Director of the year, a three time President’s Club award winner and VP of the Year and a four time APEX winner while in his Service and Technical Sales Leadership positions. He is member of the American Medical Technologists (AMT), a mentor with the American Corporate Partners (ACP) for US Military Members, and is very active as a volunteer within his church community. Ron has been married for the past 29 years with four beautiful children. He enjoys traveling, golf and the watching the Dallas Cowboys. He holds Bachelors degree in Medical Technology from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, TX and has a Masters degree in Business.
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About Siemens Healthineers: Siemens Healthineers is a healthcare technology company that provides diagnostic and therapeutic products and services.
Maynd Jolly
Vice President Strategic Corporate Accounts of Siemens Healthineers
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About Siemens Healthineers: Siemens Healthineers is a healthcare technology company that provides diagnostic and therapeutic products and services.
Sebastian Kronmueller
Vice President, Head of Strategy & Business Development – Laboratory Diagnostics of Siemens Healthineers
Sebastian Kronmueller incubates startup businesses within Healthineers with a focus on novel molecular applications. His current incubation businesses include the Siemens Healthcare Laboratory in Berkeley, California and NEO New Oncology in Cologne, Germany. Previously he led the execution of strategic initiatives as Head of Special Projects for Siemens Healthineers, playing an instrumental role in shaping the strategy of Siemens Healthineers in preparation for the IPO planned in 2018. Before this role he led a project management team for companion diagnostics and software development and was responsible for the carve-out and divestment of the Healthineers Microbiology business. He began his career as strategy consultant with Siemens Management Consulting. Sebastian holds a graduate degree in physics from Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany and a graduate certificate in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
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About Siemens Healthineers: Siemens Healthineers is a healthcare technology company that provides diagnostic and therapeutic products and services.
Jared Kohler
Sr. Vice President, Project Management & Data Science Operations & Precision for Medicine of Precision for Medicine
Jared Kohler is the Sr. Vice President, Project Management & Data Science Operations, Precision for Medicine at Precision for Medicine.
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About Precision for Medicine, Quartz Bio: Precision for Medicine is a specialized scientific services company helping life science innovators develop medical products.
Jay Lezcano
SVP & Business Development of Precision for Medicine
Jay Lezcano is the SVP & Business Development at Precision For Medicine.
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About Precision for Medicine: Precision for Medicine is a specialized scientific services company helping life science innovators develop medical products.
Merry Lee
Vice President, Medical Device Regulatory Strategy of Precision for Medicine
Merry Lee Bain is the Vice President, Medical Device Regulatory Strategy at Precision for Medicine.
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About Precision for Medicine: Precision for Medicine is a specialized scientific services company helping life science innovators develop medical products.
Judi Smith
VP of Vitro Diagnostics Regulatory & Quality of Precision for Medicine
Judi Smith is the Vice President, In Vitro Diagnostics Regulatory and Quality at Precision for Medicine. She has worked in the medical products regulatory submissions and approvals, quality, and clinical trial areas for over 30 years. In her role, she oversees the group responsible for the full range of in vitro diagnostic and blood screening assays (IVDs) services. These include regulatory strategy, analytical and clinical study designs, protocol development, all FDA pre-market and post-market submissions, quality system establishment and auditing per FDA Quality System Regulation, and clinical laboratory set-up per Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) regulations. In addition, the group provides development and management of clinical trials for these products, the data from which are used in regulatory submissions. In addition, Judi is a member of the FDA/Industry Roundtable and was awarded the FDA Group Recognition Award. She has served as President of the Association of Medical Diagnostics Manufacturers since 2006. This organization is dedicated to the IVD industry and provides educational programs with FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health. Ms. Smith is also a faculty member of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS) University and serves as a Board Member of RAPS. Judi received her Bachelor of Science from Temple University and her Master of Science from the Medical College of Pennsylvania.
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About Association of Medical Diagnostics Manufacturers, BioPorto Diagnostics, Precision for Medicine, Regulatory Affairs Professional Society: Precision for Medicine is a specialized scientific services company helping life science innovators develop medical products.
Gioel Molinari
Executive Vice President & Chief Product Officer of Butterfly Network
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About Butterfly Network: Butterfly Network designs a medical imaging device that reduces the cost of real-time and three-dimensional imaging and treatment.
Tricia Moriarty
Vice President of Finance and Administration of Excel Venture Management
Ms. Moriarty is the Vice President of Finance and Administration for Excel Venture Management bringing with her 10 years of private equity experience. In this capacity she oversees the operational, financial and administrative aspects of the firm including financial reporting, human resources, facilities and investor relations. Prior to Excel Venture, Tricia was Director of Finance and Administration for CB Health Ventures (CBHV) where she worked in a similar capacity managing venture funds with $150 million of capital under management. Prior to CBHV, she was a Manager in the Global Income Unit at State Street Corporation where she managed daily operations and client service for clients in the Asia Pacific region. Ms. Moriarty has a BS in Business Administration from Northeastern University where she graduated with honors.
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About CB Health Ventures, Excel Venture Management: Excel Venture Management builds companies that apply transformative life science technologies to solve problems in healthcare and beyond.
Rhodemann Li
Founder, EVP Strategy & Finance of Vesselon
Mr. Li is the founder of Vesselon and is a serial medical device entrepreneur and brings more than thirty years of experience in finance, business development, strategy, patents and regulatory submissions. Prior to founding Vesselon in 2012, Mr. Li worked in private equity evaluating investment opportunities. Mr. Li co-founded an orthopedic implant company, Li Medical Technologies, which developed and sold sports medicine surgery and spinal implants. Li Medical was venture capital funded and ultimately acquired by ConMed Corporation. Mr. Li has five issued patents for medical devices. Mr. Li also worked for FMR Group, an investment vehicle for healthcare investors, and Golden Pond Healthcare, a special purpose acquisition corporation formed to assume a healthcare company, where he sourced investment opportunities. Prior to his healthcare experience, Mr. Li was a Vice President in Corporate Finance at UBS Securities and a Vice President in Corporate Lending at Manufacturers Hanover. Mr. Li holds a B.A. from Middlebury College and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
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About Accelerator for Biosciences in Connect, Vesselon: Vesselon is a medical device company developing novel therapeutic Immuno-Oncology complexes.
Ashwin Pushpala
SVP of OneDrop
Ashwin Pushpala is the SVP at One Drop
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About OneDrop: One Drop is a diabetes management platform that helps people navigate diabetes together.
Chris Robinson
Vice President Recruiting of Third Rock Ventures
Chris Robinson joined Third Rock Ventures in 2010. Chris has more than 15 years of research and development-focused recruiting experience in life sciences and high technology. During his executive search career, Chris has focused on senior level executive searches within R&D organizations of both public and private biopharmaceutical and medical device companies. Prior to joining Third Rock Ventures, Chris was the co-founder of Pivotal Search, a boutique life sciences executive search and recruiting consulting practice where he led business development and executed searches. Previous to founding Pivotal, Chris was also one of the founding members of a life sciences R&D practice at another national search firm. Before moving to the life sciences industry Chris was the recruiting manager for a venture-backed technology start-up, Taqua Systems, where he helped them grow from 20 people to 300 people in three locations. Chris holds a BS in Physiology from the University of Massachusetts, was honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps and he is a Desert Storm veteran.
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About Third Rock Ventures: Third Rock Ventures invests in transformational life science companies that show high growth potential
Kathryn Zavala
Vice President, Business Development & Operations of MedTech Innovator
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About MedTech Innovator: MedTech Innovator is the largest lifescience accelerator in the world for medical device, digital health, and diagnostic companies
Franklin Maddux
Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President for Clinical and Scientific Affairs of Fresenius Medical Care North America
Franklin W. Maddux, is the Executive Vice President for Clinical and Scientific Affairs and Chief Medical Officer of Fresenius Medical Care. Frank joined us in 2009 after Fresenius Medical Care acquired a company he founded, Health IT Services Group, a leading-edge Electronic Health Record (EHR) software company. Frank has more than 25 years of health-care experience, including the practice of nephrology. He is a founder of Specialty Care, a leading provider of perfusion and surgical support services. Frank also serves as Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and formerly practiced nephrology at the Danville (Virginia) Urologic Clinic, serving as its president from 1995 to 2005. He has served on numerous boards and committees involved in developing technology initiatives in both the medical and regional economic development arenas. He received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Vanderbilt and an MD degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he completed his internship, residency, chief residency and nephrology fellowship.
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About Fresenius Medical Care North America: Fresenius Medical Care North America provides healthcare services to people with renal and other chronic conditions.
Magnus Lundgren
CPO, SVP Procurement & Dialysis Clinics Supply Chain of Fresenius Medical Care North America
Magnus Lundgren serves as a global chief procurement officer at Fresenius Medical Care North America.
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About Fresenius Medical Care North America: Fresenius Medical Care North America provides healthcare services to people with renal and other chronic conditions.
Ahava Stein
Vice President & Regulatory Affairs of Microbot Medical
Ahava Stein is an expert in regulatory affairs, clinical and quality assurance (QA) specializing in FDA and CE submissions with over 20 years of experience working directly with the FDA, Including regulatory submissions for 510(k), PMA, IDE, Pre-IDE, 513(g), and RFD, for a wide variety of innovative, medical devices and participation in PMA Panel meetings. She has managed multicenter, clinical studies, participated in numerous BIMO inspections, clinical site inspections in the US, Europe and Israel. She has extensive experience in implementing QA systems at medical device companies, submitting PMA manufacturing sections and participating in a multitude of QSR and ISO 13485 inspections by the FDA and European Notified Bodies.
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About MEDX Ventures Group, Microbot Medical: Microbot Medical is the first medical device company specialized in the researching, designing, developing and commercializing.
Eyal Ben Moshe
Vice President of Research & Development of Microbot Medical
Eyal Ben-Moshe has more than 20 years of experience in research, development and engineering, spanning several disciplines including mechanics, electronics, materials, and managing large Development teams in the IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries). Eyal filled a range of technology leadership roles at companies focusing mainly on medical devices, directing the development of new products from the concept phase through to production. Eyal holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and MSc in Biomedical Engineering from the Ben-Gurion University
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About Microbot Medical: Microbot Medical is the first medical device company specialized in the researching, designing, developing and commercializing.
Vadim Pinskiy
Vice President of Research and Development of Nanotronics Imaging
Vadim Pinskiy is the vice president of research and development at Nanotronics, where he oversees product development, short-term R&D, and long-term development of AI platforms. Vadim completed his doctorate work in neuroscience, focused on mouse neuroanatomy using high throughput whole slide imaging and advanced tracing techniques. Previously, he earned his master’s in biomedical engineering from Cornell University and his bachelor’s and master’s in electrical and biomedical from the Stevens Institute of Technology. Vadim is interested in applying advanced AI methods and systems to solving practical problems in biological and product manufacturing.
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About Nanotronics Imaging: Nanotronics Imaging is a microscopy and software company delivering rapid testing and analysis solutions.
Jeffrey Mathers
Vice President, Commercial Technology, Software Engineering, R&D Platforms, and Architecture of Johnson & Johnson
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About Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.
Vaibhav Narayan
Vice President, Digital Health Innovation of Johnson & Johnson
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About Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.
Ravi Parameswar
Vice President, Head of Global Strategic Insights & Analytics of Johnson & Johnson
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About Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.
Nicholas Pachuda
Worldwide Vice President,Orthopedic Innovation,External Innovation & Enabling technologies of Johnson & Johnson
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About Johnson & Johnson, Peptilogics: Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.
Amy Foley
Vice President, Product Innovation & Delivery of Johnson & Johnson
As Vice President of Product Innovation & Delivery, Amy Foley leads the Johnson & Johnson portfolio of health and wellness capabilities, including new product and service innovation, creation, implementation, operations, customer service and compliance and quality.
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About Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.
Jane Adams
Vice President, Federal Government Affairs of Johnson & Johnson
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About Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.
David Woods
VP of Product Engineering, Health Technology of Johnson & Johnson
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About Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.
Hartmuth Kolb
Vice President, Neuroscience Biomarkers and Janssen R&D Global Imaging of Johnson & Johnson
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About Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.
Steve Sorensen
Senior VP Technology Services, Supply Chain, Data Integration and Reliability Engineering of Johnson & Johnson
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About Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.
Cat Oyler
Vice President, Global Public Health, Tuberculosis of Johnson & Johnson
Cat Oyler serves as vice-president of global public health (GPH) at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), leading the tuberculosis (TB) focus area strategy team (FAST), and as a member of the GPH executive leadership team. In this role, Cat leads the enterprise TB FAST to deliver on J&J’s aspiration to create a world without tuberculosis through ending mortality from multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Cat previously served as global head of strategy and operations for J&J Innovation (JJI). She had responsibility for aligning the World Without Disease Accelerator, Lung Cancer Initiative, and JJI organizations to accelerate innovation in order to prevent, intercept and cure disease. Before this, Cat held the role of vice-president of strategy and external innovation for Janssen Research and Development, the global R&D arm of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. Here, she directed the development of the company’s long-term ‘A World Without Disease’ strategy, focusing on transforming human health. Additionally, Cat is an Aspen Institute First Mover Fellow and serves as executive sponsor for the university workstream for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing, and Design (WiSTEM2D).
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About Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.
Asish Xavier
Vice President, Venture Investments of Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation
Asish Xavier is the Vice President of Venture Investments at joined Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC) in 2004. Asish is based in Silicon Valley, California. Asish previously worked in business development at BioRexis Pharmaceutical, Inc., which was acquired by Pfizer in 2007. While at BioRexis, Asish assisted the company in raising a $30 million second round of financing. Asish has worked in business development at Structural GenomiX, Inc., acquired by Eli Lilly in 2008, and was a project leader at Message Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Asish received a Ph.D. from the University of Houston and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with honors. Asish received a Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India. Asish was also a postdoctoral research Fellow in the Department of Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University.
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About Cue, ESCAPE Bio, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Legend Biotech, Paige, ViaCyte, XWPharma: Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, a venture capital subsidiary, finances technology companies focused on patient health.
Marian Nakada
Vice President, Venture Investments of Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation
Marian Nakada, PhD, Vice President, Venture Investments, joined Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC) in 2013. She is based in Boston, MA. Previously, Dr. Nakada was Vice President of Strategy & Operations and External Innovation for Johnson & Johnson’s Biotechnology CoE, where she helped drive the development and execution of the biotechnology strategy across Janssen R & D. In her role as External Innovation lead, she nurtured many productive partnerships with external partners in the biotech industry and helped build an external innovation network to complement internal research and support the execution of the Janssen R&D Biologics strategy. Dr. Nakada joined Centocor in 1990, as a scientist, performing basic research related to biologics for inflammatory and cardiovascular indications. In 2001, she took on the leadership of the newly formed Oncology Research group at Centocor. In 2007, Dr. Nakada joined the Business Development group where she participated in executing technology licenses for the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceuticals group. In that role, she identified and championed external technology opportunities to ensure that Centocor’s technologies were competitive with the industry. Dr. Nakada has authored 62 peer reviewed publications and 14 book chapters and reviews. She has a BA in Biology from Harvard College and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Pennsylvania.
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About Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Women in VC: Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, a venture capital subsidiary, finances technology companies focused on patient health.
Kadir Kadhiresan
Vice President, Venture Investments of Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation
V. Kadir Kadhiresan, PhD, joined Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC) in 2007 and focuses on investments in medical devices and digital health. Kadir has more than two decades of operational, investment and business development experience. Based in Boston, Kadir works closely with Johnson & Johnson leadership to identify business needs and has responsibility for sourcing, investing and managing venture investment opportunities. He holds board seats for several JJDC portfolio companies. Some of his investments include Coherex Medical (Acquired by Biosense Webster/JNJ), Spinal Modulation (Acquired by St.Jude/ABT), Novocure (NASDAQ: NVCR), Torax Medical (Acquired by Ethicon/JNJ), Neotract (Acquired by Teleflex) and Inspire Medical Systems (NYSE: INSP). Before joining JJDC, Kadir was head of Business Development at Guidant, Inc., now Boston Scientific, Inc., where he led several transactions to access novel medical device technologies.
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About Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation: Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, a venture capital subsidiary, finances technology companies focused on patient health.
Stacy Feld
Vice President, Consumer Venture Investments of Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation
Stacy received a B.A. in sociology, graduating magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School.
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About Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation: Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, a venture capital subsidiary, finances technology companies focused on patient health.
Michael Warmuth
Executive Vice President of Abbott
Michael Warmuth is Executive Vice President, Established Pharmaceuticals, focusing on expanding the global market for Abbott’s portfolio of branded generic pharmaceuticals. He was appointed to his current role in November 2012. Most recently, Mr. Warmuth served as Senior Vice President, Established Pharmaceuticals, which previously operated as part of Abbott’s global pharmaceutical business. Mr. Warmuth joined Abbott in 1986 as part of Abbott’s manufacturing professional development program. He served in a variety of management roles including Senior Vice President, Diagnostics, heading Abbott’s global core laboratory Diagnostics business; Vice President and General Manager, Hematology, in Abbott’s Diagnostics business; Vice President, Global Engineering Services; Divisional Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations; and Divisional Vice President of Corporate Quality Operations. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Brian Blaser
EVP, Diagnostics Products of Abbott
Brian Blaser is Executive Vice President, Diagnostics Products, where he leads Abbott’s diagnostics, molecular and point-of-care businesses. He was appointed to his current position in June 2012. Previously, Mr. Blaser served as Senior Vice President, Diagnostics; Vice President, Diagnostics Operations; Divisional Vice President, Global Operations; and Divisional Vice President, Reagent Manufacturing, all in Abbott Diagnostics. Prior to joining Abbott, Mr. Blaser held several positions of increasing responsibility in engineering, finance and operations at Johnson & Johnson, Eastman Kodak and General Motors. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology from the University of Dayton and a master’s degree in business administration from Rochester Institute of Technology.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Heather Mason
Executive Vice President, Nutritional Products of Abbott
Heather Mason is Executive Vice President, Nutritional Products. She was appointed to her current role in May 2015. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President, Global Commercial Operations, Abbott Nutrition. Ms. Mason joined Abbott in 1990. She held a number of positions in Abbott’s U.S. pharmaceutical business, including oversight of Abbott’s specialty pharmaceuticals, its diabetes/metabolics and oncology franchises, and managed health care. Ms. Mason also served as Vice President, International Marketing, and Vice President, Latin American Operations, in Abbott’s international pharmaceutical business. Immediately prior to assuming her role in Abbott’s Nutrition business in 2014, Ms. Mason served as Senior Vice President, Abbott Diabetes Care. Prior to joining Abbott, Ms. Mason worked for Quaker Oats and FMC Corporation. She is an advisory board member of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. She earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Richard Ashley
EVP, Corporate Development of Abbott
Richard Ashley is Executive Vice President, Corporate Development. His responsibilities include various aspects of corporate strategic planning and business development. Mr. Ashley was appointed to his current position in February 2004. Prior to joining Abbott, he was a senior director at McKinsey and Company, a former managing partner of the firm’s Chicago office, and head of the firm’s Global Leadership and Organization practice. During his 31 years with McKinsey, Mr. Ashley consulted with clients in the healthcare, energy and industrial manufacturing industries across a wide range of business and organizational issues. Mr. Ashley is a member of the executive committee of the board of directors of Junior Achievement of Chicago and a former member of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. He is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, the American Bar Association, and the Wisconsin Bar Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University. He also holds a juris doctorate from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Corlis Murray
Senior Vice President, Quality Assurance, Regulatory & Engineering Services of Abbott
Corlis Murray is Senior Vice President, Quality Assurance, Regulatory and Engineering Services. She was appointed to her current position in February 2012. Previously, she served as Vice President, Global Engineering Services. Ms. Murray joined Abbott in 1989. Since then, she has held a number of management positions in quality, operations and engineering in Abbott’s Diagnostics and Nutrition businesses. In Abbott Nutrition, she served as Divisional Vice President, Quality Assurance; Divisional Vice President, Manufacturing; and Divisional Vice President, Operations Services. Prior to joining Abbott, Ms. Murray worked at Recognition Equipment and Xerox Corporation. She is a board member of The Clara Abbott Foundation. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
John Capek
Executive Vice President of Abbott
John Capek, Ph.D., is Executive Vice President, Ventures. Dr. Capek was appointed to his current position in June 2015. In this role, he leads Abbott’s venture investment organization as well as new ventures, including Abbott Electrophysiology. Previously, he had served as Executive Vice President, Medical Devices, and Senior Vice President, Abbott Vascular, heading up Abbott’s global vascular business. Before joining Abbott, Dr. Capek served in various management roles at Guidant Corporation, including president, Guidant Vascular Intervention and vice president and general manager of Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions. He also served as vice president and general manager of Guidant Germany and vice president, marketing, Guidant Cardiac Rhythm Management Group. Before joining Guidant, Dr. Capek was manager of New Product Technology at Eli Lilly & Company. He has a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, a master’s degree in biomedical engineering, a master’s degree in electrical engineering, a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Roger Bird
Senior Vice President, U.S. Nutrition of Abbott
Roger Bird is Abbott’s Senior Vice President, U.S. Nutrition. He was appointed to this role in February 2015. Prior to assuming his current position, Roger served as Divisional Vice President, General Manager for our Nutrition business in China and Hong Kong. Roger came to Abbott in 1983 from the Dial Soap Company, where he worked as a sales representative. He joined Abbott as Trade Sales Manager in our Nutrition organization, and has served in this business throughout his Abbott career, contributing to our company’s success in both the U.S. and Asia. While leading Abbott’s nutrition business in China, he oversaw the successful launch of Similac Eleva and Similac Qinti, two infant formula products that significantly strengthened Abbott’s presence in this important market. Throughout his career, Roger has taken real pride in contributing to the Abbott Nutrition mission of providing high-quality products that help improve the lives of people of all ages, all around the world. In addition to his responsibilities with Abbott. Roger serves on the Board of the Grocery Manufacturers Association. Roger earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Steve Fussell
Executive Vice President, Human Resources of Abbott
Steve Fussell is Executive Vice President, Human Resources. He was appointed in February 2013. Mr. Fussell joined Abbott in 1996, as Divisional Vice President, Compensation and Benefits. He was promoted to Vice President, Compensation and Development in 1999, and to Senior Vice President, Human Resources in 2005. Prior to Abbott, he held human resources leadership positions at Nestlé and Shell. Mr. Fussell is Chairman of the Board and President of the Clara Abbott Foundation and a board member of the Abbott Fund. He is an author and speaker on a wide variety of subjects and has served as a guest lecturer at Cornell and other universities. In 2010, he was named to the HR Honor Roll by Human Resources Executive magazine. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Jean-Yves Pavée
Senior Vice President of Abbott
Jean-Yves Pavée is Senior Vice President, Developed Markets for Abbott’s Established Products Division. He was appointed to his role in July 2013. Previously, he served as Divisional Vice President, EMEA East, and Division Vice President, Pharmaceuticals, Europe South. Mr. Pavee joined Abbott in 1992, after serving as European Sales Manager, France for Aguettant, S.A. Mister Pavée received his undergraduate degree from the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Commerciales d’Angers, France; and his MBA from HEC Paris MBA, Jouy-en-Josas, France.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Jaime Contreras
SVP, Core Laboratory Diagnostics, Commercial Operations of Abbott
Jaime Contreras is Senior Vice President, Core Laboratory Diagnostics, Commercial Operations. He was appointed to his current role in September 2013. Previously, he served as Vice President, Diagnostics, Global Commercial Operations. Mr. Contreras joined Abbott in 1992, and has held various management positions in Abbott’s Diagnostics Division, including Vice President for Europe, Africa and the Middle East; and General Manager of Commercial Operations in Spain, Portugal and Mexico. Prior to joining Abbott, Mr. Contreras was area director for Bayer in Mexico. Mr. Contreras serves on the board of directors of the European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association (EDMA) and on the Board of Directors of the Clara Abbott Foundation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial design from the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana and a master’s degree in business administration with specialty in Financial Engineering from the Universidad del Valle de Mexico.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Brian Yoor
Senior Vice President Finance & Chief Financial Officer of Abbott
Brian Yoor is Senior Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed to his current position in June 2015. He previously served as Vice President, Investor Relations. Brian joined Abbott in August 1997, and held various financial management positions of increasing responsibility, including Controller positions in the pharmaceutical, nutrition, and diagnostic businesses, before being asked to lead Abbott’s Investor Relations effort in January 2013. Prior to joining Abbott, Brian was a certified public accountant with Arthur Andersen and held financial positions in the consumer industry with the Scotts Company and Newell Rubbermaid. “In Abbott Finance, we are the stewards that enable financial reliability and growth for Abbott, “ Says Brian. “ A strong, growing company is better able to help people around the world live their healthiest lives.” Brian serves on the board of the Clara Abbott Foundation. He is a member of NIRI, the National Investor Relations Institute. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University of Toledo in Ohio.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Hubert L. Allen
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary of Abbott
Hubert L. Allen is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. He was appointed to his current role in January 2013. Previously, he served as Divisional Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Established Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Allen joined Abbott in 2006 as Senior Counsel, supporting the Pharmaceutical Products Division. He has held various positions within the legal department, including Divisional Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Pharmaceutical Products Group; Section Head, Nutrition Legal Operations; and Division Counsel, supporting the Pharmaceutical Products Division. Prior to joining Abbott, Mr. Allen was Assistant General Counsel for McKesson Corporation. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut; a master’s degree in Politics from Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, and a juris doctorate from Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Elaine Leavenworth
SVP, Chief Marketing & External Affairs Officer of Abbott
Elaine Leavenworth is Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing and External Affairs Officer. She was appointed to this role in December 2014. Previously, she had served as Abbott’s Vice President, Government Affairs. Ms. Leavenworth joined Abbott in 1991 and held various management positions of increasing responsibility in Abbott’s Nutrition, International, and Health Systems divisions. She was elected a corporate officer in July of 1999. Prior to joining Abbott, Ms. Leavenworth was a principal with the consulting firm Louden & Company, where her work focused on marketing and strategy assignments for health care providers, suppliers, investors and associations. While at Louden & Company, she published numerous articles and several books, including The Hospital Group Purchasing Outlook, Home Care Joint Venturing, The Older Adult Market and Home Care – HMO/PPO Perspectives. Ms. Leavenworth also held marketing positions at G.D. Searle & Co. and American Hospital Supply Corporation. Ms. Leavenworth serves on the board of trustees of the Goodman Theater, the board of directors of the National Association of Manufacturers, the Board of Advisors of the Duke Global Health Institute, the Board of Governors of the Bryce Harlow Foundation, and the Women’s Advisory Board of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital. She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, The Chicago Network (where she served previously on the board of directors), and the Women’s Forum of Washington, D.C. She also served on the board of the Clara Abbott Foundation from 2005 to 2014. She earned a bachelor’s degree in health policy from Duke University and a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Thomas Frinzi
Senior Vice President of Abbott
Thomas Frinzi is Senior Vice President of Abbott’s vision business, which includes a broad ophthalmology portfolio across the areas of cataracts, refractive surgery (LASIK) and eye health products. He was appointed to his position in January 2016. Prior to joining Abbott, Mr. Frinzi held a number of leadership positions in ophthalmology and medical device companies. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of WaveTec Vision, a developer of surgical systems for eye surgery. He also held senior positions in commercial operations, business development, and sales and marketing at Bausch & Lomb Surgical, Refractec and Johnson & Johnson. In recognition of his leadership, expertise and vision in the field, Mr. Frinzi was awarded the 2015 Ophthalmology Innovation Award by the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Tampa.
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About Abbott: Abbott is engaged in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing healthcare products.
Jason Gray
Vice President of Portfolio Operations of LaunchCapital
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About LaunchCapital: LaunchCapital was founded in January 2008 with a mission to help entrepreneurs gain quick access to seed capital and mentorship.
Keith Patton
VP Software Development of Zerigo Health
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About Zerigo Health: Clarify Medical is a developer of a handheld medical device used to treat psoriasis, eczema, and vitiligo .
John Barnhill
Vice President of Global Marketing & Business Development of OmniGuide
John M. Barnhill joined OmniGuide Holdings, Inc. in October 2016 as Vice President of Global Marketing & Business Development. Prior to joining OmniGuide, Mr. Barnhill held a similar position with RF Surgical, Inc., an early-stage medical technology company that was recently acquired by Medtronic. Prior to that, Barnhill was with Edwards Lifesciences where in over 10 years he held several positions of increasing responsibility including Product Management, New Product Development, Clinical Marketing, Corporate Strategy and Business Development. Mr. Barnhill also held a marketing leadership position with SenoRx, where he grew the company’s breast cancer therapy portfolio, contributing to the successful exit of the company. Mr. Barnhill holds a B.A. in Business Finance from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and an MBA from the University of California Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business.
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About OmniGuide: OmniGuide is a medical device company developing and commercializing minimally-invasive surgical tools.
Ajay A. Bhave
Vice President of Operations of OmniGuide
Ajay A. Bhave joined OmniGuide Surgical, Inc., in August 2016 as the Vice President of Operations. Mr. Bhave has over 32 years’ experience as an Engineering, Technology and Operations leader mostly in the medical device industry. During his career, Mr. Bhave has been instrumental in releasing over 30 new medical products in the global market, achieved $30M+ savings via value engineering & supplier driven productivity and has been involved with 8 successful acquisitions. Mr. Bhave most recently served as the Corporate Vice President of Global Engineering and a Company Officer at Natus Medical Inc., wherein he was responsible for all aspects of new product development from concept to commercial release to end of life. From 1990 to 2011, Mr. Bhave held various positions of responsibilities, starting as an acoustic design engineer with subsequent senior management positions in engineering & technology, supply chain management and plant operations, both at the local as well as global level at General Electric Healthcare. Mr. Bhave holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lowell, Massachusetts.
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About OmniGuide: OmniGuide is a medical device company developing and commercializing minimally-invasive surgical tools.
Bob Colloton
Vice President of Sales & Marketing of Neuravi
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About MIVI Neuroscience, Neuravi: Neuravi provides medical products and services.
Steve Pham
Vice President of Clinical and Research Affairs of Eko Health
Steve Pham is a practicing emergency medicine physician, the head of medical and research affairs at Eko, and a new father. His passion is translating between digital and clinical insights.
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About Eko Health: Eko develops AI-powered digital tools to detect and monitor heart and lung disease
Tyler Crouch
Co-Founder, VP of Mobile Engineering & Product Development of Eko Health
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About Eko Health: Eko develops AI-powered digital tools to detect and monitor heart and lung disease
Cameron Jacox
Vice President, Growth of Lark
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About Lark: Lark is a digital health startup that provides virtual care through AI coaching, smart devices, and tele-monitoring.
Vadim Axelrod
VP of Integration and Security of Lark
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About Lark: Lark is a digital health startup that provides virtual care through AI coaching, smart devices, and tele-monitoring.
Julie Wilson
EVP & CPO of Cerner
As executive vice president and chief people officer, Julie Wilson leads Cerner’s human resources and associate services organizations. She is responsible for the recruitment, retention, benefits and services of more than 26,000 associates worldwide. Since becoming chief people officer in 2003, Cerner’s workforce has grown over 400 percent. Julie initially joined Cerner in 1990 working in line with sales team to create client contracts. After a brief departure to help launch a start-up company, she returned to hold a variety of roles within human resources, including direct management of recruiting, human resources consulting services, associate services and Cerner’s properties and facilities group. In 2003, she assumed the role of chief people officer, and was promoted to executive vice president in 2013. Prior to joining Cerner, Julie was the business manager for the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) athletics department. She assisted with the movement of the athletics program from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. As an active citizen in the Kansas City and women’s leadership community, Julie participates on the following boards: National World War I Museum Board of Trustees, Kansas City Sports Commission, UMKC HR Advisory Board, and the First Hand Advisory Board. Julie previously served on the boards of Park University, UMKC Trustees, the Central Exchange and the KC STEM Alliance. Julie has been recognized in the community as a member of the 2014 class of Women Who Mean Business, she is a two-time inductee into the UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame, and she is the recipient of UMKC’s Bill French Alumni Service Award in 2016. Julie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UMKC.
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About Cerner: Cerner is a supplier of healthcare information technology solutions, services, devices, and hardware.
William Gish
Vice President, Corporate Development of Cerner
As Senior Director at Cerner Corporation, Bill Gish leads all business development activities at the company. He previously was Director of PowerWorks, Cerner’s Ambulatory business unit. Before his ten years with Cerner, Bill held multiple leadership positions in Finance, IT Project Development and Operations at Sprint. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Accounting and Finance) from Kansas State University.
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About Cerner: Cerner is a supplier of healthcare information technology solutions, services, devices, and hardware.
Marc Naughton
EVP & CFO of Cerner
As executive vice president and chief financial officer, Marc has executive responsibility for Cerner’s financial operations and business model. Playing a key role in Cerner’s rapid rise, Marc ensures the company is growing profitably while maintaining the ability to invest heavily in future growth. Additionally, he carries responsibility for Cerner properties and legal functions, which are both large organizations that facilitate Cerner’s growth. Joining Cerner in 1992 as a finance executive and tax manager, Marc established the company’s internal tax function. He then assumed leadership of Cerner’s mergers, acquisitions and finance activities. He served as the director of finance for two years before being promoted to chief financial officer. Prior to Cerner, Marc had extensive experience in the financial industry, including at Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) and various financial management roles at the Marley Company, a Kansas City, Missouri-based multinational manufacturing company. Marc is a certified public accountant and a member of the Kansas Bar Association. He is a past president of the Kansas City chapter of the Tax Executives Institute and a current member of the University of Kansas Finance Advisory Board. Marc earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University and a juris doctorate from the University of Kansas.
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About Cerner: Cerner is a supplier of healthcare information technology solutions, services, devices, and hardware.
Paul Stein
Vice President of Software Engineering of Cerner
Paul Stein is the vice president of software engineering at Cerner Corporation.
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About Cerner: Cerner is a supplier of healthcare information technology solutions, services, devices, and hardware.
Rich Mahoney
VP Research of Intuitive Surgical
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About Intuitive Surgical: The da Vinci Surgical System is changing the experience of surgery for patients around the world.
Robert Desantis
Executive Vice President Chief Product Officer of Intuitive Surgical
Bob DeSantis joined Intuitive Surgical in January 2013 as Vice President, Research and Development, Instruments and Accessories Engineering. In November 2015, Mr. DeSantis was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President, Instruments and Accessories. In this position, Mr. DeSantis is responsible for managing the development of new technology from design to market as well as production engineering support for the instrument and accessory portfolio. Prior to joining Intuitive Surgical, Mr. DeSantis spent almost twenty years in the medical device industry, holding positions at several companies, including US Surgical and most recently at Covidien, where he last served as the Vice President, Research and Development for the mechanical and energy instrument businesses. Mr. DeSantis holds a B.S. and M.S.in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Mr. DeSantis also holds a certificate in Innovation Management from MIT.
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About Intuitive Surgical: The da Vinci Surgical System is changing the experience of surgery for patients around the world.
Dave Rosa
Executive Vice President & Chief Business Officer of Intuitive Surgical
Dave J. Rosa joined Intuitive Surgical in March 1996 and has held leadership positions in Engineering, Clinical Development, Marketing and Product Development. In 2015, Mr. Rosa was appointed as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. In 2013, Mr. Rosa assumed the position of Senior Vice President, Scientific Affairs and, in 2014, he was appointed as Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. He has been a passionate supporter and evangelist of da Vinci technology since its inception. Prior to joining Intuitive Surgical, Mr. Rosa contributed to the development of trans-esophageal transducers for Acuson Corporation. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.S.in Mechanical Engineering from California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo. He also holds a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.
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About Intuitive Surgical: The da Vinci Surgical System is changing the experience of surgery for patients around the world.
Gillian Duncan
Senior Vice President, Professional Education & Program Services – Worldwide of Intuitive Surgical
Gillian Duncan, Ed.D., joined Intuitive Surgical in December 2006 as an Education Manager. After holding several positions of increasing responsibility in clinical, product and professional education, Dr. Duncan was promoted to the position of Vice President, da Vinci® Professional Education & Program Services – Worldwide in August 2015. In this role, Dr. Duncan is responsible for leading the company’s high-quality, worldwide Customer Training, Genesis, Lab Services and Clinical and Product Education programs. Prior to joining Intuitive Surgical, Dr. Duncan held both teaching and research positions at Columbia University and California State University, East Bay. Dr. Duncan holds a B.A. in Rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley, and master’s and doctorate degrees in Applied Physiology from Columbia University.
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About Intuitive Surgical: The da Vinci Surgical System is changing the experience of surgery for patients around the world.
Myriam Curet
Executive Vice President & Chief Medical Officer of Intuitive Surgical
Myriam J. Curet, M.D. joined Intuitive Surgical in December 2005, as Chief Medical Advisor. In February 2014, Dr. Curet was promoted to the position of Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Curet also held a faculty position as Professor of Surgery at Stanford University. Since October 2010, she has served as a Consulting Professor of Surgery at Stanford University with a part time clinical appointment at the Palo Alto Veteran’s Administration Medical Center. Dr. Curet received her M.D. from Harvard Medical School and completed her general surgery residency program at the University of Chicago. She then worked for the Indian Health Service for four years before finishing her Surgical Endoscopy fellowship at the University of New Mexico. She was on the faculty at the University of New Mexico for six years prior to joining the Stanford University Department of Surgery in 2000.
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About Intuitive Surgical: The da Vinci Surgical System is changing the experience of surgery for patients around the world.
Craig Child
Sr. Vice President, Human Resources of Intuitive Surgical
Craig Child joined Intuitive Surgical in May 2001 as a Recruiting Consultant. In March 2015, Craig Child was promoted to the position of Vice President, Human Resources. Prior to this role, Mr. Child has held several key positions since the inception of the human resources organization at Intuitive Surgical, playing an instrumental role in the development of key human resources functions. Prior to joining Intuitive Surgical, Mr. Child held positions in human resources at Adobe and Informix. Mr. Child holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Oregon and a M.B.A from Colorado State University.
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About Intuitive Surgical: The da Vinci Surgical System is changing the experience of surgery for patients around the world.
Mark Johnson
Sr. VP Quality & Regulatory Quality of Intuitive Surgical
Mark Johnson joined Intuitive Surgical in February 2014. Previously, Mr. Johnson served as Worldwide Vice President of Quality and Regulatory for the Johnson and Johnson Diabetes Care Franchise. During his nearly 15 years with Johnson & Johnson, he worked for a number of operating companies in various quality and regulatory leadership roles. Earlier in his career, Mr. Johnson also worked in numerous operational and quality roles at General Electric and at Haemonetics Corporation. Mr. Johnson graduated from Eastern Nazarene College with a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.S. in Management Leadership.
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About Intuitive Surgical: The da Vinci Surgical System is changing the experience of surgery for patients around the world.
Liron Leist
VP Digital & Data Development of Intuitive Surgical
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About Intuitive Surgical: The da Vinci Surgical System is changing the experience of surgery for patients around the world.
Charles Jones
Senior Vice President, Design and User Experience of Intuitive Surgical
Charles Jones joined Intuitive Surgical in April 2016 as the Senior Vice President, Design and User Experience. In this role, Mr. Jones is responsible for leading the company’s efforts to blend leading-edge technology with enhanced human-centered design thinking and driving a consistent design experience for Intuitive products and services. Prior to joining Intuitive Surgical, Mr. Jones has held several key leadership roles at Whirlpool Corp., Xerox Corp. and Herman Miller, and most recently served as the Chief Design and Technology Officer for Newell Rubbermaid. Mr. Jones has received several international design awards, including the prestigious Smithsonian National Design Award, and holds several patents. Mr. Jones is an honors graduate from Purdue University with degrees in Industrial Design and Human Factors Engineering.
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About Intuitive Surgical: The da Vinci Surgical System is changing the experience of surgery for patients around the world.
Alexander Kayne
EVP, General Counsel & Secretary of Genoa
Alexander (Aly) Kayne joined Genoa in 2015 as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. Kayne comes to Genoa having most recently served as General Counsel for Omnicare, where he developed the company’s legal department and played a key role in helping successfully resolve several complex legacy legal matters. Kayne was a Partner with Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in its New York Litigation Department prior to joining Omnicare. He has represented companies from a variety of industries, including healthcare, banking, insurance, and energy, and his practice focused on complex commercial and securities cases in federal and state courts including cases involving federal and governmental regulatory agencies. In 2014, Kayne was recognized by Corporate Board Member as one of the elite “General Counsel to Watch,” which identifies the brightest and most respected chief legal counsel in the industry.
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About Genoa: Genoa, a QoL Healthcare Company is the pharmacy and telepsychiatry provider serving the behavioral health and addiction treatment.
Todd Helman
Vice President of Sales of Blockade Medical
Todd is the US National Sales Director at Blockade Medical and has more than 13 years of sales and sales leadership experience working within the medical and interventional neurovascular space. Prior to working at Blockade Medical, Todd held sales leadership roles at Stryker Neurovascular, Concentric Medical and Kyphon Inc. During his time in those positions he successfully recruited, developed and lead teams to multiple annual sales awards. Todd has a rounded experience selling both first to market technologies as well as selling products into more mature and highly competitive product classes. Todd holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland and is an avid endurance athlete who competes primarily in Ironman and half Ironman events.
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About Blockade Medical: Founded in 2011, Blockade Medical is a privately held company dedicated the development of catheter based therapeutic devices for the
Charles Yang
Vice President of Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs of Blockade Medical
Charles is currently the Vice President of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs at Blockade Medical. He has been in the medical device industry for over 15 years in the quality and regulatory field with extensive experience in achieving product approvals in a timely manner. Charles has been successful in achieving multiple product approvals through CE Mark, 510K and other regulatory processes all over the world. He has a diversified portfolio of working in start-up companies and large corporations which has allowed him to gain the experience to build efficient quality systems that meet the needs of the medical device industry. Prior to joining Blockade Medical, Charles worked at various medical device companies which include Acutus Medical, MindFrame Inc. (acquired by Covidien), Ablation Frontiers (acquired by Medtronic) and Edwards LifeSciences. Charles received a B.S. in Bio-engineering at the University of California, San Diego.
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About Blockade Medical: Founded in 2011, Blockade Medical is a privately held company dedicated the development of catheter based therapeutic devices for the
Ryan Solomon
Vice President of Marketing & Business Development of Blockade Medical
Ryan is the Director of Global Marketing and Business Development at Blockade Medical and has more than 10 years of medical sales and marketing expertise including extensive interventional neurovascular experience. Ryan has successfully launched many products in the neurovascular field including launching the first flow diversion device in the United States while serving as the Group Marketing Manager at Covidien Neurovascular and global launches of multiple coil lines as a Sr. Product Manager at MicroVention. His previous roles have also included Associate Marketing Manager at Karl Storz Endoscopy, Sr. Clinical Sales Specialist at Glaxo Smith Kline, and a Professional Sales Representative for Boehringer Ingelheim. Ryan received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California, Riverside and a M.B.A. from the University of California, Irvine.
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About Blockade Medical: Founded in 2011, Blockade Medical is a privately held company dedicated the development of catheter based therapeutic devices for the
Bhavin Shah
Vice President of Engineering and Quality of Paramit Corporation
Bhavin joined Paramit in 2014. Bhavin brings with him over 20 years of experience in developing products involving hardware and software/firmware for multiple industries. Prior to Paramit, Bhavin spent 5 years at Diamond Systems, managing engineering teams developing high precision digital and analog PCBAs and 9+ years with Asyst Technologies. Bhavin has a BSEE from the Mumbai University(India) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Computing from C-DAC (India).
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About Paramit Corporation: Paramit designs and manufactures medical devices and life science instruments.
Francesco Grieco
Vice President of Operations of Paramit Corporation
Francesco Grieco is the VP of Operations at Paramit Corporation.
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About Paramit Corporation: Paramit designs and manufactures medical devices and life science instruments.
David Franklin
Vice President, Commercial Operations of Intarcia Therapeutics
Mr. Franklin joined Intarcia in March 2006 as Vice President, Commercial Operations. Prior to joining Intarcia, Mr. Franklin was Senior Vice President, US Business Unit and Acting Senior Vice President, Global Marketing for Idenix Pharmaceuticals. As head of the US Business from March 2005 through March 2006, Mr. Franklin developed and executed plans for the commercialization of telbivudine, an antiviral for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, and built the US Business Unit, an organization comprising approximately 40 Medical, Marketing and Sales personnel. From June 2003 until March 2005, Mr. Franklin served as Vice President, Commercial Operations, leading the Idenix Global Marketing group, directing brand development for telbivudine and for a phase II hepatitis C drug candidate and leading commercial efforts to form a global co-promotion and licensing alliance with Novartis AG. Prior to these responsibilities, Mr. Franklin held positions of increasing responsibility with Idenix as Executive Director, Marketing and Corporate Communications and Director, Marketing and played key roles in multiple private and public financing transactions and in business development and licensing transactions. Prior to joining Idenix in 1998, Mr. Franklin was Senior Product Manager, HIV Products for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. with responsibility for Zerit and Videx, two antiviral therapies for the treatment of HIV infection. Prior to joining the HIV Products Division, Mr. Franklin held sales and sales administration positions within the Bristol-Myers Squibb Oncology Division from 1990 to 1995, responsible for sales force support, incentive compensation and alliance management. Mr. Franklin received a BA from Gettysburg College in 1988.
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About Intarcia Therapeutics: Intarcia Therapeutics develops therapies for diseases that require long-term chronic treatment.
