Listed alphabetically

Rob Abrams: Operating Partner, Sanderling Ventures

Panel: Neurovascular

Rob Abrams has over 27 years of experience in biomedical device product development, research, operational management, new business development and strategic investments. Rob joined Sanderling as an Operating Partner in April 2008, where he currently serves as CEO of Pulsar Vascular, Inc. & Theregen, Inc.

Prior to joining Sanderling, Rob served 12 years at Boston Scientific Corp. as Group Vice President of New Business Development for BSC’s Cardiovascular Group Divisions, which included Neurovascular, Cardiac Surgery, Neuromodulation, Electrophysiology, and Peripheral Interventional Divisions. In this role, he also served on executive management boards, and patent and legal review boards. During his tenure at BSC, Rob completed acquisition of Smart Therapeutics, Inc. for intracranial stents, and other minimally invasive access devices, Precision Vascular Systems, Inc. a steerable guidewire/catheter company, and several neuromodulation companies, including acquisition of Advanced Bionics Corp. He also led the corporate program to explore technology for acute ischemic stroke therapy, and transacted several investments in that realm. Rob had become a part of BSC via their acquisition of Target Therapeutics, where he was Director of New Business Development from July 1996.

Prior to joining Target, Rob was Director of Product Development for LocalMed, Inc., a start-up dedicated to devices for catheter-based local drug delivery in cardiac vasculature.

From 1988 through 1995, Rob served various roles at Guidant Corporation in their Cardiovascular Business. He served as Director of R&D for the intrapreneurial Guidant Division, Heart Rhythm Technologies, developing devices for EP cardiac arrhythmias. Earlier, at Guidant’s Advanced Cardiovascular Systems (ACS) Division, he contributed to the product development and launch of guidewires, balloon catheters and stent technologies for interventional cardiology. At ACS, he was a prolific inventor, pioneering the fabrication and use of Nitinol superelastic alloy in many novel medical technologies. Overall, Rob has 65 patents in medical devices.

Prior to ACS, Rob’s entry into medical technology began at Howmedica Orthopedics, where he contributed to new bone in-growth technologies for hip and knee replacement prosthetic devices.

Rob received his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating summa cum laude.

Linda Alexander: CEO, Alquest

Panel: When Enough is Enough: When & How to Push Back on the FDA

Alquest is a clinical research organization and regulatory consultancy specialized exclusively in medical devices and biologics. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Alquest also maintains offices in Palo Alto and Atlanta. Alquest has been a quiet strategist and support engine to literally hundreds of venture-backed device startups throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Linda founded Alquest 17 years ago and grew the firm into an internationally respected brand in the device services industry. In fact, Alquest’s success resulted in its sale in December to Ohio-based NAMSA Corp., the world’s leading research services organization specialized in medical device safety evaluations.

Linda is an internationally respected expert on FDA matters. She has subspecialized expertise in combination products, aesthetic products and neurostimulation devices. Before founding Alquest, she earned her stripes in management and directorships at Medtronic, Brennen Medical and Bioplasty.

During her career, Linda established worldwide regulatory and clinical strategy and requirements for over 50 medical devices spanning numerous technologies and indications, including cardiovascular, audiology, interventional vascular, dental, neurovascular, orthopedic, ophthalmic, plastic surgery, general surgery, neurology, gastroenterology and urology.

Linda holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology, chemistry and technical communication from Iowa State University and the University of Minnesota. Linda presently is CEO of Alquest, LLC – a division of NAMSA Corp.

David Allen - Partner, Latham & Watkins

Panel: M&A

David Allen is a partner in the Corporate Department of the Orange County office of Latham & Watkins.  David’s practice focuses on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate and securities matters.  In his capital markets practice, David has executed numerous initial public offerings, follow-on offerings and private placements of debt, equity and convertible securities on behalf of issuers, underwriters, initial purchasers and placement agents.  In the mergers and acquisitions context, he regularly represents acquirers, targets and special committees in a wide variety of transactions involving both public and private companies.  He also provides outside corporate counsel to clients in various industries, including medical device, biotechnology, new media and real estate companies.  Recent transactions include public offerings for Avanir Pharmaceuticals, ZymoGenetics and Allos Therapeutics, as well as ev3’s acquisition by Covidien and ATS Medical’s acquisition by Medtronic.  David received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Yale University.

Mark C. Bates, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I.: Founder and Chief Executive Officer -

Nexeon MedSystems

Panel: Cardiovascular

Mark C. Bates, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I., founder and CEO of Nexeon MedSystems, is a successful entrepreneur and thought leader in cardiovascular medicine. Currently the co-director of one of the largest vascular centers in the U.S. and a full West Virginia University professor of Medicine and Surgery, Dr. Bates has more than 20 years of interventional cardiology experience during which time he has performed or supervised thousands of coronary and peripheral procedures. In 1993 Dr. Bates initiated the heart stent program in West Virginia. He performed the first non-coronary stent, carotid stent, stent graft and other innovative procedures in his home state.

Dr. Bates is also a medical device inventor with more than 25 issued and pending patents. He is the founding member of several medical technology companies including San Francisco Science, BAFF (Bates Floating Filter), TransDerm technology, Medical Dynamics, ReVasc and NeoSeed. Two of his patents for filter devices were sold to Boston Scientific. His work in carotid flow control and reversal resulted in seven of the core patents that were used to form the San Francisco Science subsidiary ArteriA, a company that was later sold to W. L. Gore & Associates. He has been a member of the scientific advisory boards for Guidant, Boston Scientific, and Medtronic and served on the Johnson & Johnson Opinion Leaders Council.

Dr. Bates graduated from West Virginia University School of Medicine and served his cardiovascular fellowship at the University of Kentucky, where he was retained as a clinical scholar in interventional cardiology. He subsequently completed a vascular medicine and vascular interventional research fellowship at the Dorros-Feuer Research Foundation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards in his field and is the author of several book chapters and numerous manuscripts.

Greg Bendis - Founder and Business Director, Reviticell

Panel: Aesthetics

Greg’s career has gone full circle.  After graduating from the University of Florida, he moved to California where he provided business consulting services to companies both big and small.  Now he’s returned to his native “Gator” territory.  This time working with Professor Patrick Monaghan, PhD, who is overseeing an Institutional Review Board for clinical studies at Greg’s company, Reviticell.

 

Greg capitalized on his degree in architecture by developing a system to observe and analyze a multitude of data to determine its relevance and, ultimately, to create solutions that improved the efficiency and profitability of his client’s businesses.  In doing so, he began to detect critical elements that caused companies to succeed or fail.  Many of Greg’s clients had multi-market platforms which gave him an opportunity to develop and implement successful solutions at both a national and international scale.

 

After working to double the size of one such company, Greg was approached by his client to join efforts in creating a new Facial Care company.  A year into the effort and with $8 million in funding close at hand, the economy changed and Greg’s new partner suddenly passed away.  This unfortunate circumstance, however, gave way to Greg finding new clients in the world of Life Sciences and his meeting Ahmed Al-Qahtani, MD PhD, who now provides critical technology for Reviticell.

 

Inspired to combine his knowledge of business, Facial Care and Life Sciences, Greg founded ARIA Facial Care as a platform in which to provide patients “facial care and rejuvenation for every stage of their life.”  He soon learned that, however, building a center-by-center delivery system was not the best way to provide revolutionary new products and procedures to a vast number of patients.  Fortunately, and thanks to Leslie Frilling, ARIA Director of Skin Care, he met J. Phillip Garcia, MD FACS, with whom he collaborated to advance the science of these products and procedures at an accelerated rate.

 

Greg, Leslie, Dr. Garcia and Greg’s business partner, Bill Sawyer, joined forces as the founding members of Reviticell, LLC.  Reviticell has two subsidiary companies for which it is the management company - Revitifill, LLC, which develops and produces Stem Cell Enhanced Therapies, and Revitiderm, LLC, which develops and produces Growth Factor Enhanced Treatments.  Louis “Chip” Cullman is a Partner at K&L Gates and is counsel to Reviticell for Stem Cell Technology, Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights.  Bob Cafferata of Boston BioDiligence is the Scientific Advisor for Reviticell - Bob and Chip work together to advise and assist Reviticell with regulatory affairs. 

Glenn Bier - Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP

Panel: M&A

Glenn is a partner in the Orange County office of PricewaterhouseCoopers.  During his career, Glenn has worked extensively with clients in the medical device, biotechnology, software, semiconductor, internet, telecommunications and entertainment industries.  Glenn has a broad range of experience, having worked in start-up situations, with growth oriented companies transitioning to initial public offerings as well as large multi-national organizations. Glenn has been involved with assisting clients with numerous equity and debt offerings, restructurings, acquisitions and divestitures; including providing due diligence and transactional advice to both public and private companies.  Glenn received his B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Florida State University.

Richard Cappetta: President and Chief Executive Officer, MicroVention

Panel: Neurovascular

Mr. Cappetta was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of MicroVention, Inc. in April 2008 having previously served as Sr. Vice President for Worldwide Sales.  Mr. Cappetta joined the Company in 1999 and has over 20 years senior management experience in the medical device industry.  Prior to joining MicroVention, he held senior sales and marketing management positions, both domestically and internationally, at cardiovascular firms such as Medtronic AneuRx, Target Therapeutics, Scimed Life Systems, Trimedyne, C.R. Bard, and Electro-Catheter Corp. He holds a BS degree in business administration from Arizona State University.  Mr. Cappetta is member of MicroVention’s Board of Directors.

Robert Cass - CEO, Perminova

Panel: Healthcare IT

Robert Cass is the co-founder and CEO of Perminova Inc. as well as the principal architect for its online cardiovascular and surgical information systems. His responsibilities include the strategic vision, growth, planning, business development and achieving the long-term goals of Perminova. With over seventeen years of healthcare experience in clinical, operations and information technology, Robert has an intimate knowledge of revenue and reimbursement management, process improvement and a thorough understanding of how healthcare provider organizations can leverage technology to optimize both their clinical and business processes.  Robert has built information systems for a 350 bed rehabilitation facility, for the management of the Tuberculosis Control Program of San Diego County, and for the University of California San Diego Medical Center.

Prior to forming Perminova, Robert consulted with companies to help improve their competitive position through the use of technology. These included clients in some of the most complex and challenging healthcare segments such as mobile and transitional health facilities. In addition to consulting, Robert worked as a registered nurse for 7 years in Critical Care Units, Cardiac Cath and Electrophysiology Labs, the Burn Intensive Care Unit, and Bone Marrow Transplant Program. Robert has also held IT and management positions at Saint Vincent de Paul Village, San Diego County Department of Health Services, and University of California San Diego Medical Center. In each case, his responsibilities focused on the areas of leadership, process improvement, workflow management, IT management, process engineering and clinical excellence. In 2002 Robert received a National Public Health Service Award along with his co-authors of a novel Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsored study. He received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from San Diego State University in 2001.

Jed Cohen: Managing Director, Leerink Swann

Panel: M&A

Jed Cohen is a Managing Director in Leerink Swann’s investment banking practice, focused on the medical technology industry.  Jed joined Leerink in June 2009 and has over 16 years of health care investment banking experience, including 12 years at Citigroup and 3 years at UBS.  Jed's transaction experience includes advisory work and financing assignments with clients across the health care industry, with an exclusive focus on the “middle market”/emerging growth segment of the medical device industry since 2000.  Jed received his Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Frederick Oliver Cope, PhD, FACN, CNS - Vice President for Pharmaceutical Research and Clinical Development, Neoprobe Corporation

Panel: Medical Devices in Cancer Treatment

Neoprobe is focused on developing and commercializing innovative biomedical products that meet the critical intraoperative, diagnostic and therapeutic treatment needs of patients and physicians. Our primary area of focus is in improving cancer surgery outcomes by using our market-leading gamma detection devices in combination with radiopharmaceutical agents also referred to as “tracing” or “targeting” agents.

Neoprobe has recently formed another majority-owned subsidiary, Cira Biosciences, Inc., to explore the development and commercialization of an activated cellular therapy technology that has shown promising early stage patient-specific treatment potential in oncology, viral (HIV/AIDS and hepatitis) and autoimmune disease.

As Vice President for Pharmaceutical Research and Clinical Development, I am responsible for the day-to-day management of operational support for drug development and clinical development projects including assisting in product commercialization strategies. I provide scientific expertise and guidance on various inter & intra- departmental projects including the conduct of clinical evaluation of the Company's pharmaceutical products.

James M. Corbett: Chief Executive Officer, Vertos Medical

Panel: Sustaining a Culture of Innovation and Growth: Talent Trends and Leading Practices

Mr. Corbett joined Vertos Medical in November 2008 as President, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors. From 2001 to 2008, Mr. Corbett served as CEO and President of ev3, Inc., and was Chairman of the Board of Directors from 2007 to 2008. Mr. Corbett served as Chairman of the Board of Micro Therapeutics, Inc., from 2002 to 2005, prior to its merger with ev3. From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Corbett was President and CEO of Home Diagnostics, Inc. From 1992 to 1998, Mr. Corbett served as the President of Boston Scientific International. This included the Scimed / Boston Scientific acquisition. Mr. Corbett was General Manager of Baxter Cardiovascular, Japan from 1989 to 1992, and held various sales and marketing positions at Baxter Healthcare Corporation from

1981 to 1992.
 
Mr. Corbett has been a board member of several public and private companies including Symphonix (1999-2001), Therox (2000-2003), Alsius (2003-2004) and ev3 (2001-2008). Mr. Corbett holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Kansas University.

Louis Cullman: Partner, K&L Gates

Panel: Diabetes

Chip a partner in the Orange County office of K&L Gates LLP specializing in intellectual property (IP) law where manages the transactional IP group. His practice has a strong life sciences focus and concentrates on transactional IP for pharmaceutical and medical device companies including patent procurement, technology transfer and Bayh-Dole issues,  merger and acquisition-related due diligence, freedom to operate analyses, non-infringement and invalidity opinions, Hatch-Waxman-related client counseling and litigation support.   Chip regularly represents pharmaceutical and medical device companies including Allergan, Abbott Medical Optics, Baxter Biosciences, Beckman Coulter, Medtronic and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals in matters related to product life cycle magnificent, patent litigation strategy and merger and acquisition IP due diligence. Prior to attending law school Chip was a licensed Clinical Microbiologist and co-founded and directed an infectious disease laboratory and diagnostic device manufacturing company in Southern California.  He has extensive technical experience in the design and manufacturing of in vitro diagnostic devices for infectious diseases, immunology and biochemistry.

Darrel Drinan: Co-Founder and CEO, PhiloMetron

Panel: Start-up Best Practices

PhiloMetron is a medical technology accelerator located in San Diego that is developing novel therapeutic solutions for chronic disease and quality of life conditions utilizing the Company's novel and proprietary technology.  Philo creates a separate legal entity, i.e. “spinout”, at key valuation points of clinical development process to successfully commercialize the technology solution.  Philo’s first spinout, Corventis (www.corventis.com), is commercializing novel solutions to address the costly recurring hospitalizations of congestive heart failure patients and has successfully raised >$57MM from Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and Mohr Davidow Ventures and DAG Ventures.  Corventis began product sales and shipments in 2009.  Sapphire Therapy is Philo’s second spinout and will commercialize the novel stenosis mitigation technology in therapeutic applications in the hemodialysis and peripheral artery disease market.  WMS is Philo’s third spinout and will commercialize the highly novel weight management system that will improve an individual’s success in achieving weight loss and maintenance goals.  This system is based on novel technology solutions that Philo developed in programs funded by NIH and DARPA.  

Prior to co-founding PhiloMetron, Mr. Drinan was the Director of New Program Management for Braun ThermoScan, a $2B subsidiary of the Gillette Company.  He led the new consumer medical products development activities for Braun, including research in wireless, non-invasive, medical sensing applications markets.  He led multi-disciplined development teams personnel located in several countries.  Mr. Drinan holds a BS in Productions/Operations Management and an MS in Business.

David Endicott: Corporate Vice President and President, Allergan Medical

Panel: Aesthetics

David J. Endicott was appointed Corporate Vice President and President of Allergan Medical in July 2010. Mr. Endicott has been with Allergan for 24 years, during which time he has served in a number of domestic and international roles.   

Prior to this appointment Mr. Endicott served as the Corporate Vice President and President of Allergan’s Europe, Africa and Middle East region, as  Senior Vice President, U.S. Specialty Pharmaceuticals, as Vice President and General Manager of Canada, and as Vice President of U.S. Managed Markets.  

Throughout his career at Allergan Mr. Endicott has focused on building businesses in medical specialties such as Plastic Surgery, Dermatology, and Ophthalmology.  He has been instrumental in advancing research and education focused on specialty medicine throughout the world.   Mr. Endicott holds an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Whitman College, an MBA from the University of Southern California, and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

William Fera, MD - Executive Director, Ernst & Young Health Care Advisory

Panel: Comparative Effectiveness Research

Bill is an Executive Director in the Advisory Services practice and serves as the Clinical Transformation leader for Health Care clients. Dr. Fera has provided over a decade of clinical and information technology leadership at academic, community and ambulatory medical centers and has consistently worked to redefine the model of healthcare delivery through deployment of state-of-the-art information technologies to produce superb clinical and financial outcomes. Bill previously served as the Vice President of Medical Technologies at UPMC where he lead UPMC’s ambitious semantic interoperability project, as well as international consulting opportunities.  Dr Fera also served as faculty at the McGowan institute.  In these roles, Bill was responsible for identifying emerging technologies and health care trends. Bill was co-founder and Vice President for Research Endeavors, a firm that specialized in ambulatory pharmaceutical trials. Dr. Fera has deployed multiple inpatient and outpatient electronic medical record systems and oversaw one of the earliest community hospital CPOE deployments in the country. Bill’s area of focus is on electronic medical record systems and information technologies that support quality efforts in health care as well as payer-provider integration. Dr. Fera is a graduate of the Medical College of Pennsylvania with Alpha Omega Alpha honors, Dr. Fera served as chief resident at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, St. Margaret Hospital.  Dr. Fera has bachelor degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Wharton School of Business.

Richard Ferrari - Managing Director, De Novo Ventures

Panel: Cardiovascular

Rich has been a successful CEO of several medical technology companies, both prior to and after co-founding De Novo in 2000. Following De Novo’s investment in CryoVascular Systems, Rich became CEO, growing the initial 5 person start up team to a company of 20 employees. He was instrumental in developing the clinical and product strategies and hiring the executive team. In 2002, Rich led Paracor Medical, another De Novo portfolio company. He grew the company from 4 to 22 employees, refined the product strategy, raised its Series B financing and hired his replacement CEO. Prior to co-founding De Novo Ventures, he was the co-founder and CEO of CardioThoracic Systems (“CTSI”), a company he led to an initial public offering in only 7 months in 1996. CTSI, the market leader in disposable instruments and systems for performing minimally invasive beating heart bypass surgery, was ultimately acquired by Guidant Corporation in November 1999. Before that, Rich was the CEO of Cardiovascular Imaging Systems (“CVIS”). As CEO, he orchestrated a successful IPO and ultimately sold the company to Boston Scientific Corporation in 1995.
 
In addition, Rich founded Saratoga Ventures in 1996, a venture capital partnership that has provided seed financing to startup medical technology companies, including Atrionix, Oratec, Enteric Medical, Trivascular, and Endotex. At Saratoga, Rich was Chairman of Oratec, which was sold in 2001 to Smith & Nephew PLC. Mr. Ferrari also co-founded The Medical Technology Group, which spun out Integrated Vascular Systems, an early stage femoral artery closure company which was sold to Abbott and Angiosense, a needle-free, jet injection, local drug delivery company. Early in his career, Rich held the position of Executive Vice President and General Manager of ADAC Laboratories. Rich holds a BS degree from Ashland University and an MBA from the University of South Florida.
 
Rich sits on the boards of BenVenue, CardioMind, MyoScience, Ovalis, Paracor Medical, Pulmonx, Simpirica, Spinal Kinetics and Spinal Modulation.  His prior board involvement includes TriVascular.

Bruce Feuchter: Shareholder, Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

Panel: Neurovascular

Bruce Feuchter’s practice is centered on the fields of corporate securities, intellectual property and general finance transactions. He handles organizational matters for early stage and mature companies, private and public financing, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments, and technology licensing strategies. He also works with new companies in formation. His clients include public and privately held companies in a diverse array of industries such as medical devices, computer hardware and software, insurance services, and venture capital.

Mr. Feuchter received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law, in 1979, the same year he earned his M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. He received his B.A. degree from UC Berkeley in 1975.

He is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, and the Orange County Bar Association. He received special honors upon graduation in the Order of the Coif and the Thurston Honor Society from Hastings College of Law.

Forrest Fleming, Chief Executive Officer, TrueVision 3D Surgical

Workshop: International Symposium

Mr. Fleming is an experienced executive with a distinguished track record of creating successful start-up companies across many industries. Most recently, Mr. Fleming was CEO of ScentAir Technologies, a pioneer in creating scent-marketing solutions for retail and consumer products brand building. Prior to that, he was the senior sales and marketing executive for several successful startups; including Parametric Technology (Pro-Engineer CAD software), Celera Genomics (Drug Discovery), and Cinesite, a division of Kodak (Digital Imaging Services). Mr. Fleming specializes in creating, executing, funding, and staffing, business plans to optimally commercialize world-changing inventions. Mr. Fleming holds a B.S degree in Industrial Technology from California Polytechnic University (Cal Poly) at San Luis Obispo CA.

Robert C. Funsten: Partner, Bingham McCutchen

Panel: Cardiovascular

Robert Funsten's corporate, M&A and securities practice focuses on advising life sciences companies, including medical device , pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. Rob is a co-chair of the firm’s life sciences practice.

Rob has extensive experience advising life sciences companies in licensing and development deals, strategic alliances and joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings and other business transactions. Rob is a seasoned life sciences industry professional having served as the head of legal, intellectual property and governmental affairs for medical device and pharmaceutical companies. Previously, Rob was the senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Watson Pharmaceuticals, a multibillion-dollar specialty pharmaceutical company, and the vice president and general counsel of Chiron Vision Corporation (now a part of Bausch & Lomb), an ophthalmic medical device company.

John D. Gerace - Entrepreneur in Residence, Life Technologies, Inc.

Panel: Diabetes
John Gerace has recently been appointed “Entrepreneur in Residence” at Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE) chartered to start a new business unit or spin out a new business that leverages LIFE assets.  He is also a board member for the Iacocca Family Foundation - a non-profit organization with the objective of accelerating the discovery of a cure for Type-1 Diabetes (T1DM).  Over the past five years, he has performed extensive due-diligence on a number of potential T1DM cures.  This has lead to the identification and execution of several strategic investments in early stage biotech companies such as Bayhill Therapeutics and Kineta, Inc.  Mr. Gerace also serves on the Advisory Council for Keck Graduate Institute.

 

For over the past three years, Mr. Gerace was Vice President and General Manager of the PCR business unit within Life Technologies - a business unit with annual revenues exceeding $700M.  Prior to joining Life Technologies, Mr. Gerace held several Sales, Marketing and Corporate Business Development leadership roles at Beckman Coulter from 1993 - 2007. He also was appointed President and General Manager of a joint venture between Beckman Coulter and Affymetrix.

 

From 1985 - 1993, Mr. Gerace conducted biomedical research associated with Ophthalmic surgery / medical devices within UC Irvine’s Department of Ophthalmology and then as a research chemist at Allergan Medical Optics where he was principle inventor on four US patents.  Mr. Gerace received Bachelor of Science degrees in chemistry and biological sciences from the University of California, Irvine with distinction and a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

Terrance Gregg: President and CEO, DexCom, Inc.

Panel: Diabetes

Terrance H. Gregg is President and CEO of DexCom, Inc. He is also currently a Special Venture Partner with Galen Partners, a private equity firm specializing in the healthcare industry. In 2002 he retired as President of Medtronic MiniMed, a world leader in diabetes management systems. He became President and Chief Operating Officer of MiniMed, Inc. in 1996 and was instrumental in Medtronic's $3.4 billion acquisition of MiniMed in 2001. He also served in executive positions with Smith and Nephew and Allergan, Inc.

Mr. Gregg served as the 2003-2004 Chair of the Research Foundation Board of the American Diabetes Association.

Mr. Gregg received a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University in 1971. In 2003, Mr. Gregg and his wife were recognized by the American Diabetes Association with an award for Outstanding Service in Diabetes Research Funding.

Robert Grant - CEO, President - Global Surgical Business, Bausch + Lomb

Keynote: Innovations in Ophthalmology

Effective August 2010, Robert E. Grant is chief executive officer and president, global Surgical business, Bausch + Lomb.

Prior to joining Bausch + Lomb, Mr. Grant served as corporate vice president and president of Allergan Medical where he led the $3.4 billion Allergan-Inamed post-acquisition integration. His leadership at Allergan Medical created the multi-million dollar medical rejuvenation industry through a portfolio of such well-known products such as BOTOX® Cosmetic, JUVEDERM® injectable gel, NATRELLE®  breast implants and the LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System.

Before joining Allergan Medical, Mr. Grant was the acting chairman, president and CEO of BIOLASE Technology, Inc., the global cosmetic dentistry company where he led a highly successful turnaround.

From 1997 to 2003, Mr. Grant held management positions with Lumenis, Inc. (formerly Coherent Medical Group), including executive vice president of its Ophthalmic Business Unit, executive vice president of its Surgical Business Unit and vice president of business development and managing director of European Operations. He has also held expatriate positions with Sulzer Medica AG and Telectronics Pty Ltd.

Mr. Grant holds an M.B.A. from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and has a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. He is based in Aliso Viejo, California.

Burton M. Goldfield: President and CEO, TriNet

Panel: Sustaining a Culture of Innovation and Growth: Talent Trends and Leading Practices

Burton M. Goldfield joined TriNet in 2008 and currently serves as president and chief executive officer. In this role, Goldfield is responsible for setting TriNet’s overall corporate strategy and directing business operations. Goldfield’s more than 25 years experience includes increasingly high profile executive-level sales, operations, and technology management positions, and he is known for his extensive expertise at successfully growing emerging businesses into large-scale corporations.
 
Prior to joining TriNet, Goldfield served as chief executive officer for Santa Clara-based Ketera Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) spend management solutions to Fortune 2000 companies. Previous to that, Goldfield came from Hyperion Solutions Corporation, where he was senior vice president of worldwide field operations with global responsibility for direct and indirect sales, consulting services, support, training and field marketing.
 
Previous to that, Goldfield was with IBM Corporation as vice president of worldwide sales for the Rational software brand, and was responsible for leading the global direct and indirect sales, consulting and field operations organizations. Prior to Rational being acquired by IBM in 2003, Goldfield held various senior executive leadership roles, over a 14 year period, as the company grew from $25M to more than $700M in annual revenue.
 
Goldfield received his bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering from Syracuse University, and his MBA from Villanova University.

Thomas R. Hamilton: Managing Partner, Thomas Hamilton Group
Workshop: Securing Federal and State Funding

Tom Hamilton has over 49 years of professional experience in technical sales, marketing and executive management in the high-performance scientific information processing industry plus technology transfer management with the Jet Propulsion Lab, a NASA laboratory. 

He is Managing Partner of the Thomas Hamilton Group.  It was formed in 1999 to capitalize on his experience in working with NASA bringing industry collaboration together with unique space-based technology with a focus on commercialization and profitability for industry.  He has also participated on an independent review panel reviewing NASA SBIR’s and STTR’s since 1995. 

Concurrently he assists high-tech small businesses in the preparation of proposals to the 11 federal agencies that open SBIR and STTR solicitations each year.  Most recently, he has consulted with CSU – San Bernardino, the TriTech SBDC in Riverside and NASA.

He has a BS in Finance and a MBA in Statistics and Information Processing both from the University of California, Los Angeles.

David Hayes: Partner, Dorsey & Whitney

Panel: Aesthetics

Partner in the Corporate group and co-Chair of both the Licensing and Technology Commerce and Technology Commerce practices. Mr. Hayes has extensive experience in advising clients in connection with intellectual property protection strategies and all aspects of high technology transactions including the acquisition and protection of intellectual property, research and development transactions, acquisition of high technology companies, financing of high technology companies as well as on the buying, selling, leasing, distribution, licensing and development of high technology products and services.

 

Richard Henson: Founder, CEO - Source Scientific, LLC

Panel: Sustaining a Culture of Innovation and Growth: Talent Trends and Leading Practices

Mr. Henson is a Founder and CEO of Source Scientific, LLC, a medical instrument and device services firm in Irvine, California.  Here, he and his partners developed original technology used in non-isotopic diagnostic testing.  Source Scientific develops and manufactures products for many well-known OEM medical device companies.  It also serves as the base of US operations for Frankfurt based BIT Analytical Instruments GmbH.

An experienced CEO with public company experience, Richard has worked with a number of high-tech firms in biomedical, consumer and critical power industries.  He has a strong combination of technical, sales, marketing and managerial experience.  He spent several years in Europe with Swiss-based manufacturers of critical power equipment for heavy industrial markets including nuclear, power generation, oil & gas, petrochemical and transportation.

He has also served as President of Clary Corporation, a publicly owned company that manufactures harsh environment power systems for medical, military and transportation applications.  At Clary, he reversed a decade-long decline in sales to a healthy 35% annual growth rate. 

Mr. Henson also serves on the Board Of Directors of the non-profit organizations OCTANe (Orange County) and BioCom (San Diego).  He is a graduate of the Anderson School of Business at UCLA.  He also attended California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).  He has 4 children and lives in Laguna Beach, California.

Rick Hughes: President, HealthLink Europe

Workshop: International Symposium

Rick Hughes has been involved in the medical device industry for 16 years, and joined HealthLink Europe in February 2005. During the first few months of his tenure, HealthLink Europe secured funding from a private investment firm, opened a North American Office, and invested in top quality management and IT systems, to support the future growth of the company. Mr. Hughes became President of HealthLink Europe in December 2005, and during the past three years, the company has seen significant growth in this sector and now provides operational support for more than 45 medical device manufacturers in Europe.

Before joining HealthLink Europe, Mr. Hughes was Vice President of Client Development for TriVirix, an FDA registered contract manufacturer of electronic and electro- mechanical medical devices, from February 2000, to January 2005. During this time TriVirix achieved rapid annual  revenue growth, supporting medical device manufacturers throughout North America. Prior to joining TriVirix, Mr. Hughes spent six years with Vernacare, a UK based hospital equipment and disposables manufacturer, where he became an Account Director for North America.

Mr. Hughes holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford Brookes University in the UK.

Matthew Jenusaitis: President and CEO, OCTANe

Keynote: Innovations in Ophthalmology

Keynote: The 2010 Mid Term Elections & Healthcare Reform: What it all means for the Medical Device Industry

Matthew Jenusaitis joined as the president and CEO of OCTANe in June, 2009. Prior to OCTANe, Matthew spent 15 years at Boston Scientific Corp., where he served in numerous executive marketing and general management positions. Matthew was also an executive in residence for the private equity firm Warburg Pincus, LLC. This led to Matthew assuming the role of President of ev3 Neurovascular, one of Warburg’s portfolio companies

 

Matthew sits on the boards of Avantis Medical in Sunnyvale, CA; Creagh Medical in Galway, Ireland; Neuro Interventional Therapeutics in Pittsburgh, PA; and Pulsar Vascular in San Jose, CA. He also sits on the advisory boards for Cornell’s School of Biomedical Engineering, the University of California Bren School of Information and Computer Science, and the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences.

 

Matthew holds a bachelor of science in chemical engineering cum laude from Cornell University, a master of science in bio-chemical engineering from Arizona State University and a master of business administration from University of California, Irvine. 

Shayne Kennedy: Partner, Latham & Watkins

Panel: M&A

B. Shayne Kennedy is a partner in the Orange County office of Latham & Watkins and serves as the Co-Chair of its Corporate Department.  Mr. Kennedy’s practice focuses on capital markets, general corporate representation and mergers and acquisitions.

Most recently, Mr. Kennedy was involved in the sale of Cougar Biotechnology to Johnson & Johnson and in the  initial public offerings of EnteroMedics, Hansen Medical, Masimo Corporation, Trans1 and Xtent.  Additionally, Mr. Kennedy was counsel to Isotis (a Swiss public company) in its redomiciliation from Switzerland to Delaware and subsequent listing on NASDAQ, and to Peplin (an Australian public company) in its redomiciliation from Australia to Delaware and subsequent registration with the US Securities Exchange Commission.  Other highlights of Mr. Kennedy’s practice include his representation of Allergan in its spin-off of Advanced Medical Optics, and PIMCO Advisors and its related entities in their sale to Allianz AG.

Mr. Kennedy’s other capital markets experience includes the representation of various issuers in public and private offerings, including for Allergan, Cayenne Medical, Neurogen, OrthAlign, Peplin, ResMed, VNUS Medical Technologies and Volcom.  He has also represented various investment banks in offerings for a broad range of companies, including American Medical Systems Holdings, American Oriental Bioengineering, Array Biopharma, Ceradyne, Dexcom, Digirad, Gilead Sciences, Green Plains Renewable Energy, Immunogen, Kaiser Aluminum, Mako Surgical, Mannkind, Medivation, MSC Software, Princeton Review, Resources Connection, Seattle Genetics and Vital Images.  His investment banking clients have included Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Securities, Jefferies & Company, J. P. Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Piper Jaffray & Co., Roth Capital Partners and Thomas Weisel Partners.

Mr. Kennedy continues to provide outside corporate counsel to various public and private companies including ResMed, PIMCO and OrthAlign.  Mr. Kennedy is a member of the American Bar Association and is actively involved in a variety of charitable and church-related activities.

Jeffrey J. Kimbell: President, Jeffrey J. Kimbell & Associates

Keynote: The 2010 Mid Term Elections & Healthcare Reform: What it all means for the Medical Device Industry

Jeffrey J. Kimbell, President of Jeffrey J. Kimbell & Associates, represents clients in the life sciences community seeking legislative remedies for their needs. Mr. Kimbell specializes in representing life science companies before the U.S. government. The firm provides strategic solutions to hand-selected clients seeking creation, modification, or proper implementation of public law.

Three years after establishing his firm, in January of 2001, Mr. Kimbell was named to President George W. Bush's Transition Team Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He was the only consultant to serve on the Committee.

Prior to establishing Kimbell & Associates, Mr. Kimbell served as the first Executive Director of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) from 1994-1998. While at MDMA, he directed all Washington policy initiatives on behalf of MDMA's member companies. During his tenure, the association grew from 25 companies to 130, an increase that can be directly attributed to a number of legislative victories, including passage of a landmark bill to overhaul the product approval process at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

In addition to the handling matters before the U.S Congress, Mr. Kimbell was also responsible for MDMA's interaction with state and foreign governments and federal agencies of jurisdiction on tax and trade matters. In this capacity, he worked very closely with both the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). As the principal spokesperson for MDMA, Mr. Kimbell coordinated all communications with the media; the public and private financing communities on Wall Street and related venture capital firms; the U.S. Congress; the White House; HHS; and the FDA.

Prior to MDMA, Mr. Kimbell was a personal aide to former Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R-TN) and personal attaché to former Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger in the Washington office of the Tennessee-based law firm Baker, Worthington, Crossley & Stansberry. While at Baker-Worthington, Mr. Kimbell tracked legislative activity for a host of Fortune 500 clients.

In June 2006, The Hill recognized Mr. Kimbell as one of the top lobbyists in the medical device field in its "Lobby League." Mr. Kimbell has contributed to or been interviewed by a host of trade and global news publications and television programs: Bloomberg's Business News, Bureau of National Affairs (BNA), Congressional Quarterly, Forbes, The New York Times, MX Magazine (also serving on their editorial board), Scripps-Howard, Reuters, Time, The Washington Post, Roll Call, Politico, The Food & Drug Law Journal, and many others. Mr. Kimbell has testified before the U.S. Congress and spoken before numerous industry groups, associations, and educational institutions.

In addition to Kimbell & Associates, Mr. Kimbell is Managing Director of Jackalope Real Estate, LLC (Park City, UT) and President of Magnum Entertainment Group, Inc. (Washington, D.C.).

A graduate of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, TX, Mr. Kimbell earned his B.A. in Political Science. While at SMU, he worked for U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX), a member of the House Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax, trade, and a significant portion of Medicare. Mr. Kimbell and his wife Jessica are avid sportsmen; fly fishing, hunting, and skiing at locales throughout the world when U.S. Congress is in recess.

Dennis W. King, PhD - President and CEO/Statistician, STATKING

Panel: Medical Devices in Cancer Treatment

Dennis W. King is President of STATKING Consulting Inc., Cincinnati, OH.  Over the past 30 years as a statistical consultant, he has provided expertise on experimental design and data analysis to hundreds of industrial, governmental and academic clients.  He received his PhD in statistics in 1988 from Texas A&M University and his MS degree in statistics in 1980 from the University of Wyoming. 

 

Since 1989, Dr. King has been President of STATKING Consulting Inc. (SCI), a contract research organization (CRO) located in Cincinnati, OH.  SCI is a company totally dedicated to providing a variety of data-related clinical trials services to industry clients.  Dr. King and his staff have provided clinical trial services on over 250 clinical trials for drugs and medical devices.  His expertise in statistical methods extends across various therapeutic areas including medical devices (stents, catheters, ablation procedures, dosing devices, imaging devices, neurostimulation, etc.), drugs for women’s health, antihypertensive drugs, drug delivery systems, various OTC drugs, sleep disorders, laxatives, antidepressants, renal/nephrology drugs and devices, antiarrhythmic drugs, osteoporosis/HRT drugs, dermatological products, oral care products and household products.                       

 

In the area of pharmaceutical and medical device statistics, Dr. King has interacted with FDA personnel at FDA committee meetings and FDA scientific advisory committee meetings on behalf of his clients.  He has served as DMC Statistician or Independent Statistician for Data Safety Monitoring Boards (DSMBs) on a number of clinical trials. He has written protocols, Statistical Analysis Plans (SAPs), SAS Analysis Program Requirements Documents, stand alone statistics reports, the statistical portions of NDA and PMA submissions for over fifty industry sponsored clinical trials.

 

He has given presentations on key topics in pharmaceutical and medical device statistics at conferences such as the annual meeting of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS), the AdvaMed Statistics Conference and the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM/ASA).  He has taught industry short courses on protocol development at Drug Information Association sponsored meetings and given talks on statistical methods at clinical thought leader events such as the Conference on Stent Technologies held at the Cleveland Clinic in September 2003.

 

He has authored or co-authored over 30 technical papers in a number of scientific journals including articles in the pharmaceutical statistics journals, Controlled Clinical Trials, Pharmaceutical Statistics and the Drug Information Journal.  He is the author of the book Statistical Quality Control Using the SAS System published by SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC and a contributor to the book Reporting from the Field: SAS Software Experts Present Real-World Report-Writing Applications also published by SAS Institute.  Dr. King's expertise in the use of SAS software consists of SAS programming for all types of statistical methods; base SAS, SAS/STAT, SAS/ETS, SAS/IML, SAS/QC and SAS/GRAPH software; and the SAS macro language.

 

In the environmental arena, Dr. King has served on the scientific advisory board of a number of projects funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency including the San Jacinto River Bioremediation Project, the Texas Coastal Oil Spill Simulation System Project and the Oil Spill Bioremediation Products Protocol Development Panel.  Dr. King has helped design both lab-scale and full-scale experiments in oil spill bioremediation.

 

Dr. King was the 2001 recipient of the H.O. Hartley Award given by the Statistics Department at Texas A&M University.  The award is given annually to a former student of the TAMU Statistics Department for distinguished service to the statistics discipline.

Mark Leahey, President & CEO, MDMA

Keynote: Global Medical Device Industry Update

Mark Leahey is the President & CEO for the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA), a national trade association in Washington, DC that represents research-driven medical technology companies. Mr. Leahey's responsibilities include advocating on behalf of the entrepreneurial sector of the medical device industry to Congress, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and other federal and state agencies. He has lobbied for a more reasonable user fee for smaller companies, worked to open access to the hospital marketplace by challenging the exclusionary and anti-competitive nature of certain large group purchasing organizations (GPOs), as well as ensure that medical device technologies are reimbursed adequately. Mr. Leahey currently sits on the Medical Devices Committee for the Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) and the Editorial Advisory Board of Medical Product Outsourcing. He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar and a graduate of Georgetown University, the Georgetown Law Center and Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business.

Sabing Lee: Partner, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear, LLP

Panel: How to Spend Your IP Dollars Effectively

Sabing H. Lee is a partner in the Orange County office of Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP.  Mr. Lee received his Bachelors Degree in Materials Engineering, Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude, from UCLA, and also received his Masters Degree in Materials Science and Engineering from UCLA.  He received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), where he was an Articles Editor and Executive Editor for the Berkeley Technology Law Journal.

Mr. Lee’s practice includes strategic patent procurement, patent portfolio management, intellectual property due diligence, general counseling on infringement and licensing, interferences, reexaminations, and other related issues.  Mr. Lee currently represents clients in a wide range of technologies, including medical devices, nanotechnology, and semiconductor fabrication. 

Mr. Lee joined the firm in 1997 and became a partner in 2003.  He has been named as one of Southern California’s “Rising Stars” in intellectual property law in a survey of his peers, published in Los Angeles magazine and Super Lawyers magazine, consistently since 2004.

In the medical device field, Mr. Lee has worked extensively with cardiovascular, orthopedic and aesthetic technologies.  He has been involved in the intellectual property strategy and acquisitions of PercuSurge, Inc. (acquired by Medtronic, Inc.), Flex-Foot, Inc. (acquired by Össur hf.), Endius, Inc. (acquired by Zimmer Holdings, Inc.)., and ev3 Inc. (acquired by Covidien).

Scott Kozak: Vice President, Life Sciences - The North of England

Workshop: International Symposium

Scott is a seasoned general manager with extensive international sales, service and operations experience. He has led business development organizations at IBM, Teradyne and Universal Instruments Corporation and was most recently Chief Operating Officer for ENS Inc. a nanotechnology company focused on accelerating drug discovery and process optimization. His accomplishments include turning a money-losing division into the most profitable P&L in a fortune 1000 company, doubling Asian market share while increasing revenue to $150 million, restructuring global service organizations to deliver profitable end-to-end production solutions and leading business operations for a life science start-up from proof-of-concept to first revenue and a $10 million valuation.

A Six-Sigma Black Belt, Scott brings cross-functional expertise and international business acumen to North American clients to help refine and deploy their global expansion strategies. Scott earned a BS in Biology from Bucknell University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.

William J. Link, PhD - Managing Director, Versant Ventures
Keynote: Innovations in Ophthalmology

Bill Link specializes in early-stage investing in medical devices at Versant. Prior to co-founding Versant Ventures, Bill was a general partner at Brentwood Venture Capital. He has a proven record of building and operating large, successful medical product companies. With extensive knowledge of medical devices, particularly in ophthalmology, his operating experience spans more than 23 years in general management in the healthcare industry.

Perhaps Bill’s greatest operational success was as founder, chairman and CEO of Chiron Vision, a subsidiary of Chiron Corporation specializing in ophthalmic surgical products, which was sold to Bausch and Lomb in 1997. Prior to Chiron Vision, Bill founded and served as President of American Medical Optics (AMO), a division of American Hospital Supply Corporation, which was sold to Allergan in 1986. Later Bill served on the Board of AMO’s successor company, Advanced Medical Optics. AMO was acquired by Abbott in 2009.

While at Brentwood, Bill invested in a number of early-stage companies, including eyeonics (sold), Genyx (sold), IntraLase (sold), Intra Therapeutics (sold), and OraMetrix (private). His Versant investments include the following private companies: AcuFocus, Cameron Health, ForSight, Glaukos, Inogen, LenSx, NeoVista, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals, Rox Medical, Second Sight and Wavetec. Bill also serves as a Director of Edwards Lifesciences.

Before entering the healthcare industry, Bill was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Bill earned his Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.

Mairin Dudley Macaluso - Partner, The BLG Group

Workshop: International Symposium

Mairin Dudley Macaluso is an experienced medical device executive and consultant with twenty years of experience guiding companies as they seek to evaluate and prioritize opportunities for growth.

From 2002-2009, Ms. Macaluso has served as Director of International Operations and then Director of International Regulatory Affairs with ev3, a global endovascular device company, driving above-plan, profitable revenue growth for the international business. Ms. Macaluso worked across functional lines, creating the strategic, financial, legal and regulatory infrastructure to support the ev3’s expansion in distributor markets.

As a member of the BLG Group since 2002 and partner since 2007, Ms. Macaluso has also worked with clients who have sought BLG’s advice on critical strategic initiatives with an emphasis on creating and executing international commercialization strategy in Europe and other key global markets. 

Ms. Macaluso holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from UC Berkeley.

William H. Markle - President and CEO, GluMetrics, Inc.

Panel: Diabetes

Mr. Markle has over 25 years experience in management of high-tech medical device companies focusing on the Critical Care marketplace (Baxter, Edwards Life Sciences, American Hospital Supply).  Before his current position as President and CEO of GluMetrics, Inc., an early-stage critical care company focusing on glycemic control in the hospitalized patient, Mr. Markle held senior management positions in two successful medical device start-up companies: Tensys Medical and Masimo Corp.  Mr. Markle has achieved degrees from Duke University (BSME) and Pepperdine University (MBA).

 

GluMetrics, Inc. is currently developing a novel intravascular glucose sensing system for the hospitalized patient.

John Mastrototaro, Ph.D. - Vice President, Global Research and Development,

Medtronic Diabetes

Panel: Diabetes

John J. Mastrototaro is Vice President of Research & Development at Medtronic Diabetes.  Prior to this position, he was Vice President of Global Clinical, Scientific & Health Affairs, where he was responsible for global clinical research, clinical outcomes management, closed-loop and algorithm development initiatives, and health policy programs.   John is an internationally renowned expert in diabetes technology and has authored dozens of publications in peer reviewed journals on original clinical research and consensus reports.  He is an invited guest lecturer at both domestic and international professional diabetes meetings.  In 2003 John received the Bakken Award from Medtronic Inc. for his scientific & research contributions in the field of diabetes. 

 

Prior to joining Medtronic, John was a technical project manager for Eli Lilly and Company focusing on the development of an electroenzymatic glucose sensor.   He received his Masters and Ph.D degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.  His Doctoral Dissertation was entitled “Thin-Film Multielectrode Arrays for Voltage Measurements in the Heart.”  John holds 50 US patents. 

Tom Merle - Chief Development Officer, Continuum Advanced Systems

Panel: Built to Succeed: Best Practices for Medical Device Start-up Companies

Tom brings a holistic approach to product development and innovation. He has led the growth of the Advanced Systems team at Continuum, working at the intersection of technology, systems, and human-centered design. This approach is based on understanding needs, behaviors and environments to inform the development of systems and technologies that deliver value to people and business results to clients.

 

While at Continuum, Tom has worked with many of the company’s strategic clients including General Dynamics, Abbott Labs, Insulet, Avedro, and Ford. Tom is also actively engaged in executive and strategic management of the company.

 

Prior to joining Continuum, Tom worked at the Eastman Kodak Company for more than a decade in research and product development. He played a key role in significant product development efforts in consumer photography, office products, and government businesses. Tom was involved in projects where emerging technologies were being applied to breakthrough products and worked closely with manufacturing partners around the world.

 

Tom holds 23 patents in the fields of mechanical systems, electrophotography and photofinishing equipment and was honored with the Distinguished Inventors Award by the Chief Technical Officer of Eastman Kodak. He is a member of the Industry Advisory Board for the Manufacturing Engineering Department at Boston University and is a licensed Professional Engineer in New York and Massachusetts. Tom holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University, where he graduated as a Presidential Scholar with Great Distinction.

Tom received his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating summa cum laude.

John S. Moran: Managing Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Keynote: Global Medical Device Industry Update

John is a Managing Director in our Pharma and Life Science practice focused on assisting clients with advisory services that achieve sustainable competitive advantage through strategic change.

John has more than 17 years experience as a Life Science strategy and technology professional with a strong background in business process transformation, technology integration and operations management.  His experience spans all the functional areas of Life Sciences with his primary area of focus being the commercial functions of the business. 

 

In his tenure, John has performed in a variety of global roles in working with many of the world’s leading Life Science companies including: Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Allergan, Bausch and Lomb and Genentech

 

John received a B.S. in Accounting and Economics from the Pennsylvania State University and a Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Saint Joseph’s University.

Doug Mowen: Managing Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Keynote: Global Medical Device Industry Update

Mr. Mowen is a Managing Director in the US Life Sciences advisory practice with responsibility for the medical device industry.  For the last 12 years, Doug has worked broadly across the medical device industry, including orthopaedic, cardiac rhythm management, and medical equipment companies.  His focus has been on commercial compliance, supply and quality operations, patient management businesses, and customer strategies. Prior to his current role, Doug was a Partner at KPMG, a Managing Director of the Life Sciences practice at BearingPoint, a marketing manager for the Hewlett-Packard company, and a design engineer for Unisys. 

 

Doug has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh.

Michael Moretti - Publisher, Medical Insight

Panel: Aesthetics

Michael Moretti has served as a medical industry analyst and strategic advisor for more than 20 years. In 1993, Mr. Moretti founded Medical Insight, Inc.^®, the leader in focused aesthetic market research offering comprehensive data on procedure volume/growth, revenue forecasts and new product introductions. Under Mr. Moretti’s leadership, Medical Insight publishes global market studies and forecasts for major industry sectors such as facial injectables, cosmeceuticals, body shaping procedures, skin rejuvenation technologies and home-use aesthetic products. Medical Insight also sponsors executive business forums throughout the year to address scientific developments and market trends for the investment community.

As an industry consultant, Mr. Moretti specializes in strategic business development projects and high growth, emerging market segments. He provides custom reports and confidential market studies for a variety of clients, including global medical and pharmaceutical companies.

Mr. Moretti is also publisher and editor of THE Aesthetic Guide – a bi-monthly publication featuring in-depth reports on new products, procedures and trends, reaching 20,000 aesthetic practices. THE European Aesthetic Guide is published two times per year and specifically addresses the European market.

In 2007, Mr. Moretti debuted THE Aesthetic Show, the first multidisciplinary annual medical meeting designed to bring together new aesthetic procedures, products and technologies in a dynamic interactive educational format. For more information visit www.aestheticshow.com.

Mika Nishimura - Managing Partner, The BLG Group

Workshop: International Symposium

Mika Nishimura is a seasoned medical device executive and management consultant with over 20 years of experience leading and advising medical device companies through periods of strong growth.

 

During her tenure as the Director of Global Marketing at Guidant Vascular Intervention and Vice President, International Sales Operations and Marketing at ev3, Inc., Ms. Nishimura started and built profitable international franchises contributing significant, consistent, above-plan revenue growth and EBITDA with operations in over 30 markets. 

 

Since founding The BLG Group 11 years ago, Ms. Nishimura has a built strong reputation and a loyal client base among med-tech investors, early stage companies, as well as established diversified medical device companies.  Over the last several years, she has advised over 20 clients on international expansion strategies and execution.

 

Ms. Nishimura holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Yale University.

Michael A. Mussallem - Chairman and CEO, Edwards Lifesciences

Keynote: The 2010 Mid Term Elections & Healthcare Reform: What it all means for the Medical Device Industry

Michael A. Mussallem is chairman and chief executive officer of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring.  Driven by a passion to help patients, the company partners with clinicians to develop innovative technologies in the areas of structural heart disease and critical care monitoring that enable them to save and enhance lives. 

Mussallem has headed Edwards Lifesciences since it was spun off from Baxter International Inc. and began operating as an independent, publicly traded company (NYSE:EW) in April 2000.  Previously, he was responsible for the worldwide operations of both Baxter’s CardioVascular business, which he had headed since 1995, and its Biopharmaceuticals business, which he had been appointed to lead in 1998.

Mussallem joined Baxter in 1979 and progressed through a variety of increasingly responsible positions in manufacturing, engineering and product development.  He was named president of Baxter’s Critical Care Division in 1993, and group vice president of Baxter’s Surgical Group in 1994.  From 1996 through 1998, he chaired Baxter’s Asia-Pacific Board, which coordinated all of Baxter’s regional initiatives.  Previously, he worked for Union Carbide.

Mussallem is on the boards and executive committees of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), California Healthcare Institute and OCTANe, and is a trustee of the University of California, Irvine Foundation.  He received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and an honorary doctorate from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Jane Rady - Divisional VP, Business Development and Communications,

Abbott Medical Optics Inc.

Keynote: The 2010 Mid Term Elections & Healthcare Reform: What it all means for the Medical Device Industry

Jane E. Rady is divisional vice president, business development and communications at Abbott Medical Optics (AMO). Prior to AMO’s acquisition by Abbott in 2009, Jane served as executive vice president, strategy and corporate development at Advanced Medical Optics from February 2007 to February 2009.  From April 2006 to February 2007, she was corporate vice president, strategic and corporate development, and from April 2002 to April 2006, she was corporate vice president, strategy and technology.  Prior to joining AMO, Ms. Rady was a director and the CEO of Integrated Genomics, Inc. and was a consultant to Integrated Genomics and several other companies in 2001.  From 1984 to 2000, Ms. Rady was employed by G.D. Searle & Co./Monsanto in various capacities including president and general manager of Searle’s international joint venture, Lorex Pharmaceuticals Ltd., vice president of corporate licensing & business development, and vice president of strategic planning.

 

Casandra Rauser, Ph.D. - Assistant Director of Research Development, School of Biological Sciences: University of California, Irvine

Workshop: Accessing Federal and State Funding

Casandra Rauser received her Ph.D. (2005) in Biological Sciences from the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the UCI. After receiving her doctorate, she managed a 250+ ha (600+ acres) preserve in Tamarindo, Costa Rica where she honed her skills organizing, collaborating, teaching and grant writing while working with businesses, schools, public and private organizations and community members both nationally and internationally. Throughout her professional career she has conducted research and published well over a dozen scientific articles in the areas of behavioral ecology, evolution, genetics, and cancer, and most recently finished a book entitled “Does Aging Stop?”. Additionally, she has worked several years as an editor of scientific articles written by non-native English speakers that have gone on to be published in journals such as Nature Genetics. She has personally obtained funding from the NSF, NIH-NCI, Sigma Xi, the American Association of University Women, and the Ellison Medical Foundation, among others. Professionally, Dr. Rauser has participated in the coordination and writing of grants from the NIH, NSF, DOD, the Dept of Education, CIRM, and private Foundations for projects that span a broad range of interdisciplinary research proposals, Center grants, training grants, instrumentation, and facilities and building construction. Together, her academic and professional experiences allow her to contribute to the scientific and technical aspects of grants, as well as assist in editing and the general preparation of proposals.

John F. Ryan: Partner, ONSET VENTURES

Panel: Sustaining a Culture of Innovation and Growth: Talent Trends and Leading Practices

John Ryan joined ONSET Ventures in 2008 after focusing throughout his career on the founding, building and financing of companies across many sectors of the healthcare industry at stages ranging from the earliest company formation to the largest industry leaders. Prior to ONSET, John led the venture investing efforts in the medical device sector for Panorama Capital, JPMorgan Partners and Chase Capital Partners. Prior to that, John worked with Morgan Stanley Venture Partners where he focused on medical technology, health care information technology, and health care services companies. Earlier, John worked with Morgan Stanley’s investment banking group as part of a team that was a leader in M&A and financing business for health care companies globally.

 

At ONSET Ventures, John focuses on helping to create companies or invest in companies in the medical technology and health care information technology sectors. John is currently a board member or board observer for companies such as Novasys Medical, Valeritas and Vertos Medical.

 

John holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree with high honors from the University of Colorado. John serves on the board of directors of Mills-Peninsula Health Services hospital organization and on the medical device screening committee for the Life Science Angels investment group.

Jon W. Salveson: Vice Chairman, Investment Banking - Piper Jaffray

Keynote: 2010 Mid Term Elections and Healthcare Reform

Jon Salveson is the Vice Chairman of Investment Banking.  Prior to his current position, Jon was the Global Head of Investment Banking for seven years.  Jon is involved in a full range of investment banking activities which include public and private equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions advisories and financial advisory services. 

Prior to leading the Investment Banking effort, Salveson spent his career at Piper Jaffray building a leading health care underwriting and mergers and acquisitions advisory practice.  In 1996, Salveson opened the Piper Jaffray office in Menlo Park, Calif., where he was instrumental in establishing a large technology and health care presence in Silicon Valley, including over 100 investment banking and research professionals. Salveson was a product manager at a biotechnology firm prior to joining Piper Jaffray. Salveson graduated from St. Olaf College and received a Master of Business Administration degree from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Nancy Shadeed, B.Sc. - Manager, Licensing Services Division, Medical Devices Bureau, Therapeutic Products Directorate - Health Canada

Workshop: International Symposium

Nancy holds an Honours Bsc. in Biology from Brock University.  In 1984, she started her career with Health and Welfare Canada as an evaluator in the Medical Devices Bureau.  After a six year hiatus from the Federal Service to work in the private sector, she resumed her career with Health Canada in 1994 as an evaluator in the Device Evaluation Division of the Medical Devices Bureau.

 

She is currently the Manager of the Licensing Services Division.  This section provides information on the regulations, the processing of licence applications for screening and the screening of applications for risk classification and application type.  She has also been very active in making policy changes and improvements to the Regulations.  Nancy has been involved with the Global Harmonization Task Force for Medical Devices since 1999, participating as a member of Study Group 1 and more recently named as the chair of this group.  She has been the chair of the IVD subgroup since 2000 which works on regulatory and pre-market requirements.

Wendy C. Shelton - Fabiani & Company
Workshop: Strategies for Obtaining Federal and State Funding
Dr. Wendy Shelton brings experience in clinical medicine, medical device business development, public health and government. She provides strategic expertise regarding agricultural, biotechnology, and bioterrorism issues to the firm.
Dr. Shelton began her professional life as a practicing veterinarian after graduating from the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1981.  She was a small animal practitioner and small business owner for over 15 years.

In 1993, Dr. Shelton assumed a position on the Board of Directors of Integrated Surgical Systems, developers and manufacturers of the world’s first computer guided surgical robot, ROBODOC®.  She stayed with the company in numerous capacities (VP Research and Development; VP Medical Affairs; CEO) until it went public. There she gained experience preparing applications for FDA approval, conducting animal and human clinical trials, creating an ISO 9000 manufacturing facility, and developing a European market for the device. The company was the recipient of the 1992 Computerworld Smithsonian Award for Excellence in Medical IT, and device was collected by the museum.

Dr. Shelton then spent several years combining part-time equine practice and new therapeutic product development, while earning a Master of Public Health degree from the UC Davis School of Medicine.  The MPH was followed by a position at the California Department of Health Services, Department of Infectious Diseases, and Office of the Public Health Veterinarian working on West Nile virus surveillance systems.
Dr. Shelton was a fully-funded Congressional Fellow, sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical Association and placed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the office of Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut in 2004-2005.  While in the Senator’s office, Dr. Shelton participated in the genesis of Senate Bill 975, or Bioshield II, the massive legislative initiative designed to create a countermeasures industry to address both bioterrorism and naturally-occurring public health threats, and was primary author of several titles.

Dr. Shelton is fluent in French, and is a certified riding instructor.

Earl H. Slee – Vice President of Advanced Research and New Business Development, ev3
Panel: Neurovascular

 

Earl Slee is a medical device executive with over 25 years of experience leading product development in companies with strong growth.  As Vice President of Research and Development at ev3 Neurovascular, an Irvine company focused on endovascular treatments for hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke, revenue grew to $220M over the last 12 years. 

 

Mr. Slee joined ev3 as Vice President of Research and Development in April, 1998 (when ev3 Neurovascular was Micro Therapeutics, Inc).  In 2006, MTI became a fully owned subsidiary of ev3.  In July of this year, ev3 became a fully owned subsidiary of Covidien. 

 

Prior to ev3, from 1995 until 1998, Mr. Slee was Vice President Research and Development with Aequitron Medical, Inc., a manufacturer of portable respiratory care devices.  From 1992 until 1995, Mr. Slee was Director of Engineering with Instromedix, a manufacturer of portable EKG monitors.  From 1983 to 1992, Mr. Slee held various engineering and management positions with Pfizer, Welch Allyn and Hughes Aircraft Co.  Mr. Slee holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, an MSEE from San Diego State University, and a BA in Physics from the University of California, San Diego.

Gerald R. Solomon: Executive Director, Samueli Foundation

Workshop: Securing Federal & State Funding

Gerald R. Solomon has served as the Samueli Foundation’s Executive Director since April, 2008.  Prior to the Samueli Foundation, Mr. Solomon served as CEO of Public Health Foundation Enterprises (PHFE) for seven (7) years, where he transformed the organization from an LA-centric provider of funding and services into national prominence. At the time of Mr. Solomon’s departure, PHFE was operating in 31 states with 1,600 employees and annual revenues exceeding $120 Million.

Since his tenure at Samueli, the Foundation has achieved many significant goals, including; refining the Foundation’s strategic plan, and establishing a secondary operating foundation entitled Anaheim Ducks Foundation to address community health disparity issues through the use of hockey. In addition, the Foundation has developed long range collaborative community initiatives to: address systemic safety net needs in the Santa Ana region, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education deficiencies within the K – 16 continuum, and the need to broaden the healthcare dialogue to focus on a true health and wellness approach through integrative medicine practices.

Mr. Solomon currently serves on several Boards and Committees, including: UCLA’s School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council; UCI’s School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council; UCI’s Dept of Education Chair’s Advisory Committee, Orange County’s STEM Funder’s Network; Orange County Roundtable of Funders, and actively supports and works with Grantmakers in Health and Grantmakers For Education on local, regional and national issues.

 

Previous work has included service on the Board of Directors of: the NACCHO-CDC national accreditation committee developing standards for public health departments; OCHNA – Orange County Health Needs Assessment; Chair of CMPHL – the California Medical and Public Health Leadership Group; the Executive Steering Committee for the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors; and Treasurer of Alliance for Nonprofit Management headquartered in Washington DC.

 

Mr. Solomon offers a diverse executive leadership background, having served as President and CEO of several highly successful nonprofit as well as for-profit organizations, including a distinguished 18 year career as a civil trial attorney and Judge Pro Tem.

Roger F. Steinert, M.D. - Director, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California, Irvine; Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology

Keynote: Innovations in Ophthalmology

Dr. Steinert's advanced skill and excellent surgical results have earned him a reputation as an international consultant and leader in cataract surgery, refractive surgery, and corneal transplants. He has conducted numerous, high-profile research studies and remains at the forefront of innovative developments in refractive surgery. He is recognized in the recent edition of America's Top Doctors as one of only four physicians to be named in three categories of special expertise.

Dr. Steinert has extensive qualifications that place him within an elite circle comprising the top 1% of LASIK and refractive surgeons in the U.S. Patiens form all over the world have come to the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at the University of California, Irvine, to see Dr. Steinert. They choose Dr. Steinert with their vision correction needs because of his unique combination of surgical expertise and extensive background in refractive research.

Bob Stern -  Micrus Endovascular

Panel: Neurovascular

Mr. Stern served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Micrus Endovascular NASDAQ (MEND) from November 2007 until the company’s sale to Johnson and Johnson in September 2010. Prior to that, Mr. Stern was the Micrus Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from November 2004 to November 2007 and was  Vice President, Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer from January-November 2004. Mr. Stern was appointed Micrus Secretary in March 2005. From September 2000 to January 2004, Mr. Stern served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Context Connect, Inc., a telecommunications company. From March 2000 to September 2000, he served as the Executive Vice President of Qixel Capital Group, an investment holding company. From January 1996 to March 2000, he served as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of InnerDyne, Inc., NASDAQ (IDYN) a medical device company. From October 1991 to January 1996, he served as Vice President, Corporate Finance and Chief Financial Officer of RhoMed Incorporated, a pharmaceutical company. Since February 2009, Mr. Stern has served as a member of the board of directors of Nexeon MedSystems Inc., a private company and as the chairman of its Audit Committee.  Mr. Stern received his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire, Whittemore School of Business and Economics, and his M.B.A. from the University of New Mexico, Anderson School of Management.

Gerard von Hoffmann: Partner, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear

Panel: How to Spend Your IP Dollars Effectively

Gerard von Hoffmann is a partner in our Orange County office. He specializes in client practice in the medical device industry including offensive and defensive competitive strategies, infringement studies, financings, strategic transactions and patent prosecution. His technical experience involves a variety of cardiovascular interventions, including peripheral and coronary angioplasty, intercranial access and procedures, drug delivery, abdominal aortic aneurysm grafts, translumenal mitral annuloplasty, left atrial appendage occlusion devices, intravascular brachytherapy, rotational atherectomy, steerable angioplasty guidewires, and a variety of additional diagnostic and therapeutic devices and procedures.

He has been involved in a variety of orthopedic device projects, including ultrasonic total hip revision devices, bone fracture fixation devices, and various devices and procedures relating to the spine.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. von Hoffmann took graduate courses in patent law at George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and attended the Institute on International and Comparative Law, Oxford University, England. Mr. von Hoffmann has also served on the Board of Directors of CardioVascular Dynamics, Inc. (angioplasty products), Radiance Medical Systems, Inc. (intravascular brachytheraphy), Triage Medical, Inc. (orthopedic fixation devices), NeoMatrix, LLC (breast cancer screening), and Valentx, Inc. (implants for morbid obesity).

Mr. von Hoffmann joined the firm in 1986 and became a partner in 1989.

Erik van der Burg: Chairman/CTO, Siesta Medical, Inc.

Panel: How to Spend Your IP Dollars Effectively

Erik is Chairman, CTO and Co-founder of Siesta Medical, which is developing surgical treatments for obstructive sleep apnea.  Prior to his current role, Erik co-founded and served as CEO of Ross Creek Medical (acquired by Stryker). Ross Creek developed novel soft tissue fixation technologies that are designed to improve the strength and simplicity of the reattachment of soft tissue to bone.    Prior to Ross Creek, he was co-founder and CEO of Aspire Medical, which focused on developing novel surgical therapies for obstructive sleep apnea. Previously, Erik was co-founder and Vice President of Research and Development for Appriva Medical (acquired by ev3, Inc.), where he led the development of a novel device and procedure for preventing stroke associated with atrial fibrillation.  Erik also served as Director of R&D at Prograft Medical (acquired by WL Gore and Assoc.) and held engineering management positions at MicroFlow Analytical and Advanced Cardiovascular Systems (now part of Abbott Vascular).  Erik holds a B.S.M.E. from Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo, and an M.S.M.E. from Santa Clara University.

Andre Vovan, MD, MBA - Chairman, Chief Medical Officer, Mitochon Systems, Inc.

Panel: Healthcare IT

Andre Vovan, MD MBA, Founder, Chairman and Chief Medical Officer of Mitochon Systems since 2006. Mitochon creates zero-cost virtual medical communities that enable integrated heath information delivery among independent physician practices and their patients. It is a Health Cloud Solution that allows physicians to connect, collaborate and coordinate care.

 

Mitochon Systems provides a free electronic medical record, mEMR, that is guaranteed to meet HHS certification. It’s an ad-supported system that was built by physicians, for physicians. Mitochon’s mConnect is a Health Information Exchange that helps physicians connect and share patient data regardless of what EMR system they are using. Mitochon also offers an ePrescribe Solution, in collaboration with H2H.

 

Since 2001, Andre has also been President and an Intensivist at Newport Critical Care, where he specializes in the care of complex and severely ill adults. In addition, he has served as Director of the Critical Care Department at Hoag Hospital since 2007.

 

Andre earned his BS degree in Biology from UC Irvine in 1991, his MD from UC San Diego’s School of Medicine in 1995, and his MBA from UCI’s Paul Merage School of Business in 2007.

George Wallace: Managing Partner - Intersect Partners

Panel: Neurovascular

George Wallace is currently the Managing Partner for Intersect Partners, LLC, a partnership between George, a medical device executive and Andrew Cragg, M.D., a practicing Interventional Radiologist.  Intersect Partners was formed as a research and investment vehicle dedicated to research and development for medical device companies focused on solutions to large and unmet medical needs.  The Intersect Partners group has created two recent companies; ReShape Medical, Inc., a company with a devices for the endogastric treatment for obesity, and MindFrame, Inc., which is focused on less invasive treatments for ischemic stroke.  Both companies have been financed by SV Life Sciences.

 

Prior to managing Intersect Partners, Mr. Wallace & Dr. Cragg formed three medical device companies that Mr. Wallace managed.  Having come from Sub-Q, Inc. one of three companies where he was a co-founder, Chairman, President and CEO, the other two companies are Micro Therapeutics, Inc. and TranS1, Inc.  While CEO at Micro Therapeutics, George spun off two companies, Enteric Medical Technologies that was sold to Boston Scientific Corporation and Genyx Medical that was sold to CR Bard.  He has worked for Applied Medical Resources where he was General Manager of the Applied Vascular and Urology Divisions.  He served as Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Vaser Inc. and held various positions at Edwards Laboratories, a division of American Hospital Supply, later Baxter International and now Edwards Lifesciences.

 

George has a BS in Marketing from Arizona State University.

Charles Warden: Managing Director, Versant Ventures

Panel: How to Spend Your IP Dollars Effectively

Charles Warden has been an active medical device venture investor since 1992. Charles works closely with entrepreneurial device companies from inception along the path to success. Prior to joining Versant he was a general partner at Schroder Ventures Life Sciences (now SV Life Sciences) where he led SV’s medical device effort.

Previously, Charles worked with Boston Capital Ventures, where he concentrated on medical device and other healthcare investments. Before becoming a venture capitalist, Charles was a consultant with Monitor Company, a strategy consulting firm.

Charles has served on numerous medical device company boards, including the following currently: AcuFocus, Celula, Concentric Medical, Glumetrics, Halscion, Ocular Therapeutix, and WaveTec. Prior board memberships include Insulet (Nasdaq: PODD), Confluent Surgical (acquired by Covidien), CardioFocus, Liposonix (acquired by Medicis), Neovista, Sadra Medical, and Heritage Health Systems (acquired by Universal American Financial Corp). Since its inception, Charles has been actively involved with The Innovation Factory, a medical devices incubator. He is also involved in ForSight Labs, an ophthalmic incubator.

Charles holds a Bachelor’s degree from Beloit College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

 

Scott Whitcup: Executive Vice President, Research and Development, Chief Scientific Officer - Allergan

Keynote: Global Medical Device Industry Update

Dr. Whitcup is the Executive Vice President, R&D and Chief Scientific Officer at Allergan.  Previously, Dr. Whitcup was Senior Vice President and Head of the Ophthalmology Therapeutic Area at Allergan.  He is on the faculty at the Jules Stein Eye Institute/David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and also serves as a Director on the Board of Avanir Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Whitcup graduated from Cornell University Medical College and completed residency training both in internal medicine at UCLA Medical Center and in ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary-Harvard Medical School. He then received fellowship training in uveitis and ocular immunology at the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Prior to coming to Allergan, Dr. Whitcup was Clinical Director of the National Eye Institute, and served as head of the Clinical Branch and Director of the uveitis and ocular immunology fellowship program.  Dr. Whitcup also served as Chair of the NIH Medical Executive Committee.

Dr. Whitcup currently directs Allergan’s discovery efforts and the worldwide development programs that include ophthalmology, Botox®/neurology, medical dermatology and aesthetics, gastroenterology, obesity, and urology.  Dr. Whitcup’s laboratory work has focused on inflammatory disease and the role of cell adhesion molecules in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease. Dr. Whitcup is an author on over 150 scientific articles, book chapters, and a textbook of ocular inflammatory disease.

Larry Wood - Corporate Vice President, Transcatheter Valve Replacement, Edwards Lifesciences

Panel: Cardiovascular

Larry L. Wood is corporate vice president, Transcatheter Valve Replacement of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring.  Driven by a passion to help patients, the company partners with clinicians to develop innovative technologies in the areas of structural heart disease and critical care monitoring that enable them to save and enhance lives. 

 

Wood has been corporate vice president, transcatheter valve replacement since 2007.  He has more than 25 years of medical device experience and previously served as the company’s vice president and general manager responsible for the valve replacement programs within the Percutaneous Valve Interventions department.  Wood joined the company in 1985, progressing through a variety of increasingly responsible positions including various positions in manufacturing management, regulatory affairs, and strategic and clinical marketing. He received a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s in business administration from Pepperdine University. 

Thomas E. Wood, Partner, Elm Street Ventures

Panel: Start-up Best Practices

Tom Wood is an experienced medical device industry executive and serial entrepreneur. His 30 years in the medical device business included 17 years with US Surgical Corporation where he served in a number of positions including Vice President/General Manager, Life Sciences Division and Vice President Market Strategies. He was the founding CEO at Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ: PODD); Applied Spine Technologies, a Yale spinout for which he raised over $45 million in venture capital; Cardio Photonics, another Yale spinout for which Mr. Wood raised seed financing; and Devinex, LLC a device accelerator concept in development. With Elm Street Ventures, Tom co-founded Advanced Orthopedic Technologies, and serves as the CEO and on the board of directors.