Mentors and Webinar Panelists

LinkedIn

Mr. Cullen is the Founder and President of Westwood & Wilshire and has more than 15 years of Executive Search experience. Mr. Cullen founded Westwood & Wilshire in 2003 and has molded the firm over the last decade into one of the premiere boutique search. LinkedIn

Focused on technology planning and M&A, and have a history of leading cross-functional teams to develop proposals and recommendations to senior management. LinkedIn

Experienced Medical Technology Sales and Business Development professional with a demonstrated history of working with novel technologies in the surgical robotics and manufacturing industry. Skilled in Oncologic and Soft Tissue Surgery, Brain, & Spine. LinkedIn

Anne DeGheest, founder of MedStars and HealthTech, pioneered the HealthTech/Digital Health space as a healthcare executive, entrepreneur, angel investor, corporate advisor, and mentor capitalist. LinkedIn

Biren is responsible for Business Development for the Cardiovascular and Specialty Solutions Group, and is a Global Management Board member representing Business Development for the CSS group within J&J.  LinkedIn

Bryant has spent more than 30 years in research and development in the medical device industry. His background includes experience in clinical diagnostics, endoscopy and sports medicine, cardiology and ophthalmology. LinkedIn

Carl Bouthillette is a senior program officer for the CHCF Health Innovation Fund and also leads the screening and evaluation process for HealthTech Capital, a network of angel investors focused on health care IT companies. LinkedIn

Chris, board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine, has special research interests in brain injury and pulmonary disease. Since founding his first company over 9 years ago, he has also consulted for other start up medical device firms. LinkedIn

Chris Martin is the President of RCT Ventures, the investment arm of Research Corporation Technologies, which is focused on investing in early-stage biomedical companies. LinkedIn

Christine Knoblauch is currently Vice President, Business Development DepuySynthes supporting the Joints, Spine, Trauma and Sports Orthopedics platforms of Johnson & Johnson. LinkedIn

Cristiano is a co-founder of CrossBay Medical and has over 15 years’ experience in the Healthcare environment. He began his career as a product specialist for Cremascoli Medical, a distribution company for important international medtech brands in Italy. LinkedIn

LinkedIn

LinkedIn

David Maltz is the Founder and Managing Partner of Intervalent, and independent consultancy focused on product development and innovation strategy for consumer-facing medical devices. LinkedIn

Doug specializes in patent prosecution and counseling, regularly working with inventors to prepare new patent applications. He also has a background in the medical device and surgical sectors. LinkedIn

Elpis is a healthcare research executive and entrepreneur with proven leadership skills and extensive experience building, operating and leading large, complex clinical studies, supporting scientific strategy, and providing overall project management. LinkedIn

Graham Harvey is the principal and life sciences practice leader at Arcon Insurance Brokers. From early stage companies to middle market clients, Graham has helped clients identify and address risks related to operating in the medtech industry. LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Howard is a medical device executive accomplished in all phases of medical product development and operations in a variety of organizational structures. He is currently CEO of ART, a broad based drug delivery platform based on medical grade plant resins. LinkedIn

As Senior Director of New Ventures at J&J Innovation, Boston, Ibraheem leverages his expertise in smart materials and biomaterials to support the medical device sector. LinkedIn

Isabella Schmitt is a Regulatory Affairs Consultant at Proxima Clinical Research, a contract research organization that serves the emerging drug and medical device industries. LinkedIn

Over the course of my 30 years as a medical technology corporate executive (Johnson and Johnson, CR Bard, Cardinal health, Axogen), I led the identification, assessment and strategy execution in many clinical specialties and product categories. LinkedIn

Jack Moorman is the Principal at LeVaunt, a consulting firm providing advisory services to companies and organizations, particularly early stage ventures in the fields of healthcare and consumer products. LinkedIn

Business strategist and general management leader with extensive experience with multinational and start-up organizations in the global medical device and biotechnology industry. Multiple assignments in intellectual property strategy, manufacturing, finance, sales and marketing, research and development, licensing and business development in the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, and Hong Kong. Possess world-class skills in the development and roll-out of strategies that maximize the value of patents, copyright, trademarks and other IP rights. As the Founder of Intent IP, I leverage my medtech industry experience, having navigated the intricate pathways of innovation, patenting, and commercialization. My desire to assist clinicians with inventive ideas stems from my deep-seated understanding of the transformative impact these innovations can have on patient care and the medical field at large. LinkedIn

Jaye Thompson, Ph.D. is a Co-Founder and the Chief Operating Officer at Proxima. She has 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. LinkedIn

As VP of Business Development in J&J’s Medical Device group, Jennifer is responsible for New Business Development (NBD) activities for New Growth Platforms. LinkedIn

Jennifer McMahon is a Partner at Seroba Life Sciences. She graduated from University College, Dublin with an honours degree in Pharmacology and has a Master’s degree in Biotechnology and Business. LinkedIn

Jessica is the Executive Vice President of Veranex’s Regulatory, Clinical & Quality Services (RCQS) where she directs client communications, resource planning, project accounting, and results tracking. LinkedIn

Jim is responsible for leading Baxter's Global Science & Technology Assessment team and technology landscape process. He is the inventor on 23 patents, and he co-authored a publication in Circulation. LinkedIn

Jim Warren joined Jabil in 1998 after graduating from the University of Florida with a Finance and Economics degree and continues his education with ASQ as a Black Belt. LinkedIn

Jim is an engineer turned entrepreneur. With a master’s in both Biomedical Engineering Product Development and Entrepreneurship, he blends the business with the technical. LinkedIn

John Kim is the Principal at Aphelion Capital and has a history of working as a medical consultant in biogenetics. He graduated from Harvard with a Bachelors in Biochemistry, and has since earned an M.D. and an MBA from Duke University. LinkedIn

John founded Springhood Ventures to address the funding gap in child health innovation. Springhood provides critical early investment and support to companies developing important healthcare solutions for children. LinkedIn

Jordan Milford work in the Business Development group for Olympus evaluating opportunities for both the Surgical and GI businesses. He previously held roles within product development and marketing in the areas of orthopedics, surgical, and GI endoscopy. LinkedIn

Joshua is responsible for leveraging the technical expertise and market leadership of Fujikura in semiconductor manufacturing, miniaturization, fiber optics and CMOS for a diverse number of applications within the medical device and diagnostic fields. LinkedIn

Kadir, PhD, has 10+ years of experience in research, product development, and business development. Prior to J&J, he led transactions to access novel medical device technologies. LinkedIn

With over two decades of healthcare experience, Karen founded KopianManagement over ten years ago and focuses on Care Coordination and Transitions of Care, Revenue Cycle improvement, Performance Measurement/Management and overall process improvement. LinkedIn

In Katie's 20+ years in the medical device and IVD industry, she has built global teams, and partnered with hundreds of companies to help move valuable products to market via hands on and strategic clinical and regulatory support. LinkedIn

Kenny is a medical device professional rooted in engineering and specializing in Endovascular solutions. He has a breath of experience including manufacturing, design quality, R&D, and business development. LinkedIn

At Fogarty Institute Kerry has worked primarily in team building, product development, distribution strategy, platform creation and market positioning. He also has many years of senior executive experience in medical devices and in mentoring CIR teams. LinkedIn

Kevin Coker is a Co-Founder and the Chief Executive Officer at Proxima. He has 20+ years of experience in the healthcare industry. LinkedIn

Dr. Gehlsen has 30+ years experience working in private and public companies, pharmaceutical product development, medical device development, basic research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, strategic planning, and business development. LinkedIn

Kwame Ulmer is a MedTech executive with nearly twenty years of experience in government and the private sector. He is currently an Angel Investor and regulatory strategy consultant with a focus on MedTech and Venture Capital firms. LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Leslie Wise, JD, is Principal of EvidenceMatters, a Global Market Access consultancy. Leslie advises several of the largest medical device companies in the world and mentors start ups as a key advisor at the TMCx in Houston. LinkedIn

Mr. Chaput has over eighteen years of experience in investment banking and investment management, primarily in the emerging growth health care / medical device sector and is currently a Partner at Gravitas Healthcare. LinkedIn

Mary has over twenty five years of experience in regulatory and clinical affairs, with varied expertise including the regulation of radiology, urology, physical medicine, orthopedic, neurological wound care, digital health, IVD's, dental medical devices. LinkedIn

Matthew's research focuses on pediatric bioengineering, such as translating traumatic brain injury mechanism paradigms from adults to children, development of medical devices to enhance pediatric care, and design of biofidelic pediatric crash dummies. LinkedIn

Matthew Miessau's focus is on conducting due diligence on prospective fund investments as well as sourcing and analyzing opportunities for Epidarex’s strategic investors. LinkedIn

Megan is a Senior Project Manager in the Strategy and Business Planning group at Texas Children’s Hospital. Her prior experience as a registered nurse in the ICU and surgery departments have given her invaluable first hand experience. LinkedIn

Mike serves as the liaison between our client companies and Veranex’s product development teams, in particular serving as a strategy consultant resource for our clients. LinkedIn

With 30+ angel investments in the past few years, Mike is a financial executive, investor, and company advisor. He is the Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee at Dextera Surgical, Inc. and sits on the Board of Directors for Band of Angels. LinkedIn

Mike co-founded Experien Group in 2003 with Darlene Crockett-Billig. His entire 40+ year professional career has been involved with regulatory affairs, quality systems, clinical research, and general management for medical device companies. LinkedIn

Nathan has a background working in the FDA and currently advises health industry participants and providers on a range of topics within the fields of regulation, compliance and policy. LinkedIn

At J&J Innovation, California, Nick focuses on medical device innovation in support of the general surgery, orthopedics, and cardiology businesses by identifying licensing, collaboration and investment opportunities. LinkedIn

Norm is experienced in starting, funding, growing and high-ROI exiting high-tech and medtech companies with worldwide sales. LinkedIn

Patrick is Associate Vice President for AdvaMed Accel, where he is responsible for representing the interests of small medical technology companies through policy development, advocacy initiatives, networking opportunities and educational offerings. LinkedIn

Dr. McGinnis is an accomplished physician, hospital and business executive, USAF flight surgeon and former NASA flight surgeon, who applies clinical knowledge and healthcare information technology experience to leadership, consulting, and innovation. LinkedIn

Paul Grand founded and has managed MedTech Innovator since 2013. He spent eleven years as Managing Director for RCT Ventures, and he co-founded several life science and tech startups. LinkedIn

Philip oversees corporate strategy and corporate development as well as managing the company's incubation/ accelerator business, co-development with strategic partners, and IP development and licensing. LinkedIn

Rahul’s passion is leading large multi-disciplinary teams to combine business strategy, clinical science, and advanced technology to address unmet needs of patients, surgical teams, and hospitals in global markets. LinkedIn

Ranjini Srikantiah has over 20 years of experience in the MedTech industry, with expertise in development and global commercial launch of medical devices in orthopaedics, injection devices, infusion preparation and infusion delivery. LinkedIn

Richard Morganstern was the former Managing Partner of a Beverly Hills based intellectual property and business litigation and counseling law firm. He was also the former Chairman of a NASD licensed investment-banking firm. LinkedIn

25+ years of experience in the medical device industry with large MedTech multinationals marketing and selling to hospitals, doctors' offices, and retail DTC. Currently Chief Commercial Officer for Xoran Technologies, Point of Care CT. LinkedIn

Robert is a BD/Sales/Marketing/Strategy Executive that has spent his career commercializing healthcare technologies. He generates significant profit and consistently looks for ways to decrease costs. LinkedIn

Robert directs investments within the biotechnology, life sciences and energy sectors at the Texas Halo Fund. Among other credentials, he also serves on the Board of Directors at Adient Medical, and is a General Manager at Yardley Group. LinkedIn

Throughout his career Romain Lortille Bruel worked for the creation and quality of employment in Quebec in different sectors, including financial, governmental and associative. LinkedIn

Ryota is a manager at Nipro Medical Corporation. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering at Osaka University, and has extensive research experience in bioreactor design, cell adherence, and cellular growth. LinkedIn

Sean specializes in identifying technologies with commercial potential to emerging markets, creating business strategies and roadmaps, and directing the resulting product and business development efforts for medical and life sciences applications. LinkedIn

As an accomplished executive with a background in venture capital and corporate strategy, Shailendra has a proven track record in business development and leading teams to achieve growth-oriented objectives. LinkedIn

Stephen Ralph is a global visionary marketing executive within the medical device and healthcare industry with strong business and clinical accruement in innovation and commercialization spanning 20 plus years. LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Todd is Assistant Director, Technology and Innovation at the CU Center for COMBAT Research. LinkedIn

Tom is a urologist and was formerly the CMO at UCLA. His accomplishments included substantial growth in the clinical program, achieving competitive NIH funding for clinical trials in transplantation to UCLA, and achieving significant researching funding. LinkedIn

Yan Lin is Head of Medtech APAC at Cambridge Consultants. With 15 years experience in medical devices design and development, Yan Lin has experience working with start ups and corporates across APAC, Australia, North America and Europe. While each start up is unique, they all go through similar development challenges as they struggle to get a product through a regulatory process. Yan Lin hopes to share her collective experience of working with hundreds of start ups to hopefully help accelerate new founders to success. LinkedIn

LinkedIn