Skip Baldino
PRESIDENT AND CEO
Skip Baldino joined Gynesonics as President and Chief Executive Officer in March of 2023. He has over 35 years of healthcare experience in both private start-ups and large public companies.
Prior to his current role at Gynesonics, he served eight years as President and CEO of EndoGastric Solutions (EGS) Inc., where he helped transform EGS into a leader in the endoluminal treatment of Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Prior to EGS, he served four years as President, Americas for Given Imaging - a world leader in GI medical devices, offering healthcare providers a range of innovative options for visualizing, diagnosing and monitoring the digestive system. Covidien completed its acquisition of Given Imaging in February 2014 in an $860 million deal (Medtronic subsequently acquired Covidien).
Prior to Given Imaging, he enjoyed a distinguished 26-year career at Abbott Laboratories —a worldwide diversified health care company. While there, Skip established an outstanding track record of consistent and high-performing financial and organizational success. His experience encompasses various key customer segments, as well as a wide range of product portfolios, product life-cycles, new product launches, and integrations. As a divisional Vice President, he held key commercial leadership roles in: Diabetes Care, Diagnostics, Medical Products (Corporate), Hospital Products (now known as Hospira), Health Systems, and Specialty Products.
Skip was also the Chairman of the Board of ACell, a regenerative medicine company that was focused on the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of medical devices for wound management and surgical soft tissue repair. He served on ACell’s board from 2015 until their January 2021 sale to Integra Health Sciences valued up to $400 million, including a $300 million upfront payment.
Skip graduated with a B.S. degree in Marketing from Philadelphia University.
Skip Baldino
PRESIDENT AND CEO
Robert Brown, CPA
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Robert Brown’s industry background includes healthcare, medical devices, technology, aerospace, and defense. He is widely regarded as a top-performing entrepreneurial CFO, team leader, and respected member of the executive leadership team for startup ventures to established Fortune 500 publicly traded companies.
A committed financial leader, Robert has served in finance roles for the past 35 years and includes significant experience successfully scaling business in the medical device sector. Robert previously served as President & CEO for Ximedica, LLC. Prior to Ximedica, Robert was the CFO of NxStage Medical, Inc. where he was an integral member of the executive team contributing to the high growth revenue ramp of the organization. In addition, his past experience included more than 10 years at Boston Scientific Corporation holding leadership roles in finance supporting strategic initiatives. He also worked at United Technologies Corporation with responsibility for worldwide financial reporting, and at Deloitte and Touche in their audit and management consulting businesses.
Robert holds a MBA in Finance and International Business from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Toledo.
Robert Brown, CPA
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Ted Stephens
CHIEF MARKETING AND STRATEGY OFFICER
Ted Stephens brings over 25 years of diverse commercial leadership experience, spanning global markets in the medical device and life science industries. Renowned for his highly effective leadership, Ted consistently applies exceptional problem-solving skills to guide commercial teams toward achieving business objectives and revenue goals.
His expertise extends to minimally invasive surgery, where he has played a pivotal role in introducing innovative products and procedures to the market. Before joining Gynesonics, Ted served as the Vice President of Marketing at Telix Pharmaceuticals, where he led a team responsible for promoting the commercial adoption of diagnostic and therapeutic radio-pharmaceutical products. Prior to his tenure at Telix, Ted held the position of Global Vice President of Marketing at both EndoGastric Solutions and Apollo Endosurgery. In these roles, he focused on driving the commercial adoption of minimally invasive procedures and devices within the therapeutic gastrointestinal space.
During his 16+ year tenure at Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Ted occupied various positions of increasing responsibility in engineering, sales, sales leadership, professional education, and marketing with efforts dedicated to the development and adoption of minimally invasive surgical devices for General, Gynecological, and Bariatric surgery.
Ted holds a M.B.A. from Xavier University and a B.S. in Engineering from Michigan State University.
Ted Stephens
CHIEF MARKETING AND STRATEGY OFFICER
Keith Chrzanowski
CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICER
Keith Chrzanowski has provided outstanding human resource and operational leadership to achieve success within several industries. Employing vision and creativity, he effectively builds organizational capability that shapes corporate paths into the future.
Keith’s experience includes serving as Principal for Kalan HR Consulting, where he worked with early stage and mid-size organizations. He has also served as Head of Human Resources for Akesis, Inc. and Vice President of Human Resources for Elekta. He was the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Given Imaging and then with Medtronic after it purchased the company. Other experience includes Vice President of Human Resources for McKesson and also for Spherion.
Keith holds an M.A. in Organizational Development from Norwich University and a B.A. from Western Illinois University.
Keith Chrzanowski
CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICER
Taraneh G. Farazi, Ph.D.
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT R&D, GLOBAL CLINICAL STRATEGY AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATIONS
Taraneh Farazi has over 21 years of research and clinical experience in the medical device industry. Prior to joining Gynesonics, she was the Program Director, Clinical Affairs at St. Jude Medical where she led preclinical research, clinical feasibility IDEs, pivotal IDEs, and post-market studies of a range of innovative technology solutions. Responsible for Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy clinical programs globally, she developed strategic clinical plans and interacted with FDA, TUV and other regulatory agencies to achieve regulatory and market access objectives with clinical trials. Taraneh has collaborated with physician experts worldwide to design and conduct clinical studies that address unmet clinical needs, resulting in several dozen published scientific journal articles and accepted conference abstracts. She has successfully led clinical premarket applications through the preparation, submission, and FDA review and approval. She also holds 103 issued patents and 68 pending patent applications with the USPTO in the field of medical device therapy solutions.
Taraneh graduated magna cum laude from the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo, with a B.S. degree in computer engineering. She also received a M.S. with distinction in Electronic Engineering from Cal Poly, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California.
Taraneh G. Farazi, Ph.D.
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT R&D, GLOBAL CLINICAL STRATEGY AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATIONS
James Sparks
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL OPERATIONS
James Sparks has more than 26 years of experience in the medical device industry focused on manufacturing and engineering management. Most recently, from September 2013 to March 2016, he served as Vice President of Manufacturing and Engineering at Tridien Medical, a manufacturer of patient positioning devices and support surfaces to assist caregivers in preventing and treating pressure ulcers. James’ responsibilities at Tridien included managing three domestic manufacturing facilities with more than 300 employees. Prior to that, he performed senior manufacturing/operations leadership roles with Class III implantable heart valves/transcatheter delivery systems (Medtronic), Class II therapeutic laser systems (BIOLASE), Class II/III cardiology and electrophysiology products (J&J/Biosense Webster). He began his career with Baxter/Edwards Life Sciences as a manufacturing/packaging engineer.
James has a B.S. in Engineering Technology from West Coast University and an MBA in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix. He completed six sigma training and implementation with Johnson & Johnson and served for four years in the U.S. Air Force as a Metrologist.
James Sparks
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL OPERATIONS
David Toub, MD, MBA, FACOG
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, MEDICAL AFFAIRS
Dr. Toub received AB and MD degrees from the University of Chicago and earned an MBA with a concentration in management information systems from Drexel University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a Diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, as well as an Associate of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the UK. He has been at Gynesonics since April 2008.
After postgraduate medical training in obstetrics and gynecology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Albert Einstein Medical Center, David completed a fellowship in pelvic surgery at Graduate Hospital under Harry Reich and Francis Hutchins, Jr. He also served as an attending physician at Pennsylvania Hospital, where he held faculty appointments at both Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Pennsylvania.
A laparoscopic and pelvic surgeon with a special interest in providing alternatives to hysterectomy, Dr. Toub has been a faculty member and speaker at many conferences. He was a workgroup participant of the FIGO Menstrual Disorders Committee that dealt with fibroid classification, as well as part of an international group that developed a core outcome set for studies of abnormal uterine bleeding. Finally, Dr. Toub wrote a chapter on the fundamentals and applications of radiofrequency ablation in gynecology for a hysteroscopy textbook and is a special editor for the journals Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports and the Journal of Clinical Medicine.
David Toub, MD, MBA, FACOG
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, MEDICAL AFFAIRS
Diane King, RAC
VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL REGULATORY AFFAIRS AND HEALTHCARE COMPLIANCE
Diane King has served in senior management of medical device regulatory affairs for more than 25 years. Previously, she was the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs with Alara, Inc. in Fremont, CA. Before joining Gynesonics, her experience covered FDA collaboration, pre-market submissions, clinical studies, compliance planning, and European regulatory requirements in the fields of digital imaging, bone densitometry, and light-based cosmetic therapy. She also has more than twenty years of experience in the development and management of quality systems in FDA regulated industries.
Diane is Regulatory Affairs Certified by the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering with distinction from the University of Rochester.
Diane King, RAC
VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL REGULATORY AFFAIRS AND HEALTHCARE COMPLIANCE
Richard Lanigan
VICE PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN SALES AND MARKETING
Rich Lanigan has over 25 years of medical device experience, including executive commercial roles and general management responsibility. Prior to joining Gynesonics in 2013, he served as a global commercial operations strategic consultant at IDEV Technologies, a private company focused on the peripheral vascular market, which was acquired by Abbott Vascular in 2013. During 2011-2012, he was General Manager of Orthopedic & Woundcare division of Synovis Life Technologies. The company, which developed chemically crosslinked tissue products used in a range of surgical applications, was acquired by Baxter International in 2012. From 2001 through the beginning of 2011 he served in positions of increasing commercial responsibility, and as a corporate officer and President at Cardiogenesis Corporation. The company was acquired by Cryolife Corporation in 2011.
Rich earned a B.A. (Finance) from the University of Notre Dame and a M.S. in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.
Richard Lanigan
VICE PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN SALES AND MARKETING
Nelson Whistance
VICE PRESIDENT, U.S. SALES
Nelson Whistance has spent the majority of his medical sales career in women’s healthcare with a focus on minimally invasive gynecologic surgery. He brings over a decade of experience in market development and sales management in the United States and Canada. Before joining Gynesonics, Nelson was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Prytime Medical Devices. Prior to that, he served as a Regional Manager in the Surgical Division at Hologic for Gynecology. Nelson has held various sales and leadership roles for American Medical Systems, Servier Canada Pharmaceuticals, and Sysco Edmonton.
Nelson received a B.S. in Education from the University of Alberta.
Nelson Whistance
VICE PRESIDENT, U.S. SALES
Laurie Sandberg
VICE PRESIDENT, HEALTH ECONOMICS AND MARKET ACCESS
Laurie Sandberg brings over 20 years of industry experience to the team in various roles including sales, strategic development, and market access, always with the goal of improving patients' lives through innovative technology.
Prior to joining Gynesonics, Laurie spent much of her career in women's health with roles at Hologic, Renovia, and most recently Axena Health as the Vice President of Market Access and Reimbursement. She developed a strong passion for health policy during her time at Insulet Corporation where she diligently worked to increase coverage and access to a tubeless insulin pump for people with diabetes.
Laurie holds a B.S. degree from Minnesota State University in Exercise Science.