Mike Carusi
Advanced Technology Ventures
Mike is a General Partner of Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV) and focuses on investments in the biopharmaceutical and medical device sectors. He is based in the firm’s Palo Alto, CA office, where he also serves as a General Partner and Team Leader for Lightstone Ventures. His representative investments include Altura Medical, Ardian (acquired by Medtronic), EndoGastric Solutions, GI Dynamics (ASX: GID), GluMetrics, Holaira, MicroVention (acquired by Terumo), NeuroVista, Plexxikon (acquired by Daiichi Sankyo), PowerVision, Second Genome, and TranS1 (NASDAQ: TSON).
Featured on the Forbes Midas List of top technology investors, Mike is a recognized thought leader in the industry and a frequent speaker at healthcare conferences. He serves as a faculty member of the Stanford Biodesign Emerging Entrepreneurs Forum, sits on the Tuck MBA Advisory Board, and is an advisory board member to the UCSF/Berkeley Venture Innovation Program. Earlier in his career, Mike served as the Director of Business Development for Inhale Therapeutic Systems (now Nektar Therapeutics, NASDAQ: NKTR), a venture-backed pulmonary drug delivery company that went public in 1994. At Inhale, Mike led partnering activities with a number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Mike also was a Principal at The Wilkerson Group, a leading management consulting firm focused exclusively on healthcare. At The Wilkerson Group, Mike helped establish the firm’s offices in London and San Francisco. Mike holds an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College and a B.S. from Lehigh University.
Doug Fisher
InterWest
Doug Fisher joined InterWest’s healthcare team in 2009, focusing on biopharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device investments. He is a board member of Gynesonics, Obalon Therapeutics, PMV Pharma, QuatRx, Sera Prognostics and USDS. Doug also is actively involved in InterWest’s investments in Integrated Diagnostics and Invuity.
Prior to joining InterWest, Doug was a vice president at New Leaf Venture Partners where he spent three years focusing on biopharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostics investments. He was involved with several investments, including Pearl Therapeutics, Interlace Medical (Acquired by Hologic), and Stromedix. Prior to joining New Leaf, Doug was a project leader with The Boston Consulting Group where he was a member of the Health Care Practice Area and consulted for leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Previously, he worked for Centocor (a J&J operating company) in the Global Biologic Strategic Marketing Group where he developed product strategies in new disease areas for Remicade.
Doug received an A.B. in economics with honors and distinction and a B.S. in biology with distinction from Stanford where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He has an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an MBA from Wharton where he graduated with honors as a Siebel Scholar and Palmer Scholar.
Ken Haas
Abingworth
Ken has spent 25 years in the management of both early-stage and public high technology and biotechnology companies. He was part of the founding management team at IntelliGenetics, one of the world’s first bioinformatics companies and, from 1992 to 2001, was CEO of IntelliCorp, a publicly-traded enterprise software company. At the beginning of his career he practised as an attorney in the business and technology group of Heller, Ehrman, White & McAuliffe, and has been Co-Chair of the Advisory Council to the Neuroscience Institute at Stanford. Ken’s current and past directorships include Gynesonics, eFFECTOR Therapeutics and Intellikine. He received his B.A. from Harvard College, an M.A. from the University of Sussex, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Ken has been with Abingworth since 2004 and is based in Menlo Park.
Chandra P. Leo, M.D.
HBM Partners
Chandra P. Leo, M.D., is a Partner at HBM Partners. He has gained over ten years of experience in healthcare venture capital at HBM Partners and Wellington Partners. Dr. Leo currently serves as a director on the boards of Gynesonics, CardiacAssist, Delenex Therapeutics and i-Optics and as an observer to the board of Symbiomix. He was previously a board director or observer at Anthera Pharmaceuticals (IPO NASDAQ), ChemoCentryx (IPO NASDAQ), ESBATech (acquired by Alcon/Novartis) and Panomics (acquired by Affymetrix). Dr. Leo also worked as a postdoctoral scientist in the Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Stanford University and as a gynecologist at the University Hospital of Leipzig, Germany. He received his doctoral degree in medicine from the Freie Universitaet Berlin / Charité in Germany and earned his MBA degree with distinction at INSEAD in France.
Bali Muralidhar, M.D., Ph.D.
Abingworth
Bali has 15 years professional experience in healthcare across a range of functions including venture investing, R&D, clinical practice and teaching. He works with the team in the London, Boston and Menlo Park offices to source and evaluate new investment opportunities and support existing venture investments through to exit. He represents Abingworth on the boards of Exicure Inc., Spruce Biosciences, Gynesonics, NuCana and Reneo. Prior to joining Abingworth, Bali was a senior partner at MVM Partners LLP in London where he completed investments in and served on the boards of several companies, both public and private. Two of these were Wilson Therapeutics and Valneva, both also Abingworth portfolio companies.
In 2018, Bali was named among Financial News’ Rising Stars in Private Equity, which celebrated 25 men and women under the age of 40 standing out in the European private equity industry. Before MVM, Bali was a member of Bain Capital’s healthcare deal team.
Bali obtained a degree in clinical medicine from the University of Oxford and practiced general surgery at the John Radcliffe and Addenbrooke’s Hospitals in Oxford and Cambridge, respectively. He has a Ph.D. in translational cancer research from the MRC Cancer Cell Unit, University of Cambridge, and has published over a dozen peer reviewed papers. He was also a Bye-Fellow in Medical Sciences at Downing College, Cambridge where he taught pathology, surgery and medicine.
Robert O’Holla
Endeavour Vision SA
Robert O’Holla has over 40 years experience in the health products market and is an Operating Partner with Endeavour Vision SA, a Venture Capital firm based in Geneva Switzerland specializing in growth stage med tech companies and digital health.
Previously Bob was Worldwide Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Medical Devices and Diagnostics Group at Johnson & Johnson before retiring from the Company in May 2008. Throughout his career, Bob has held both regulatory, R&D, and quality assurance positions with manufacturers of medical equipment, implants, and sterile disposables. He has managed sterilization laboratories, R&D IT functions, as well as Information Sciences, Regulatory Affairs, and Compliance Groups.
Bob has extensive experience in medical device regulatory submissions and played a key role in securing the approval of novel absorbable implants, surgical staplers, orthopedic implants, diagnostic devices, neurological devices and combination products, including drug eluting stents. He also played a leadership role in establishing a global regulatory strategy for these products that provided for timely approvals in the Asia Pacific markets. He has been active with industry associations in the areas of product approval and FDA legislation working on every amendment to the medical device provisions of the US Food Drug and Cosmetic Act since 1980. He was also active in shaping the Medical Device Directive in the EU as well.
In 2002, Bob was awarded the Richard E. Greco Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) and was then Chairman of the society in 2006. Bob was also a member of the Food and Drug Law Institute’s Medical Devices committee and an industry representative to the FDA’s General and Plastic Surgery Advisory Panel. Bob has been honored as an AdvaMed Achiever in recognition of his contributions on behalf of the medical device industry and has served on numerous AdvaMed Working Groups. He chaired the AdvaMed Technology and Regulatory Committee for 13 years in addition to playing key roles in over 20 other working groups. He chaired the User Fee Committee at AdvaMed for the first three user fee negotiations with FDA. Bob has also testified before the US Congress and Senate as well as EU authorities on various regulatory issues.
Bob graduated with a BA in Biology from Upsala College and then completed an MBA at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Bob holds a patent for an absorbable staple design and given his extensive knowledge of the sector, he is the author of several articles and book chapters on regulatory issues. He has also written several publications regarding health products.
Chris Owens
President and CEO
Chris has over 25 years of medical device experience holding senior-level executive positions in both commercial and technical areas. Prior to joining Gynesonics, he was the President & CEO of IDEV Technologies from 2008-2013. IDEV was a privately held medical device company focused on the peripheral vascular market, which was acquired by Abbott in 2013. From 2005-2008, he served as Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for MicroVention, a startup medical device company in the neurovascular space that was purchased by Terumo Corporation. From 2003-2005, he was the Vice President of Global Research and Development for the Surgical Division of Bausch & Lomb.
Chris earned both B.S. and M.S. degrees in Plastics Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix.
David Pacitti
Chairman of the Board
David Pacitti is President of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. and Head of the Americas, Siemens Healthineers, as well as Chair of the Board of Gynesonics, Inc.
Based at the U.S. headquarters of Siemens Healthineers in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Pacitti is responsible for leading the marketing, sales, service, and support functions in North America and Latin America, across the entire Healthineers portfolio, including medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, therapy solutions, and services.
Prior to joining Siemens in his current role, Pacitti served as Vice President of Global Marketing as well as Division Vice President of U.S. Commercial Operations, Sales, and Marketing at Abbott Vascular where he oversaw the company’s business in North America and played pivotal roles in key launches, including Abbott Vascular’s first drug-eluting stent franchise and structural heart franchise.
Pacitti also serves on the boards of Apollo Endo-Surgery, the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), and the Siemens Foundation. He is a member of the CEO Council for Growth at the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Corporate Council, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) President’s Advisory Group, and the NextGen Advisory Board for the University of Missouri.
A Philadelphia area native, Pacitti holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a minor in Economics from Villanova University, where his football prowess earned him induction into the Villanova Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2006. Following college, he signed a free agent contract in 1990 with the Miami Dolphins as an offensive lineman. The father of three sons and two daughters in addition to being a grandfather, Pacitti resides with his wife and children in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Jeffrey Schwartz
Bain Capital
Jeffrey Schwartz joined Bain Capital in 2004 and is a Managing Director. Prior to his current role, he was a member of Bain Capital’s Private Equity team, where he focused on healthcare investments. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Mr. Schwartz served as an Equity Research Analyst at Lehman Brothers, where he was focused on the aerospace and defense industries working in both New York and London. Mr. Schwartz received an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Palmer Scholar and he graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in economics.
Susan Stimson
KCK Group
With over 25 years’ experience in healthcare, Susan is recognized as a visionary leader in development and commercialization of new medical technologies in both medical device and pharmaceutical sectors as well as both start-up and large companies.
Susan currently serves as Executive in Residence on KCK Group’s Medical Technology team, where she applies her expertise to their portfolio of commercial stage companies and evaluates new investment opportunities. Ms. Stimson also serves as a Board member for Avelas, a pharmaceutical-device company in the oncology sector and is a founding team member of MedtechWomen, an organization dedicated to advancing women in healthcare.
She previously served as Chief Strategy Officer of Intersect ENT, a publicly traded medical device company. As part of the founding team of Intersect ENT, Susan played an instrumental role in the company’s evolution from R&D stage to high growth commercial business by building and leading a variety of its commercial and strategic functions and also led the company’s transformation from medical device to pharmaceutical business as General Manager.
Her past experience also includes serving as an executive of start-up company Mitralign designing the company’s marketing, clinical, and regulatory strategies and stems from many years at Guidant Corporation responsible for top priority products from the aspects of R&D, marketing, and sales. Ms. Stimson holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Karen Talmadge, Ph.D.
Board Advisor
Karen Talmadge, Ph.D., is an entrepreneur in the biomedical industry. She is currently President of Nabu Health Care Consulting, Advisor of the Board of Directors of Gynesonics, and a member of the Boards of Directors of Amplyx Pharmaceuticals and Velocity Pharmaceutical Development. She is also the 2014 Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Diabetes Association, and the American Diabetes Association’s Research Foundation Board Vice Chair.
In 2010, she retired from Medtronic Spinal and Biologics, Sunnyvale, CA, as their Vice President, Chief Science Officer of Kyphon Products, and Bakken Fellow. She joined Medtronic in 2007 when it acquired Kyphon Inc., a minimally-invasive spine company she co-founded and funded. Prior to Kyphon’s acquisition, she served as a member of Kyphon’s Board of Directors from the company’s inception in 1994. She also served as Kyphon’s Chief Science Officer since June 2003 and as its Executive Vice President since November 1998. In Kyphon’s start-up phase from 1994 to 1998, she was the company’s President, Chief Executive Officer and Treasurer. She also spent a decade in research and business roles at the biotechnology company, Scios Inc.
She has received multiple awards and recognitions, including the American Diabetes Association’s 2010 Charles H. Best Medal for Distinguished Service in the cause of diabetes, and the Phoenix Medical Device Conference’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award. Most recently, she was named a Woman of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2013. An invited speaker at scientific, medical and business conferences, she is also a co-inventor on more than 80 patents worldwide.
Dr. Talmadge received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, and her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA.
