Following the appointment, Gwen Watanabe transitions from interim CEO to vice chair of the company’s board. Watanabe took over the interim post after Kevin Hykes departed to become CEO at CVRx at the beginning of 2024.
“We thank Gwen for her outstanding leadership during what is shaping up to be a terrific year,” said Rick Anderson, Augmedics board chair. “In Paul, we’ve found a dynamic leader with incredible energy and all the qualities needed to take Augmedics to the next level as we continue to advance our world-class AR surgical navigation offerings.”
Ziegler brings 20 years of experience in medical devices to the Chicago-based company. According to Ziegler’s LinkedIn profile, he’s previously held positions at ViewRay, TransEnterix (now Karl Storz’s Asensus Surgical), and Intuitive. He has a proven track record in commercial and operational disciplines while scaling high-growth companies, Augmedics officials said in a news release.
Augmedics said he assumes leadership as it enters a new phase of commercial growth. The company develops the Xvision Spine System, which uses augmented reality to give surgeons “X-ray vision” during surgery. It launched new, FDA-cleared features and indications for the system in March. Last month, the company announced FDA clearance for CT-to-fluoroscopy (CT-Fluoro) registration method for Xvision.
“I am thrilled to join the Augmedics team and build on the foundation they’ve established as the leading spine-based AR platform on the market,” said Ziegler. “I am excited and honored to lead the company through this next phase of growth as we capitalize on the game-changing potential of xvision to make spine surgery safer, simpler, and more reproducible.”
