INC Research Inc. hired a new CFO as the North Carolina-based clinical research organization charts course to make itself one of the biggest players in the CRO industry.

David Gill has been CFO at Morrisville, N.C.-based medical device company TransEnterix since 2009, and succeeds former INC CFO Dan Hartnett who recently retired.

Gill is no stranger to INC having served on the privately-held company’s board of directors since 2007.

Gill said that while venture-backed TransEnterix has made good progress — he led the company’s $55 million series B round of fundraising in 2009 helped the company commercialize its surgical device — he feels his skills are better suited to a larger company that is further along commercially. INC employs about 2,000 globally and generated about $250 million in 2009 revenue putting the company in the top ten among CROs.

Gill declined to give a 2010 revenue figure for INC, but he said that the company experienced strong growth last year. Gill wants to make his new company one of the top-five ranked CRO’s in the United States within the next five years.

“My goal is to do everything to facilillitate that,” he said.

Durham, N.C.-based Quintiles is the industry’s top CRO by revenue with more than $3 billion in 2009 sales, according to CRO trade publication Scrip Clinical Research.

Here’s the latest personnel changes from medical device, diagnostics and life science companies around the nation. For more recent hirings and firings, check out MassDevice’s compilation of the latest personnel moves.

• Pioneer Surgical names new sales VP
  Marquette, Mich.-based Pioneer Surgical appointed Jim St. John to the position of vice president international sales. St. John has 25 years of experience in the spine industry; he lived in Europe for over 12 years and speaks 5 languages. St. John last worked for Benvenue Medical where he had the role of VP of worldwide sales & ,arketing. Before that he worked for Zimmer Spine and Abbott Spine, with his last position located in Europe where he was the GM of Zimmer Spine SA and VP of Zimmer Spine EMEA.
  Read more
• Synteract taps Ellen Morgan for chairman
  San Diego-based Synteract Inc. announced a change in position for Ellen Morgan, co-founder, who has served as president and CEO of the company since its inception in 1995. Effective March 31, Morgan will become chairman of the board for the company and will continue to help grow the business on a part-time basis. To provide continuity while a search is conducted for a new president and CEO, the contract research organization will be headed on an interim basis by COO Stewart Bieler, who will report directly to the board of directors.
  Read more
• CorMedix appoints Dr. Mark Klausner as chief medical officer
  Bridgewater, N.J.-based CorMedix Inc. (NYSE Amex:CRMD) appointed Dr. Mark Klausner as chief medical officer. Klausner has over 25 years of significant pharmaceutical experience spanning many functional and therapeutic areas, including extensive experience in the nephrology and cardiovascular therapeutic areas. Dr. Klausner joins CorMedix from Nephrogenex, Inc. a developmental-stage biotechnology company, where he held the position of chief medical officer since 2007.
  Read more
• PBM veteran Gordon Glenn tapped for Secure EDI board
  Gordon “Stonie” Glenn, former CEO of SXC Health Solutions, was named to the board of directors for North Carolina health IT firm Secure EDI. Charlotte, N.C.-based Secure EDI provides electronic payment systems for insurance companies and healthcare providers. Glenn brings to Secure EDI more than 35 years experience in technology and healthcare. From 1998 through 2006, he was president and CEO of SXC (NSDQ:SXCI), an Illinois-based pharmacy benefits management company that generates more than $1.4 billion in annual revenue. Glenn retired as chairman and CEO of SXC in 2008, reports MedCity News.
  Read more

Material from MedCity News was used in this report.