JenaValve names Kilcoyne as CEO | Personnel Moves - January 15, 2019

JenaValve Technology said today that it named former ReVision Optics prez & CEO John Kilcoyne as its new chief executive officer, effective immediately, replacing Dr. Victoria Carr-Brendell, who has taken up an executive leadership position with Sonova Holding AG (SIX:SOON).

Prior to his time at ReVision Optics, Kilcoyne served as prez & CEO at Micrus Endovascular where he led the company through an initial public offering in 2005 and an acquisition by Johnson & Johnson in 2010. He has also held positions at Solace Therapeutics and Endonetics, Irvine, Calif.-based JenaValve said.

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to lead JenaValve, and I look forward to working with the team to bring new, innovative solutions to the transcatheter valve market. Data from past and ongoing trials clearly indicate the strong potential that the JenaValve technology can greatly improve the health of patients with aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation. Our focus in 2019 is on completing the current clinical development programs and gaining commercial readiness for potential international launch activities under CE mark and U.S. Humanitarian Device Exemption regulatory processes,” Kilcoyne said in a prepared statement.

“I am thrilled that John Kilcoyne has agreed to lead our company. In John, we have identified a dynamic and seasoned executive with an extensive background in driving medical businesses through the key stages of growth and value generation. His proven leadership qualities will be instrumental in bringing our breakthrough technology to the market and success for all stakeholders. Victoria made many significant contributions during her tenure at JenaValve. We are grateful for her contributions and wish her well in her future endeavors,” board chair Jan Keltjens said in prepared remarks.

Sonova said last November that Carr-Brendel was joining the company as cochlear implants group VP and advanced bionics prez. Prior to joining JenaValve, Carr-Brendel served as Boston Scientific peripheral interventions franchise general manager, the company said.

Sonova said that Carr-Brendel officially joined the advanced bionics division last December 3, and that they would take full responsibility as prez on April 1, according to a press release.

Endologix taps Zehren as new chief commercial officer

Endologix (NSDQ:ELGX) said last week that it appointed John Zehren as its new chief commercial officer, effective January 7.

Prior to joining Irvine, Calif.-based Endologix, Zehren served as Medtronic neurovascular division Americas sales VP and a senior member of the company’s neurovascular management board. Zehren also held sales VP positions with Covidien and ev3, and held leadership positions with Edwards Lifesciences.

“We are proud to welcome John, an accomplished commercial medical device leader, to our executive team. He has demonstrated a strong track record of achievement, consistently implementing successful commercial strategies that resulted in impressive growth, share gains, and customer loyalty. We believe John will play a critical role in strengthening and extending Endologix’s customer partnerships and commercial execution, while leading the company’s global go-to-market strategy for our AFX2, Ovation, and Nellix platforms,” CEO John Onopchenko said in a prepared statement.

“I’m excited to join an organization that has driven so much innovation in the cardiovascular segment and believe that we have an excellent opportunity to strengthen our customer partnerships and secure increased market share and procedural growth around the globe. I look forward to working with the Endologix team to drive commercial excellence and bring our differentiated, life-saving technology to more patients in need,” Zehren said in a press release.

Outset Medical said today that it appointed Dr. Michael Aragon as its new chief medical officer and Stacey Porter as its people operations VP.

Prior to joining San Jose, Calif.-based Outset Medical, Aragorn served as a medical director for DaVita and U.S. Renal Care and was a founding partner and president of the North Texas Kidney Consultants. He currently serves as board chair for the End-Stage Renal Disease Network of Texas, Outset Medical said.

“The leadership team at Outset is dedicated to improving care for patients with end-stage kidney disease with a simplified, more cost-effective dialysis solution. Having served hundreds of patients firsthand for more than a decade, I’ve seen the burden of dialysis on patients, their families, and their healthcare providers. I share Outset’s passion for bringing much-needed innovation to the industry, and look forward to helping lead the organization as it transforms the dialysis experience,” Aragon said in a press release.

Porter has more than 18 years of leadership development and organizational learning implementation, and previously served as head of global talent development fo Intuitive Surgical. Prior to joining Intuitive, she held leadership roles at VMware and Roche.

“There are more than 500,000 end-stage renal disease patients in the United States whose lives depend upon dialysis and the companies working to improve and expand treatment options. I am excited to join the exceptional team that Outset has already built, and look forward to helping contribute to the growth and development of this talented and committed group,” Porter said in a prepared statement.

“We are thrilled to welcome Michael and Stacey to the Outset Medical team. Both are outstanding leaders and experts in their fields, and will play an instrumental role in helping us deliver on our mission to improve global dialysis care and offer a better experience for providers and patients. Michael joins an esteemed group of nephrology experts involved with Outset including Dr. Glenn Chertow, Chief, Division of Nephrology, Stanford University School of Medicine; Dr. Sarah Prichard, an academic nephrologist and former medical affairs and R&D leader at Baxter; and Dr. Luis Alvarez, Chair of Nephrology, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Sutter Health, and Outset’s chief advisor for technology and innovation,” CEO Leslie Trigg said in a prepared release.

Xtant Medical (NYSE:XTNT) said last week it tapped Ronald Berlin as its new COO and VP, effective January 1.

Prior to joining Belgrade, Mont.-based Xtant Medical, Berlin served as global ops VP at CoorsTek Medical. He has also held leadership positions with Integra LifeSciences and Stryker, the company said.

“Ron is an accomplished healthcare executive with significant operations and quality management expertise and we are pleased that he has joined our executive management team. In addition to the operational leadership he will provide to the organization, he is a strong strategic, cross-functional leader. His appointment continues our commitment to building a highly skilled management team,” interim CEO Michael Mainelli said in a press release.

“I’m particularly pleased to be joining this exceptional, newly appointed executive leadership team and look forward to helping the Company continue to transform its business and drive shareholder value,” Berlin said in a prepared statement.

Digirad Corp. (NSDQ:DRAD) said yesterday that its current chief operating officer David Noble will take on the role of interim CFO for the company, effective today.

Noble, a veteran of finance and business building of over 20 years, previously held financial and management roles with HSBC and Lehman Brothers, the Suwanee, Ga.-based company said in an SEC filing.

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