Nevro taps ex-Thoratec CEO Grossman | Personnel Moves, March 20, 2019

Nevro Corp. (NYSE:NVRO) said yesterday that it named former Thoratec CEO Keith Grossman to replace president & CEO Rami Elghandour after striking a deal with one of its investors, Broadfin Capital.

Grossman re-joined Thoratec after taking over at Conceptus in December 2011 and leading it to a $1.1 billion sale to Bayer in June 2013 (he’d been Thoratec’s CEO from 1996-2006). Grossman helmed Thoratec until St. Jude Medical (now Abbott) acquired it in October 2015 for $3.3 billion.

Nevro said the deal with Broadfin also involves the expansion of its board of directors with the addition of Warburg Pincus limited partner Bess Weatherman and medtech veteran Kevin O’Boyle and the departure of director Ali Behbahani. Broadfin picked up a 5.8% stake in Nevro in September 2015 but cut that to less than 0.2% in February 2017, according to regulatory filings.

“On behalf of the board and our entire company, I am excited to welcome Keith Grossman to the Nevro team,” chairman Michael DeMane said in prepared remarks. “Keith brings over 30 years of experience in leading innovative medical technology companies through periods of strategic change to deliver growth and enhanced value for stockholders. As we look to the future, I am confident that under Keith’s direction, Nevro will be well positioned to capture a burgeoning market opportunity with its pioneering spinal cord stimulation (SCS) technology to treat chronic pain.”

“I am excited by this opportunity to join such a talented team at a pivotal moment in Nevro’s history,” Grossman added. “Over the past several years, Nevro has leveraged the strength of its technology to enhance patient care and drive overall industry growth. Nevro is now at an inflection point, and I am confident in our ability to continue delivering value not only to our patients and customers, but importantly, to our stockholders. I look forward to working closely with the board and the full Nevro team to advance the company into its next phase of growth.”

Broadfin also agreed to back Nevro’s board nominees at its next shareholders meeting and to obey standstill provisions and voting commitments. Nevro said it’s suspending its revenue guidance pending Grossman’s assessment.

NVRO shares were up 25.0% to $55.96 apiece today in pre-market trading ahead of a $44.51-per-share open and jumped 33.8% to $59.91 shortly thereafter.

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