Scott Nelson Live

In this episode, we downloaded with Jennifer Fried, the CEO and Co-Founder of ExplORer Surgical. Jennifer founded the company with Dr. Alex Langerman as an MBA student at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she received her degree with honors in finance and entrepreneurship.

Previously, Jennifer was a Vice President at Park Lane Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital fund spun out of Essex Woodlands. Jennifer began her career as a consultant at Bain & Company in Chicago after graduating from Northwestern University.

With me on this episode is special guest host, Norbert Juist, who runs Sales Performance Resources, where he specializes in recruiting for medical device marketing and sales positions. Prior to this, he was a sales rep at Cordis Endovascular, a spine consultant at Synthes, and a sales rep at Ethicon. 

Interview Highlights with Jennifer Fried

● How most medical device companies capture procedural data & workflow processes -- and why it’s completely outdated. 

● The challenges medtech companies are facing when it comes to educational training & product development and why they’re considering platforms like ExplORer Surgical.

● Jennifer’s favorite business book, the business leader she most admires, and the advice she’d give to herself 5-10 years ago.

In this episode, I had the chance to sit down with Michael Tozzi, President and CEO of TAS Medical. Mike and his team are aiming to eliminate surgical mesh by converting hernia procedures to minimally invasive repairs.

Mike has over 20 years of commercial medical device experience and specializes in investor relations, sales & marketing readiness, and improving the execution of early-stage medical device companies. 

Previous to TAS Medical, Mike served as Chief Commercial Officer at Carevoyance, where he and his team created groundbreaking analytics tools designed to help medical device companies better understand their markets and execute their commercial goals.

Prior to this, Mike helped to build Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (or CSI) from the ground floor, taking the company from an early stage to over $1.3 billion in market capitalization in just seven years. At CSI, Mike held various executive roles in sales and marketing. 

Joining me on this episode is special guest host, Norbert Juist, who runs Sales Performance Resources, which specializes in recruiting for medtech marketing and sales positions. Prior to this, he was a sales rep at Cordis Endovascular, a spine consultant at Synthes, and a sales rep at Ethicon. 

Interview Highlights with Mike Tozzi

Joining us for this episode is Beverly Huss, President and CEO of Qool Therapeutics, a development-stage company working on a novel, non-invasive therapeutic hypothermia device for the preservation of tissue following catastrophic events like a heart attack, stroke, or traumatic brain injury.

Previously, Beverly was the CEO of Vibrynt, a start-up medical device company dedicated to creating minimally invasive therapies for patients suffering from morbid obesity. Prior to that, Beverly was the President of Guidant Endovascular Solutions (acquired by Abbott), a medical device company focused on the treatment of cardiovascular and peripheral vascular disease.

She holds an M.S. in technology management from Pepperdine University, as well as a B.S. in metallurgical engineering from the University of Illinois. Beverly also has a few patents to her credit in the cardiovascular and obesity medical device arenas.

With me on this episode is guest host, Norbert Juist, one of the most honest, genuine, and personable people I know. Norbert runs Sales Performance Resources, where he specializes in recruiting for medtech marketing and sales positions. Prior to this, he was a sales rep at Cordis Endovascular, a spine consultant at Synthes, and a sales rep at Ethicon. 

Interview Highlights with Beverly Huss

I recently had the opportunity to interview Dan Rose, CEO of the French-based medtech company LimFlow. Founded in 2012, LimFlow transformed the peripheral vasculature space by providing a lifesaving option for end-stage critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) patients facing amputation. LimFlow is designed to restore blood flow to the ischemic foot via deep vein arterialization, thereby preventing major amputation, resolving pain, and promoting wound healing. 

Prior to assuming the role of CEO at LimFlow in August 2016, Dan had more than 16 years of leadership experience in the medical device and venture capital/startup sectors. Most recently, he was VP and General Manager EMEA for Direct Flow Medical, and VP of Commercial Operations and a Member of the Board at Sequana Medical, a Swiss medical device company. 

Norbert Juist, an executive recruiter who specializes in medical device sales and marketing, also joined me for this interview with Dan Rose. Norbert brings a unique perspective to this discussion, having worked as a sales rep and consultant in medtech for nearly 20 years prior to transitioning to executive recruiting.

Here are a few of the topics we discuss in this episode:

After a brief hiatus from recording podcasts, it was a privilege to dust off the microphone and interview Kyle Frye. As U.S. president of SyntheticMR, Kyle is tasked with growing and expanding the brand and business in the U.S. for the Swedish-based company that is creating the future of quantitative MRI technology. Their innovative MRI software solutions support shorter exam times and deliver more information to clinicians, leading to improved diagnostic efficacies.

Prior to assuming this role in August 2019, Kyle was a Zone Vice President of Sales for Siemens and also was in leadership positions at both niche and large medtech companies including Blue Belt Technologies (now Smith & Nephew), Verathon, and Brainlab. He also worked for BioMedix for three years, working his way up from a sales rep driving 4–5 hours a day to Western Area Sales Director, which required relocation from metro Cincinnati to the San Francisco Bay area. Kyle received a B.A. degree in political science and finance from Northern Kentucky University in 2004.

Norbert Juist, an executive recruiter who specializes in medical device sales and marketing, joined me as a special guest for this interview with Kyle. He brings a unique perspective to this discussion, having worked as a sales rep and consultant in pharma and medtech for nearly 20 years prior to transitioning to recruiting.

Here are a few of the key topics we discussed in this podcast: 

In late 2016, I was able to sit down with Kevin Sidow. At the time he was President & Chief Executive Officer for Moximed and had been since 2008.

Prior to his time at Moximed, Kevin was President & CEO for St. Francis Medical Technologies, a privately held, venture-funded company focused on developing innovative treatments for patients suffering from degenerative spinal disorders. In January 2007, St. Francis Medical Technologies was sold for $725 million to Kyphon, which was acquired by Medtronic later that same year.

Previously, Kevin was the Worldwide President of DePuy, where he supervised the global orthopedic, spine, trauma, and sports medicine businesses, with annual revenue responsibility of over $3 billion dollars. Kevin holds a B.S. in Accounting from West Virginia University.

Here are a few of the things we learned from Kevin:

- How Kevin felt when Moximed’s first patient was treated with the Atlas System after 8+ years of research and development.- What makes the Atlas System different than other orthopedic knee implants?- How medtech professionals looking to take the next step in their career can utilize Kevin’s advice and learn from his meteoric rise to Worldwide President of DePuy.

A few years ago, I had the privilege of sitting down and talking with serial medtech entrepreneur Paul Buckman, who at the time, was CEO of Conventus Orthopedics. 

Prior to Conventus, Paul held CEO roles at SentreHEART, Pathway Medical Technologies (which sold to Bayer HealthCare), and Devax (which sold to Biosensors International). From 2004 through 2006, Buckman served as President of the Cardiology Division of St. Jude Medical. 

Before joining St. Jude, he served as Chairman and CEO of ev3, a company that Buckman co-founded and was later acquired by Covidien for $2.5 billion dollars in 2010.

Paul has worked in the medical device industry for over 35 years, including 10 years at Scimed Life Systems and Boston Scientific where he held several executive positions before becoming President of the Cardiology Division at Boston Scientific in January of 2000. Buckman received a BA degree in business administration and an MBA degree from Western Michigan University. 

Here are a few of the things we’re going to learn in this interview with Paul:

- Of all the medtech startups that Paul’s been a part of, the two are closest to his heart.- Two of the many key learnings that Paul recalls during his time helping to build Scimed.- When it comes to product development for medtech startups, why it’s critical to be ruthless about prioritization?

In this two-part interview, I was lucky enough to sit down with Erica Rogers, CEO of Silk Road Medical. We first spoke a few years ago and then again much more recently to catch up on what had changed at Silk Road since our first conversation.

During our catch up, we discussed how Erica led her team at Silk Road through PMA approval, successful insurance coverage and reimbursement strategy, which led to a very rewarding public offering for Silk Road, opening at $20 a share. This resulted in the opportunity to continue the company’s goal, which is to change the standard of care in carotid artery disease with their TCAR procedure.

Much of our first conversation was about Erica’s career trajectory and how she was able to successfully, and gracefully, exit multiple medtech companies. Her lengthy career and insight as a medtech thought leader is just as interesting today as it was when we recorded our conversation.

Before leading Silk Road, Erica was the COO of Medicines360, a nonprofit pharmaceutical company developing drugs and devices for women. Erica was the founder and CEO of Allux Medical as well as the cofounder of Visiogen, which was acquired by Abbott Medical Optics in 2009.

Prior to that, Erica spent over 12 years at Boston Scientific in a variety of sales and marketing positions. She began her career in pharmaceutical sales after receiving a B.S. in Zoology from San Diego State University. Erica holds five issued and 15 pending US patents for medical devices in nanotechnology.

Daniel Hawkins is the President and CEO of Shockwave Medical. He began his career in marketing and business development roles for Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, otherwise known as ACS, which is now part of Abbott Vascular. Following ACS, he held senior roles in general management, marketing, and business development with a number of private and public companies.

Eric Stone cofounded Velano Vascular with Dr. Pitou Devgon, an internal medicine physician. Velano’s first device, PIVO, enables needle-free blood draws directly from peripheral IV catheters. Velano Vascular is backed by a series of well-respected investment firms, leading U.S. health systems, and dozens of health industry veterans.