Expert Details
Medical Devices
ID: 728193
California, USA
Expert is currently an independent consultant as founder of his own consulting firm. In this capacity, he has led due diligence and consulting projects with medical device companies and their investors in the areas of regulatory strategy, medical device evaluation, medical device product development, medical device manufacturing and medical device field corrective actions and recalls. In addition, he has served as project manager for large new product development projects for companies such as General Electric and Johnson and Johnson.
As COO of Ventracor, Expert was responsible for the company's product development, global manufacturing, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, and clinical research. In this capacity, he interacted closely with the US Food and Drug Administration and obtained unconditional approval for the company's clinical trials under Investigational Device Exemption (IDE). Under his leadership, the company fully enrolled the trial in approximately one year, establishing the foundation for a Pre-Market Approval (PMA) from the US Food and Drug Administration.
While Senior Vice President of Operations at Cardiac Science, Expert led the company's rapid growth from a start-up to a $180 M/year company in the areas of global manufacturing and quality assurance, regulatory affairs, technical support, and clinical research functions. He served as the company's main interface with the US Food and Drug Administration for product recalls and audits, improving the company's quality control system and re-establishing the company's credibility with the US Food and Drug Administration in the areas of quality system regulation, 510(k) product submission and product recalls. His activities in global manufacturing led to a 50% reduction of the company's defibrillators cost of goods, while simultaneously improving product quality, receiving a supplier quality score from General Electric in the top 10 percentile and improving the products' first-pass manufacturing yield to over 99%.
Prior to Cardiac Science, Expert was Manager of X-Ray Imaging Engineering at GE Medical Systems (now GE Healthcare), where he was responsible for the development and manufacturing transfer of new X-Ray imaging products. In that capacity, he introduced numerous new X-Ray Imaging products to manufacturing under GE's new "Design for Six Sigma" process. He also worked with a large number of GE medical Systems' smaller technology providers to help them improve quality systems and product development processes.
Expert is an excellent team builder and communicator. He is fluent in 3 languages (English, Dutch and French) and was the recipient of a Fullbright Scholarship. He was elected member of the honor societies of Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi and Eta Kappa Nu and has a Ph.D. in Acoustics engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Client company, a medical device company in a rapid growth phase, had received a warning letter from FDA after an audit. FDA ruled it had not received satisfactory response from Company and was preparing more serious action. After investigating specific product issues that lead to warning letter, he restored client's credibility with the FDA by (1) implementing continuous improvement plan for the client's quality system that addressed FDA's findings (2) helping client develop and implement a product recall plan and (3) executing a clear communication strategy with the FDA. As a result, the client passed the FDA's follow-on audit.Client class II and class III medical device company was about to invest significant capital (>$50M) in the production of a new product and wanted an external evaluation of the product before giving a go-ahead. After evaluating the product development process, he uncovered significant gaps in the verification and validation of the design. He also highlighted serious issues with the client's product development process, which could have exposed the company to detrimental action by regulators. He helped the company correct these issues and avoid a large investment mistake as well as exposure to regulatory action by FDA.Client class III medical device company was interested in acquiring a competitor. During the due diligence phase, he uncovered that the company to be acquired had significant issues in its quality system, and that a new product soon to be released posed a significant risk. As a result, the client company decided not to proceed with the acquisition, avoiding significant product problems and ultimately legal issues, as the competitor struggled with a large-scale recall.Large Venture Capital firm needed in-depth analysis of a new technology with ophthalmology applications in light of a possible investment. He evaluated the technology and uncovered significant unmitigated risk. As a result, the client avoided a poor investment decision.
Education
Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
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Year: 1983 | Degree: Ph.D. | Subject: Acoustics Engineering | Institution: The Pennsylvania State University |
Year: 1978 | Degree: MS | Subject: Electrical Engineering | Institution: IHAM, Antwerp, Belgium |
Year: 1977 | Degree: BS | Subject: Electrical Engineering | Institution: SIHTS, Antwerp, Belgium |
Work History
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
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Years: 2016 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: CEO | Department: Executive |
Responsibilities:Expert analysis and strategic planning for medical device manufacturers and their investors. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 2012 to 2016 | Employer: VasoPrep Surgical | Title: COO | Department: Executive |
Responsibilities:Led engineering, FDA submission (de novo), manufacturing transfer and product launch for a surgical kit indicated for use in preparation of veins prior to vascular and cardiovascular bypass surgery. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 2005 to 2016 | Employer: Valeo, LLC | Title: CEO | Department: Executive |
Responsibilities:Development, implementation and interim management of medical device commercialization strategies for early-stage medical device manufacturers. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 2007 to 2008 | Employer: Ventracor, Inc. | Title: COO | Department: Executive |
Responsibilities:He was responsible for the company's global Manufacturing and Sourcing, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Research, Product Development, R&D and information technology. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 2000 to 2004 | Employer: Cardiac Science, Inc. | Title: CTO; Senior Vice President; Managing Director, Artema Medical AB; General Manager, Troniqa | Department: Executive |
Responsibilities:He led the company's Manufacturing and Sourcing, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Research, Technical Support and Customer Support functions. Additionally, he was responsible for pre-due diligence, due diligence and acquisition integration activities for the company's M&A activity. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1995 to 1997 | Employer: General Electric | Title: Manager, X-Ray Imaging Engineering | Department: Medical Systems, Global X-Ray |
Responsibilities:He led the development and manufacturing transfer of new X-Ray imaging subsystems and components. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1989 to 1995 | Employer: General Electric | Title: R&D Team Leader | Department: Corporate R&D Center |
Responsibilities:He developed advanced image and signal processing technology for GE's operating divisions; in particular GE Medical Systems and GE Aerospace. |
International Experience
Years | Country / Region | Summary |
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Years: 2004 to 2005 | Country / Region: Scotland | Summary: He was a global project manager for a major new product development project for a major medical device manufacturer. The project spanned the United Kingdom, Italy, China, Singapore and the U.S. |
Years: 2007 to 2008 | Country / Region: Australia | Summary: He was COO for a global medical device manufacturer with a presence in Australia, the Netherlands, and the U.S. |
Years: 1995 to 1997 | Country / Region: France | Summary: He was a manager for a major medical systems manufacturer located in France |
Years: 2001 to 2004 | Country / Region: Scandinavia | Summary: He served as General Manager of Troniqa in Aabybro, Denmark and as Managing Director of Artema Medical AB in Stockholm, Sweden |
Career Accomplishments
Associations / Societies |
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Tech Coast Angels, Orange County, CA |
Professional Appointments |
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Expert-in-Residence, UCI Innovation Center ("The Cove"), Irvine, CA |
Awards / Recognition |
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Fulbright scholar, 1978-1983; Elected to the honor societies of Eta Kappa Nu, Sigma Xi and Phi Kappa Phi GE Inventor Award, 1990 Outstanding Contributions Award, Tech Coast Angels, 2009 |
Additional Experience
Expert Witness Experience |
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As corporate employee, Expert served as witness in one jury trial (employee lawsuit) and was deposed in one product liability case (Cardiac Science). |
Training / Seminars |
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Quality College -- continuous improvement of quality systems and processes (Cardiac Science) Cycle Time Reduction (LEAN) -- continuous improvement of end-to-end product development and introduction processes |
Vendor Selection |
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Expert established the global supply chain initiative (Singapore, Malaysia, China) for Cardiac Science, resulting in 50% cost of goods reduction. Expert has stewarded global project management for new product development -- spanning the U.S., Singapore, China, United Kingdom and Italy -- for Johnson & Johnson. |
Marketing Experience |
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Expert has 21 years' experience working with a broad spectrum of medical device companies and their new product introduction strategies. This experience has afforded him unique insight on global medical device regulatory trends. |
Other Relevant Experience |
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Expert has experience conducting due diligence and financing for early-phase medical device companies. |
Language Skills
Language | Proficiency |
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Dutch | He is fluent in Dutch, which is his native language. |
French | He is fluent in French, as he was born and raised in Belgium (bi-lingual country) and lived in France for 3 years. |
German | He was born and raised in Belgium and traveled extensively in Europe. |
Fields of Expertise
FDA medical device regulation, medical device, medical device manufacturing, medical device manufacturing quality control, 510(k) document, medical device clinical research, medical device product development, investigational medical device exemption regulation, medical device premarket approval, medical device evaluation, Safe Medical Devices Act of 1990, medical device liability, medical device inspection, medical device reporting, medical device auditing, medical device safety, medical device manufacture clean room, medical device hazard analysis, medical device endurance testing, medical device product improvement, medical device manufacturing troubleshooting, medical device manufacturing automation, medical device reliability testing, medical device process validation, medical device mechanical stress analysis, medical device design