Steven L. Gex
Mr. Gex is the Chairman of Cianna Medical. He previously served in the same post at BioLucent, Inc., a women's health company dedicated to the early detection and treatment of breast cancer. The company developed the MammoPad® breast cushion to reduce mammography discomfort and ensure high-quality images. BioLucent was acquired in September 2007 by Hologic, Inc. Prior to BioLucent, Mr. Gex co-founded and served as President and CEO of Biopsys Medical, Inc., the maker of Mammotome, a non-surgical breast biopsy device used to diagnose breast cancer. At Biopsys, Mr. Gex guided the company's initial public offering and subsequent sale to Johnson & Johnson in 1997. He has also served on the boards of directors for several other medical device companies.
Jill Anderson
As President and CEO of Cianna Medical, Ms. Anderson has more than two decades of experience as a medical device and healthcare industry executive. She previously served as President of BioLucent, Inc. There, she oversaw the rapid sales growth of the MammoPad breast cushion and BioLucent's ascendant profile in women's healthcare, through the company's acquisition by Hologic, Inc., in 2007. Prior to joining BioLucent, she served as Vice President, Oncology Services for Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, a premier teaching hospital and multi-health care network in northeastern Pennsylvania, generating $1 billion in net revenue. As Vice President of Salick Health Care, Ms. Anderson led the company's entry into the New York market and was responsible for developing a network of comprehensive cancer centers through unique partnerships with major academic and community-based medical centers.
Nancy Olson
Ms. Olson is the Managing Partner of Fog City Fund, a venture fund that invests in life science and medical companies. She was previously a General Partner at St. Paul Venture Capital, specializing in health care and medical technology. In addition to serving on a number of private company boards, Ms. Olson is a Trustee of the University of California Berkeley Foundation and Hampshire College, President of the Letters and Science Executive Board at UCB, and a board member of both the Girl Scouts of the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Francisco Opera.
Paul McCormick
Mr. McCormick has more than 27 years of experience in the medical device industry, including the past ten years at Endologix Inc, (ELGX), a manufacturer of minimally invasive treatments for aortic aneurysms. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Endologix from January 2003 through May 2008, and remains a corporate director. Prior to Endologix, he held senior sales and marketing positions at Progressive Angioplasty Systems, Heart Technology, Trimedyne Inc., and United States Surgical Corporation. In addition to his board positions at Cianna Medical and Endologix, Mr. McCormick is the Chairman of the Board of Cardiogenesis Inc. (CGCP) and Embrella Cardiovascular (private).
Zack Scott, MD
Dr. Scott joined Saints Capital in 2008 and is a Vice President focused on healthcare opportunities. He is currently a board member at Cianna Medical and VisionCare. Prior to Saints, Dr. Scott was at Burrill & Co. where he made healthcare investments for three and a half years. Dr. Scott has invested in the areas of medical devices, health care services, diagnostics and biopharmaceuticals. Previously, Dr. Scott was a General Surgery resident at Oregon Health Science University in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Scott has a BA in Economics from Duke University, an MD from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and an MBA and a certificate in Health Sector Management from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, where he was Fuqua Scholar. Dr. Scott is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.
Heath Lukatch
Mr. Lukatch is a Partner in Novo Ventures, Novo A/S. He is chairman of the board of directors of Inogen, Inc. and NeuroTherapeutics Pharma, Inc.; a member of the board of directors of Amira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and AnaptysBio, Inc.; and was a board member of FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (acquired by Pfizer), InSound Medical, Inc. (acquired by Sonova), and Synosia Therapeutics (acquired by BioTie). Prior to joining Novo A/S, Mr. Lukatch was a Managing Director for Piper Jaffray Ventures and SightLine Partners, and a bench scientist at Cetus, Chiron and Roche Bioscience. While at Piper Jaffray and Sightline he was responsible for biotech venture investments and served on the boards of several biotech and medical device companies. Previously, he was at McKinsey & Co. where his primary focus was on strategy consulting for biopharmaceutical companies. Mr. Lukatch also brings entrepreneurial experience from his role as founder and CEO of AutoMate Scientific, Inc. a biotechnology instrumentation company. Mr. Lukatch holds a PhD in neuroscience from Stanford University and a BA in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkley.
Tiba Aynechi
Ms. Aynechi is a Principal in Novo Ventures, Novo A/S. She has more than 10 years of combined research and banking experience in life sciences that spans various therapeutic areas and technology platforms. Prior to joining Novo A/S, Ms. Aynechi was a Director with Burrill & Company where she has completed regional and cross-border M&A, licensing, and financing transactions for biotech and large pharmaceutical companies. Ms. Aynechi received her PhD from the Graduate Group in Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco where her research involved developing computational methods for drug discovery. She has an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of California, Irvine. Ms. Aynechi is also a published author of scientific articles and book chapters in the area of rational drug design.