Beaver-Visitec International Names President and CEO

Beaver-Visitec International (BVI), a global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of specialized surgical devices for the ophthalmic marketplace, today announced that it has named Dana G. Mead Jr. as president and CEO. Mead was most recently a Strategic Advisor and previously a Partner in the life sciences practice of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), a leading venture capital firm, where he was responsible for helping identify and grow the firm’s portfolio of healthcare companies. Mead replaces Tom Kapfer, who has served as BVI’s president and CEO since August 2010.
 
Mead joins BVI with more than 30 years of experience working with companies across the healthcare space, at various stages of development. His career has focused on identifying emerging medical technologies, developing new therapies, establishing new markets, and building world-class management teams. Before KPCB, Mead served as president of Guidant Vascular Intervention, leading the fully integrated, billion-dollar division after holding various other global general management positions at the company. Earlier in his career, Mead held sales and marketing roles in the ophthalmic device groups of Allergan and Johnson & Johnson.
“Tom’s strategy and vision has helped transform BVI into a true industry leader,” said Ron Labrum, Chairman of the board of directors of BVI. “The Board is grateful for his leadership and wishes him the very best in the future.”
 
“We are thrilled to have someone with Dana’s expertise and knowledge to lead BVI in its next chapter of growth,” said Jeffrey Rhodes, Partner at TPG. “Dana has spent his career at the epicenter of medical innovation, helping grow exciting new companies across the healthcare space. We believe he is the right leader for the company as we build a broader ophthalmic platform through organic and M&A growth and we look forward to working with him to achieve future success.”
 
“I am extremely excited to take on this role and have the opportunity to work with the BVI team to build on their exceptional track record of customer service and innovation,” said Mead. “Having worked with medical technology companies across a wide range of specialties, I’m particularly enthusiastic about the potential for emerging ophthalmic technologies to address ever-expanding, unmet clinical needs. BVI’s clear commitment to quality and focus on enabling surgeons to achieve the best possible patient outcomes are its defining attributes, and uniquely positions the company for the future.”
 
Mead’s joining is the latest development in a period of forward momentum for BVI. In August, TPG Capital made a majority investment in the company and BVI subsequently named Ron Labrum as Chairman of their board of directors. The company has also announced a number of new products, including the Visitec FLACS Cannula, which was released in April of this year; the Visitec I-Ring Pupil Expander, released in April of 2015; and Endo Optiks, which was acquired by BVI in September of 2014.
 
Mead has served on the boards of the California Healthcare Institute and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University, and as chair of the Lafayette College West Coast Advisory Council. A native of Connecticut, Mead received his B.A. degree from Lafayette College and holds an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California. Mead will be based in BVI’s Waltham, Mass., headquarters and will start his new role on November 14.