C2 Therapeutics Announces Leadership Team Expansion

Privately held C2 Therapeutics has appointed five new members to its executive team.

Founded in 2007, C2 Therapeutics designed the C2 CryoBalloon Focal and Circumferential Ablation Systems to remove abnormal tissue growth in an outpatient setting with fewer side effects and less pain, making it well-suited for primary and adjunctive therapy in ablating certain pre-cancerous conditions.

“We achieved significant corporate and clinical milestones over the past several years and are now in a strong position to accelerate our development as we enter into a new phase of growth,” President/CEO Peter Garcia-Meza said. “Each new member of our management team has a proven track record of success in the medical device and healthcare industries and will add significant value as we continue to develop innovative technologies for physicians and the patients they serve.”

The new members of the C2 Therapeutics leadership team include:

Jennifer Lloyd Halsey – Strategy
Halsey is a senior executive in strategy and finance, focused on capital-efficient growth and partnerships for promising medical technology companies. She works collaboratively with entrepreneurs and shareholders to determine the optimal path for value creation, and she helps facilitate successful partnerships to commercialize innovative new products.

Halsey previously served as senior vice president, Strategy and Business Development, for Varian Medical Systems, the $7 billion global developer/provider of cancer therapy. In 1999, she co-founded Asante Partners, a strategic advisory firm focused on medtech mergers, financings and corporate partnerships. At Asante, Halsey led many successful exits, including the sale of Surpass Medical to Stryker Corporation, Chestnut Medical to ev3/Covidien plc and CryoCath to Medtronic plc.

Ryan Brennan – Vice President of Sales
Brennan is senior-level professional with more than 14 years of sales and sales management experience in the medical device industry. He has worked with leading companies to bring advanced technology to physicians, previously serving in key roles at Covidien, BARRX Medical and Johnson & Johnson.

Brennan has an impressive track record of success – consistently exceeding sales quotas, implementing effective sales strategies and teams, boosting performance ratings, and introducing core initiatives to promote sustainable growth, according to C2 Therapeutics executives. He received the Covidien Presidents’ Club award five consecutive years, and has also been named “Territory Manager of the Year,” “Regional Manager of the Year,” and “Rookie of the Year” during his career.

Lisa Bichsel – Vice President of Marketing
Bichsel has more than 35 years’ experience in healthcare marketing – managing all aspects of product and service marketing within the fields of gastroenterology (including BARRX Medical, also in the endoscopic ablation market), neurosurgery, orthopedics, emergency medicine, ophthalmology, podiatry, radiology, and patient financial services.

Bichsel’s experience includes product development and commercialization for organizations ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups. She brings a wealth of knowledge in managing integrated marketing campaigns, from strategic planning to tactical execution. Bichsel specializes in creative marketing solutions, with a track record of uniquely positioning companies and offerings in competitive markets.

Quentin Manley – Vice President – Europe
Manley is a sales and marketing executive in the healthcare sector, with key experience in medical devices and technology. He has extensive experience creating high performing teams, devising successful go-to-market strategies, driving business models and surpassing growth and sales targets.

Manley specializes in the commercialization of medical devices in Europe, and he has managed sales and marketing initiatives in the United States, Middle East and Africa. Manley has launched more than 20 significant new medical products across multiple geographies in the fields of pharmaceuticals, wound care, sutures, hernia repair and women’s health. He spent more than 20 years at Johnson & Johnson, leading a variety of global marketing strategies.

Linda Raggi – Vice President of Finance
Raggi is a financial professional with more than 35 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. She most recently served as director of finance for OptiMedica Corporation, a venture-backed company in ophthalmology that was successfully acquired by Abbott Labs in 2013.

Prior to OptiMedica, Raggi was director of finance at Guidant Corporation and its successor, Abbott Labs, for 14 years. At Guidant, Raggi participated in activities from the Eli Lilly spin-off to pre-initial public offering activities leading to its $27 billion acquisition by Abbott Labs/Boston Scientific. She began her career in public accounting at Arthur Young & Co.

Headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., C2 Therapeutics develops technology eradicate soft tissue lesions in endoscopic applications.The firm’s C2 CryoBalloon Ablation System comprises a through-the-scope, highly compliant balloon catheter that is simultaneously inflated and cooled by an inert cryogen delivered through a small disposable handheld unit. Operation is intuitive, fast and cost-effective. The C2 CryoBalloon Ablation System eliminates the need for precise sizing, multiple deployment steps and costly generators.