Endologix Appoints Chief Quality Officer

Endologix Inc., a developer and marketer of treatments for aortic disorders, has appointed Jeffry Fecho as the company’s chief quality officer.
 
John Onopchenko, CEO of Endologix Inc., said, “I’m very pleased to welcome Jeff to our executive team. This is a critical role within our company as we strive to make continuous improvements to our processes and products. As a highly experienced leader with a history of leading large quality organizations in the cardiovascular industry, Jeff will be invaluable in advancing our safety procedures and achieving sustained quality excellence.”
 
Fecho brings to Endologix almost 30 years of executive leadership and quality expertise. Most recently, he was the division vice president for Operations and New Product Quality at Abbott Laboratories, where he led the global quality organization across 20 sites and was responsible for the new product development function. Prior to that role, he spent 11 years at St. Jude Medical Inc., where he eventually became the vice president of Global Quality. In this role, Fecho was responsible for oversight, remediation, best practice propagation, and education across the quality organization. Earlier at St. Jude Medical, he managed quality for both Class II and III cardiovascular devices within the company’s Cardiovascular Division and oversaw more than 20 consecutive U.S. Food and Drug Administration audits with zero observations. Fecho’s previous experience with cardiovascular products was with Boston Scientific Corp., where he held positions in quality operations and R&D. Fecho is an ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt and has systematically infused Six Sigma principles into the organizations he has managed.
 
”I’m honored to join the Endologix team and excited by our company’s value proposition. I’m committed to refocusing and enriching our quality processes, and I look forward to advancing our product pipeline, as well as realizing our vision of bringing safer, more effective products to the patients we serve,” Fecho said.
 
Fecho earned his MBA from Elon College in North Carolina and his bachelor of science degree in industrial technology from East Carolina University.
 
The company has also announced that in connection with Fecho’s employment by Endologix, he will receive equity awards under the company’s 2017 Inducement Stock Incentive Plan, valued at $550,000, consisting of stock options with a Black Scholes value of $200,000, and restricted stock units (RSUs) worth $350,000. The options will be priced as of the effective date and will vest over a three-year period. One-third of the options shall vest and become exercisable upon his completion of one year of service. The balance of the options shall vest and become exercisable in successive, equal, monthly installments upon Fecho’s completion of the next 24 months of service, measured from the first anniversary of the grant date. The RSUs will vest as to one-third of the underlying shares on each anniversary of the effective date such that the shares will vest in full three years from the effective date. The number of shares subject to the RSU grant shall be determined based upon the company’s stock price on the effective date.
 
Endologix Inc. develops and manufactures minimally invasive treatments for aortic disorders. The company’s focus is endovascular stent grafts for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). AAA is a weakening of the wall of the aorta, the largest artery in the body, resulting in a balloon-like enlargement. Once AAA develops, it continues to enlarge and, if left untreated, becomes increasingly susceptible to rupture. The overall patient mortality rate for ruptured AAA is approximately 80 percent, making it a leading cause of death in the United States.