Inspire Medical Systems Appoints Two Independent Board Directors

Inspire Medical Systems Inc. has appointed Cynthia Burks and Charisse Y. Sparks, M.D., as independent directors to its board.

“The Inspire team is thrilled to add these two very talented individuals to our Board,” said Tim Herbert, president and CEO of Inspire Medical Systems. “Cynthia’s extensive experience in all critical aspects of human resources will be invaluable as our organization continues to grow. Further, Charisse’s broad medical device industry expertise further strengthens our board as we continue to enhance the Inspire therapy platform with a focus on delivering strong and consistent patient outcomes.”
 
Burks is the former chief human resources officer for Genentech Inc., a member of the Roche Group. In this role, Burks led the company’s efforts to attract, develop and retain employees at Genentech, which has more than 13,500 employees. She brings strong analytical skills and expertise in all areas of human capital strategy, including talent management, culture, diversity, equity, inclusion, and organizational design. Burks is an observer on the board of directors of the publicly traded WD-40 Company and a director on the board of directors of Torch, a privately held company offering integrated coaching, mentoring and learning software, as well as serving on two non-profit organizations, Juma Ventures and Summer Search.
 
Sparks is the chief medical officer of AppliedVR, Inc., a privately-held company pioneering virtual reality-based treatments that address the complexity of pain and other conditions, where she is responsible for leading the company’s medical, clinical, regulatory and quality affairs functions. Previously, Sparks was vice president of DePuy Synthes, the orthopedics company of Johnson and Johnson. While at DePuy Synthes, she was an integral leader in Johnson & Johnson’s “Our Race to Health Equity,” an initiative which aims to eradicate racial and social injustice as a public health threat by seeking to eliminate health inequities for people of color. Sparks has experience in R&D, regulatory affairs, quality, commercial, and health economics and market access. She has led evidence-generation strategies for global market access of orthopedic and craniomaxillofacial (CMF) products. As an orthopedic surgeon, she was the third Black female, fellowship-trained orthopedic trauma surgeon in the United States, completing her training at Harvard Medical School.
 
Following the appointments of Burks and Sparks, the Inspire Medical board consists of 11 directors, 10 of whom are independent. 
 
Inspire is a medical technology company that develops and commercializes minimally invasive solutions for patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Inspire’s proprietary Inspire therapy is the first and only FDA-approved neurostimulation technology that provides a safe and effective treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea.