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Mardil Inc. appoints industry veteran to board.

Cardiac device maker Mardil Inc. has named industry veteran Dan Pelak to its board of directors. Pelak left medical device firm InnerPulse last summer after it suffered a major setback with an implantable defibrillator.

Pelak currently is senior advisor to the New York, N.Y.-based private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe, but he made his name as CEO of liquid bandage maker Closure Inc., a publicly traded company based in Raleigh, N.C., that was purchased by New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson for $420 million in 2005.

Pelak then served as CEO of InnerPulse, a privately held company based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., that develops tech-nologies for the treatment of abnormal heart rhythms. Under Pelak’s watch, the firm raised $50 million in venture funding in early 2007. But when the company’s plans to market an implantable defibrillator ran into an unexpected delay (animal trials revealed a problem keeping the defibrillator connected to the heart), InnerPulse’s board of directors cut 18 positions, including Pelak’s. Inner-Pulse had hoped to market its defibrillator by 2010.

Pelak began his career at Medtronic Inc., where he held multiple management positions during a 20-year period.

“Dan has a long history as a senior executive in the medical device industry, garnering multiple successes in growing young companies and managing corporate operating divisions,” said Mardil co-founder Jai Ramon, M.D.,professor of surgery and director of Adult Cardiac Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgical Research at the University of Chicago in Chicago, Ill. “He has a wealth of experience commercializing cardiac devices, and we look forward to adding someone with Dan’s background to our board.”

Morrisville, N.C.-based Mardil Inc. designs, develops and markets patented technologies in the cardiac medical device field.

Fresenius Medical Care Announces CFO’s Resignation

Officials at Fresenius Medical Care, a provider of dialysis services and products, have announced that Lawrence Rosen has resigned as CFO and member of the company’s management board. He will continue to serve in the position until a new CFO is hired.

“We thank Larry for his significant contributions to our company and wish him all the best for his new position,” said Dr. Ben Lipps, Fresenius Medical Care CEO and board chairman.“Fresenius Medical Care continues to have a very strong financial position and cash flow generation and only minor long-term refinancing needs before 2011. We expect to continue with our strong business performance across all segments and regions for the year 2009.”

Rosen has been with Fresenius since 2003. Before joining the German firm, Rosen served as group senior vice president for corporate finance and treasury with Aventis S.A., in Strasbourg, France. He also has held senior finance and treasury positions in North America.

Veridiam Appoints a New CEO to Integrate Divisions

Veridiam, a contract manufacturer of build-to-print metal tubing, components, and assemblies, has appointed Andrew Gale as its CEO.

Gale will manage the operations of all Veridiam business units, including Veridiam Medical, Veridiam Advanced EDM, and Veridiam Allied Swiss and Point Tech-nologies. His mission is to accelerate the development and integration of operations for all units. Gale has 25 years of experience with various manufacturing companies.
For the past 10 years, he has served as president and CEO of Camas, Wash.-based C-Tech Industries, a manufacturer of pressure washing equipment and related wastewater treatment systems. Gale also served as COO and CFO there. Previously, he held financial management roles with Triquest Precision Plastics, an injection molding company in Vancouver, Wash.;RCA/ SharpMicroelect-ronics, a computer chip maker in Japan, and Beaverton, Ore.-based Tektronix Inc., which tests, measures and monitors instrumentation.

“The Veridiam team is excited about Andy joining the organization at this juncture in our development. His ex-perience will be invaluable as we continue to grow our capabilities and expand into new markets while maintaining our commitments to operational excellence and quality,” said former CEO Neal Nordstrom, who will stay on at the El Cajon, Calif.-based company in an executive capacity.

Texcel Medical Names President and CEO

Texcel Medical LLC, a medical device process development and contract manu-facturing company, has named Barry Smith as president and CEO.

Smith joins East Longmeadow, Mass.-based Texcel Medical from Milford, Conn.-based Synectic Medical Product Development, which focuses on design, research, R&D and manufacturing of medical products. Smith served as chief operating officer there.

He previously worked as vice president of operations and product development for a number of other medical device firms.

“Barry’s executive experience in the medical products market is an ideal compliment to Texcel’s strategic growth initiatives as we move to the next level as a long-term partner,” said Texcel Medical founder and chairman Laurence Derose.
Derose will maintain his position as chairman but expand his focus to identifying and securing strategic partnerships.

Pathfinder Hires Medical Device Veteran as President, CEO

Pathfinder Therapeutics Inc., a medical device company that has developed computerized navigation technology for abdominal surgery, has tapped Skip Goode as president and CEO. Goode’s appoint-ment, according to the board chairman, capped an “exhausting, nationwide search” by the firm.

Goode previously served as head of sales for companies such as Medtronic Surgical Navigation; Sunnyvale-Calif.-based Accuray, which develops advanced robotic radio-surgery systems; and Redmond, Wash.-based Endo-Gastric Solutions, which develops procedures and products to address gastrointestinal disease needs. Goode played leading roles in key product launches and assisted in sales efforts at EndoGastric Solutions.

“Skip brought the right blend of experience, character, and vision. Having led sales in highly successful companies in our field, we felt he was ready to take his skills to the next level as CEO of Pathfinder,” said Clay B. Thorp, board chairman of the Nashville, Tenn.-based company.

Said Goode: “The engineering and scientific teams have done a terrific job of designing, building, and gaining FDA clearance for the surgical planning and intra-operative navigation of liver surgery. Now, we have a great opportunity to introduce these systems to hospitals across the country.”

Pathfinder unveiled two FDA-cleared products for pre-operative planning and intra-operative navigation of liver surgery in March at the annual American Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association Conference inMiami, Fla.

BSD Medical Corp. Names Latin America Sales Manager

BSD Medical Corp., a developer of systems used to deliver therapeutic heat for treating cancer, has appointed Jim Fincher as Latin America sales manager.
Fincher, who has extensive experience in the Latin American market, previously served as vice president of sales for a leading medical device firm.

Fincher will focus his efforts on medical markets in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, but will work with all Latin American countries to establish distribution and sales networks for BSD Medical’s products.

“Jim has a great background of success in promoting medical devices in the Latin American market, and we feel that he will help establish BSD Medical as a solid player in that market, where there is a great need for our products. We are pleased to welcome Jim officially to BSD,” said Hyrum A. Mead, president of BSD Medical.

Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, BSD Medical develops systems that use non-ionic radiation in the form of radiofrequency/microwave energy to treat cancer.

Cardiac Science Promotes Marver to President, CEO

Cardiac Science has promoted Dave Marver to president and CEO from COO. John Hinson, the company’s current CEO, left last month for personal reasons, according to the Denmark-based firm.

Marver joined Car-diac Science as its COO in October 2008.He assumed Hinson’s spot on the company’s board of directors.

Before he joined the cardiac device manu-facturer, Marver spent 14 years at Minneapolis, Minn.-based Medtronic, where he held a number of senior leadership positions, including vice president of strategy and business development, vice president of sales, vice president of marketing and vice president of product strategy.

Marver also spent three years at Medtronic’s international headquarters, where he led commercial activities for the company’s Cardiac Rhythm Management business in Western Europe.