MRI Interventions Adds to Board

Irvine, Calif.-based MRI Interventions has added industry vet Maria Sainz to its board of directors. The medical device executive’s experience spans more than 20 years, including 10 years as the top executive for both emerging businesses and large corporate divisions, strong commercial experience bringing therapies to market, significant international experience, and service on both public and private company boards.

Since April 2012, Sainz has served as president and CEO of CardioKinetix Inc., a venture capital-backed medical device company based in Menlo Park, Calif., that is pioneering a catheter-based treatment for heart failure. Prior to her time at CardioKinetix, Sainz served as president and CEO of Concentric Medical, a commercial stage company that manufactured and marketed endovascular devices for revascularizing stroke patients. Under her leadership, Concentric Medical was acquired by Stryker Corporation in October 2011, at which time Sainz was named general manager of the Concentric business within the Stryker Neurovascular division. Sainz also held several senior roles at Guidant Corporation, including president of the Cardiac Surgery division, where she successfully grew the 500-employee division’s annual revenue from $90 million to $176 million, and vice president, global marketing of the Vascular Intervention division, where she was responsible for worldwide marketing, new product and market development activities. She currently serves as a director for Spectranetics, Orthofix International, and CardioKinetix. Fluent in Spanish, English and French, Sainz received her Master of International Management from The American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Ariz.

“Maria has a tremendous amount of medical device industry experience,” said Kimble Jenkins, CEO of MRI Interventions. “She has led high growth, venture-backed companies as well as divisions within large corporations. With her demonstrated leadership success and operating experience, Maria’s perspective will be a valuable addition to our Board, and we are extremely pleased to have her as a director.”

“MRI Interventions is a unique and exciting company,” said Sainz. “The company’s ClearPoint neuro and ClearTrace cardiac technologies are well-positioned to bring about major change in the way the healthcare system treats patients suffering from certain neurological and cardiac diseases. I am excited to be a part of this effort, and I look forward to using my knowledge and past experience to help the company in its continued growth and leadership in this important new field of medicine.”

MRI Interventions makes platforms for minimally invasive surgical procedures in the brain and heart.