Titan Medical Inc., a medical device company focused on the design and development of robotic surgical technologies for single access surgery, announced the election of Paul Cataford, Anthony J. Giovinazzo, and Cary G. Vance to its Board of Directors. All three individuals were nominated by the Board and were approved by shareholders voting at the company’s Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders (AGM). Subsequent to the AGM, the board held a meeting and the following elections to board committees were made:
 

• Audit Committee: Chair, Paul Cataford; members – Anthony Giovinazzo, Cary Vance. All three members are independent and audit committee financial experts
• Compensation Committee: Chair, Cary Vance; members – Paul Cataford, Anthony Giovinazzo.
• Governance and Nominating Committee: Chair, Anthony Giovinazzo; members – Cary Vance, Paul Cataford. 

 
In addition, the Board elected Paul Cataford as Lead Independent Director for a one-year term.
 
The new directors join President, CEO, and Board Chairman David McNally, and Director Stephen Randall, who recently retired from the company as chief financial officer after serving the company for more than 10 years. The board now consists of a majority of independent corporate directors.
 
“We strategically sought this strong team, with its significant experience leading young companies with innovative technologies through highly regulated environments to commercialization,” said McNally. “We’ve had a very productive first meeting, designating committee chairmanships for governance, reporting and communication, and compensation. This active board is already undertaking the initiative to develop and execute a comprehensive investor communications strategy based on the best practices of similar development stage companies.”
 
Cataford is the CEO and co-founder of Zephyr Sleep Technologies Inc., a medical device company specializing in the treatment and diagnoses of sleep-disordered breathing. He brings significant technology transfer and early stage company experience to Titan Medical’s board and has served as independent corporate director on a number of public boards of directors at companies listed on the TSX, Nasdaq and TSXV including: Sierra Wireless Inc., Trakopolis IoT Corp., SemiBioSys Genetics Inc., and AGJunction Inc. Cataford earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Queen’s University, an MBA specializing in finance from Schulich School of Business at York University, and is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors - Directors College, Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto.
 
Giovinazzo is a director and Governance/Nominating Committee chair on Titan Medical’s board of directors. As such, he will drive continuous improvement of the company’s governance practices, and has already overseen the appointment of qualified independent committee chairs and a lead independent director. Giovinazzo is a director and executive chairman on the board of Sublimity Therapeutics, a private late clinical stage biopharmaceutical company addressing gastrointestinal and autoimmune diseases. He is a co-inventor of the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drug Kynmobi, developed by Cynapsus Therapeutics Inc., where Giovinazzo was also CEO and a director until Cynapsus was acquired in an all-cash transaction with Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. for CAD $841 million. In 2017, Giovinazzo was chosen as the inaugural recipient of the Bloom Burton Award. Giovinazzo has a Chartered Director (C.Dir.) and Audit Committee Certification (ACC) from The Directors College and the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics and accounting from McMaster University and an MBA from IMD Geneva, Switzerland.
 
Vance is a director and the company’s Compensation Committee chair and will lead and update the company’s compensation policies and philosophies. Vance serves on the AdvaMed Accel Board of Directors and is currently principal, Vance Consulting Group LLC., and was most recently president and CEO at OptiScan Biomedical Corporation. He previously served as president and CEO at Myoscience Incorporated, and president and CEO of Hansen Medical Inc. Prior to Hansen, Vance served in various global executive leadership roles at Teleflex, Covidien, and GE Healthcare. Vance is Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt certified, and earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics and an MBA from Marquette University.