Orchid Design Kicks Off Year with Key Hires

Orchid Design in Holt, Mich, a provider of orthopedic product design, development and regulatory services, has hired two new executives.

The company has added Kyle Mullens as business development manager and Chris Scifert, Ph.D. as engineering manager, of the companies design center in Memphis, Tenn. The move ispart of a recent initiative to expand sales and support of the company’s customer’s product development initiatives.
 
Mullens’ experience and previous roles include director of Business Development at Secant Medical, a technology company with expertise in biomedical textiles and product manager at K2M Inc., a spinal device company, where he led product commercialization efforts for a portfolio of minimally invasive spinal implants and instruments.  Prior to K2M, Mullens, who holds a B.S. in Plastics Engineering from Ferris State University in Michigan, executed business development and growth strategies for A.Schulman, Inc., an engineered polymer resin manufacturer.  Leveraging his business growth and device experience, his role at Orchid Design will be focused on expanding the company’s sales in the orthopedic market. 
 
Prior to joining Orchid Design, Scifert served as senior manager of Product Development at Medtronic Spinal and Biologics where he executed engineering projects and group management responsibilities for intradiscal and extradiscal dynamic stabilization systems and semi-rigid tumor/trauma technologies as well as becoming a certified Lean Sigma Green Belt for supporting the continuing improvement efforts at Medtronic. Scifert’s additional experience includes managing engineering projects as a senior engineer and project manager at Smith & Nephew focusing on early intervention knee and shoulder systems. He received his B.S. in Engineering Sciences and Mechanics at the University of Tennessee and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Iowa with his Doctoral Dissertation titled “A Finite Element Investigation into the Biomechanics of Total Artificial Hip Dislocation.”
 
Steve Maguire, general manager of Orchid Design, said the expansion of the company’s management team talent was carefully timed.

“Our customers are continually looking to find strategic partners to support their growth and cost containment initiatives. Kyle and Chris will provide enhanced strategic thinking and experience to help Orchid Design better serve our customers,” Maguire said.

Orchid Design, a division of Orchid Orthopedic Solutions, also has a design center in Shelton, Conn.