Bernie Haffey started his career as a high school physics teacher, then decided to go to business school. He remained interested in science and technology though, so he started working in the medtech industry at Hewlett-Packard’s Medical Products Group before transferring to Mentor Corp. After rising in the ranks at Mentor, Bernie then joined Summit Technology, where he was first exposed to the concept of high-performance management systems. He learned about the importance of a clear vision...

Now a seasoned medtech entrepreneur and leader, Amar Sawhney first became interested in the industry starting in graduate school. He was studying chemical engineering and developing biodegradable polymers for adhesion prevention and hydrogels for light-activated polymerization within the body. He and his advisor were then approached by Mayfield Fund to spin out the technology into the startup Focal. Amar was fortunate to learn a lot from then CEO Mark Levin, including some hard lessons that...

Navigating the ever-changing sea of medtech reimbursement is never easy, particularly with the recent swings in policies pertaining to breakthrough devices. As part of the continued Medtech Talk Digital Discussion Series, host Geoff Pardo moderates a panel interview with three medtech reimbursement experts to look at strategies for obtaining reimbursement coding, coverage, and payment: Mary Hailey, CCM, CDMS, Vice President Health Economics and Reimbursement, Relievant Medsystems, Inc.;...

There’s nothing like those pivotal moments of a startup that lead to it becoming wildly successful. The excitement as the company’s first product begins to earn market share and attention from additional investors or acquirers. This month’s podcast guest Joe Mandato has been in that situation with several successful startups turned corporations, including Guidant Corporation, Origin Medical Systems (predecessor of Intuitive Surgical), and Align Technology (maker of InvisAlign), as well as...

Like many entrepreneurs, Christian Gormsen admits he didn’t start his career with a passion for his current field. Instead, he backed into the hearing industry from his work in investment banking and consulting, and eventually wound up working at the world's 4th largest hearing aid company. Christian realized just how stigmatized hearing aids are and became determined to address this. In 2012, he was first connected to Eargo while doing advisory work. Unlike other traditional hearing aids,...

After passing out from extremely painful complex ovarian cists at age 13, Surbhi Sarna became all too familiar with the challenges and lack of adequate solutions for women’s health. Benefiting from intelligent and entrepreneurial parents, she became so determined to start a company to tackle women’s health issues someday that she wrote it in her college application personal statement. After graduating from UC Berkely, she went to Abbott Vascular to work on some of their most innovative...

Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a successful year for medtech. The industry reaped the fruits of over a decade of concerted effort to reduce regulatory hurdles, work better with hospitals and diagnostic companies, and increase innovation. As part of the continued Medtech Talk Digital Discussion Series, host Geoff Pardo teams up with Justin Klein to co-moderate a panel interview with three medtech investment experts to recap 2020 and look to strategies for 2021: Scott Whitaker, President and...

Inari Medical is a 2020 success story. The company was one of the first medtech companies to IPO during the pandemic. As part of the new Medtech Talk Digital Discussion Series, host Geoff Pardo had a chance to conduct a panel interview with four members of the Inari management team: Bill Hoffman, CEO; Drew Hykes, CCO; Thomas Tu, MD, CMO; and Tara Dunn, Vice President of Clinical Affairs and Market Development. The team discussed their unique culture, strong mission, early success, sales...

After an ill family member introduced Justin Barad to the world of healthcare, he decided to earn a bioengineering degree, then an MD, and eventually specialized in pediatric orthopaedics. However, Justin later opted to combine his surgical skills with his passion for software and gaming to take on a new challenge: the training of surgeons. He decided to switch from academic medicine and start Osso VR in 2016, and now the company has grown to over 60 employees serving 20 countries with over...

After 20+ years as an academic physician, Karen Noblett was presented with a new opportunity: join Axonics as the company’s CMO. Originally, she was concerned about what her peers would think, as she had established a reputation of being ethically involved with industry and did not want to compromise that.

Jon Bloom admits that his path to becoming a CEO was anything but linear. Originally a percussionist, Jon then found a calling for medicine and became a board-certified physician before pivoting once more to entrepreneurship. Now holding the reigns at Podimetrics, a company developing an early warning system for diabetic foot ulcers, Jon shares not only his unique career progression, but the story of how a hackathon led to the company’s inception, when to commercialize a new technology, tips...

From senior leadership positions at GE Healthcare and Medtronic to board chairman at MDIC and AdvaMed, Nadim is a seasoned medtech executive who is passionate about the industry. Now at the helm of CVRx, a company developing a pioneering technology for treating high blood pressure and heart failure, Nadim shares his experience navigating the FDA’s first Breakthrough Device Designation, working with CMS on reimbursement coding, and building CVRx’s strong leadership team

Katie Szyman is an accomplished global operating executive in the medical device industry with a passion for building high performing teams and helping innovative healthcare companies grow so patients can gain access to better therapies and outcomes. Here she shares how Edwards, critical care, and the medtech industry is adapting to COVID19, her leadership role models, and tips for expanding diversity on leadership teams and executive boards.

Mike Huggins is a leader in the medtech world whose journey from Synthes, USA COO to an indictment and prison sentence has run parallel to his discovery of yoga, mindfulness, and meditation, weaving together these experiences that have developed his passion for ethical leadership, corporate responsibility, prison reform, and the practices that have helped him along the way.

As an English Major at Princeton, Liz Rockett could not have imagined how her VC career would take off and the places it would take her. She shares her candid career journey, from taking risks, asking questions, and using her voice to empower gender equality in the field.

Butterfly Network CEO Laurent Faracci shares his experience leading a company through the Coronavirus outbreak, while producing lifesaving technology to battle the crisis.

Joe Army’s career journey through the medtech industry has been anything but easy, but he does not back down from a challenge, and he’s sharing the greatest lessons that have helped him pave his own way.

Medtech Talk welcomes its new host, Geoff Pardo! Geoff is a dynamic partner at Gilde Healthcare who uses his passion for medtech to share stories from industry leaders.  

In this interview, Murthy Simhambhatla, president and CEO of SetPoint Medical, explains why he moved into the Medtech industry and how that path has positioned him to lead SetPoint Medical, one of the industry’s most promising start-ups.

NeuroPace CEO Mike Favet Discusses History, Reveals Where He’d like to Lead the Neurostim Pioneer

In this interview, Frank Fischer and Martha Morrell, MD, recount the long history of NeuroPace, one of Medtech’s neurostimulation pioneers.

Ajax Health Founder Duke Rohlen discusses the importance of a name, and the power of stair stepping in your career.

Kim Rodriguez expected to follow her mom’s career in medicine. But she got bit by the Medtech Bug early and enjoyed a string of sales success at companies of nearly every size including Cocentric, Spectranetics, and Guidant.

Justin Klein and Kirk Nielsen entered venture capital separately 13 years ago, taking roles at two of the top firms in Medtech.