Founder and Principal, JTB Consulting (Co-founder)

Jennifer Tipa Beedon has 15 years of operational experience in the medical device industry, guiding companies as they evaluate, prioritize and commercialize opportunities for growth.  Before starting her own firm, Jennifer managed the identification, recommendation and execution of several key business alliances for Guidant’s Vascular Intervention Division, including the strategic alliance with Johnson & Johnson to copromote the CYPHER sirolimus-eluting stent.  Prior to earning her MBA, Jennifer spent 5 years working in operations at 3M Company.  She brings cross-disciplinary experience in product development, manufacturing, business development and marketing, and has held both domestic and international management positions.  Jennifer holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Principal, Nicole Osmer Healthcare Communications (Co-founder)

Based in Menlo Park, California, Nicole Osmer is a public relations expert specializing in med-tech communications. Prior to starting her own health care public relations practice, Nicole managed external communications for Guidant’s stent and cardiac surgery divisions for several years, playing a central role in numerous major announcements. Nicole’s clients include Abbott Vascular, Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics, Autonomic Technologies, CardioKinetix, CardioDx, HeartFlow, Intersect ENT, Tryton Medical, and Nevro Corp. She holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Director, Global Opportunity & Partner Development, Abbott Nutrition (Co-founder)

Virginia Giddings heads Global Partner Development at Abbott Nutrition. She is responsible for developing global partnerships to accelerate nutrition innovation. Her experience spans over 20 years in developing healthcare solutions, including in pharma and medical device. Previously at Abbott, her roles included leading ABSORB bioabsorbable scaffold and XIENCE development. Prior to Abbott, she had roles in IP strategy with J&J Pharma and Advanced Stent Technologies, as well as technical consulting with Exponent. She is a registered patent agent and earned a BS and an M Eng in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell and a PhD in Biomechanical Engineering with a focus in Ortho from Stanford.

Vice President of Marketing, Intersect ENT

Ms. Stimson has wide-ranging expertise in the medical device business in both large and start-up companies. She currently runs Marketing & Customer Service for Intersect ENT and has played a key role in building the company from its early stage to a commercial business.  Prior to that, she served as Director of Marketing & Clinical Research for start-up heart valve company Mitralign. In her many years at Guidant, Ms. Stimson impacted top-priority products from the aspects of marketing, sales and R&D, effectively leading teams to design best-in-class products and launching them successfully in worldwide markets.  Ms. Stimson holds a BS in biomedical engineering from Marquette University.

Founder & Principal, Advisorthopædics

Nancy is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.  She received her surgical training at the Mayo Clinic and the Indiana Hand Center. After entering practice, she continued her studies at the AO Foundation in Switzerland. Subsequently she earned her MBA at Duke University and then worked in the venture capital industry in Silicon Valley. Nancy’s firm Advisorthopædics, focused exclusively on the orthopedics space, consults to start-ups, investors and research organizations. She is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand’s Commercial Support Committee and Innovation Park at Notre Dame’s Private Sector Advisory Council.

Director, Program and Business Development, Stanford Graduate School of Business

Clara Dye currently manages custom Executive Education at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, partnering with global corporations and faculty in multi-million dollar efforts to educate executives.  Prior to Stanford, she spent seven years in the medical device industry in various Marketing and Finance roles at Guidant and Boston Scientific.  At Boston Scientific, she defined new growth opportunities, identified potential new product lines, and device drivers of choice.  Clara was the product manager for the XIENCE drug-eluting stent in its early development.  Prior to earning her MBA, she was an engineer at P & G.  Clara holds an MBA from HBS and a BS & MS in Mech Engineering from MIT.

Consultant, SightLine Partners

Kathryn Cavanaugh is an investor with SightLine Partners, a secondary fund focused on medical technology.  She serves as an advisor to high growth start-ups, including C2 Therapeutics, Immunetech, CleverCap, Navigating Cancer, and iCreate.  From 2005-2010, Kathryn worked for De Novo Ventures, a top quartile $650M healthcare fund. She sourced, evaluated and executed equity investments in early to late stage companies in medical devices, diagnostics, and drug delivery.  From 1997-2003, Kathryn worked for Merck & Co., Inc. in the US, Europe and Asia.  Kathryn holds degrees in Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A from Harvard Business School.

Partner, Essex Woodlands

Tamara Elias, MD is a Partner at Essex Woodlands, a health care-only growth equity firm with $2.5B under management, joining the NY office in 2007. Dr. Elias serves on the Boards of Millennium Pharmacy Systems, a technology based long term care pharmacy, BreatheAmerica which oversees outpatient clinics focused on the management of chronic airway diseases, as well as Medseek, the leading provider of online strategic patient engagement solutions for hospitals. Previously, she spent 6 years at McKinsey as a senior engagement manager and was a general surgery resident at MGH after receiving her MD at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Elias is also a Kauffman Venture Fellow.

Senior Director of Managed Care and Product Marketing, CardioDx

Natalie Shlafman is senior director of managed care and product marketing at CardioDx, a cardiovascular genomic diagnostics company in Palo Alto, California. Prior to joining CardioDx, Natalie was in the Vascular Intervention Division of Guidant Corporation, where she worked in market development within the New Ventures unit and in product marketing within the Angioplasty Systems group. Natalie received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Prior to her MBA, Natalie worked in the high-tech industry and held product marketing roles at LogicTier and at SGI. Natalie received her BA in psychology with a business specialization from UCLA.

Senior Director, Marketing, Edwards LifeSciences

Amanda DePalma is senior director of marketing for the Glucose Program at Edwards Lifesciences in Irvine, California, where her responsibilities include strategic planning, new product development and global commercialization. She has been in medical device marketing and sales for more than 15 years, working at leading companies such as Guidant Corporation, Abbott Vascular and Kimberly-Clark Healthcare. Amanda is passionate about delivering clinical solutions to improve the lives of patients and clinicians. She also spends her time mentoring young professionals and serves on the board of directors for the Metro Atlanta chapter of the March of Dimes. In 2010, Amanda received the Kimberly-Clark Compass Award recognizing her focus on diversity and talent development. Amanda has an MBA from the University of Florida Warrington College of Business and spends her free time with her husband and 2 young sons.

Intellectual Property Consultant, Hudak Consulting Group LLC

Jessica, a registered Patent Agent, works with medical device start-up companies. She develops for them a significant IP portfolio that increases valuations and locks in their long-term success. Prior to founding Hudak Consulting Group LLC, Jessica served as Sr. IP Manager for Baxano and a Patent Agent at ShayGlenn. Jessica was a Biodesign Fellow in 2006 and currently serves as President of The Biodesign Alumni Association. Jessica earned an MS in biomechanical engineering from Stanford University and a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan (magna cum laude). As an engineer, Jessica worked for IDEO Health Practice, Ethicon Endo-Surgery and Stryker Instruments.

Clinical and Technical Marketing Consultant

Leslie is a clinical and technical marketing consultant, working with early-stage med-tech companies ranging from peripheral vascular disease to personal health management. Previously, she spent 3 years as a Senior Marketing Manager for Voyage Medical, where she played a key role in the development of a novel cardiac ablation therapy and the execution of a clinical feasibility trial. In 2005, Leslie began working with Boston Scientific, where she held both R&D and product management roles. She earned a BS in mechanical engineering from Penn State University and an MS in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, where she conducted NSF-funded research in cardiovascular mechanics.

Manager, Strategy and Business Development, Covidien

Azadeh Nasibi is a Manager of Strategy and Business Development at Covidien Vascular Therapies’ Neurovascular division. Her responsibilities include market opportunity analysis, deal evaluation and due diligence, and strategic planning for the Neurovascular business in Irvine, California. Prior to joining Covidien, Azadeh was a Manager in Deloitte Consulting’s Life Sciences practice, specializing in strategy and operations consulting for biotech and medtech clients. She holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. Prior to her MBA, Azadeh worked in the high-tech industry as an IT consultant and software engineer. She holds a BS in information and computer science from UC Irvine.

Director of Business Development, Oxford Finance

Debbie has 30+ years of financial experience in the healthcare industry and is responsible for originating financings for life sciences companies in western North America. Before joining Oxford, Debbie was executive VP for Capital Advisors Group, providing investment management services to life sciences and medical device companies. She has held positions as business development director for Questpoint, treasurer for MFS Intelenet, assistant treasurer at ASK Computer Systems, VP of Corporate Finance & Debt for Sierra Capital Companies and treasurer for Consolidated Capital. Debbie received her BA in speech communications and an MBA from University of Denver.

Director, Oxford Finance LLC

Killu Sanborn, PhD, is Director of Business Development at Oxford Finance LLC. Dr. Sanborn has over 20 years of experience as a venture debt and equity investor, banker, executive, entrepreneur and scientist. Her previous positions include managing director at Hercules Technology Growth Capital, senior vice president of Comerica Bank, principal/fund manager at IngleWood Ventures, director of Technology Commercialization at Stratagene and vice president of Business Development at PhenoGenex. Over the years, Dr. Sanborn has also advised entrepreneurial boards and management teams on operational, financial and strategic matters.

Senior Director of Marketing, diaDexus

At diaDexus, Laura heads up marketing for this company dedicated to saving lives by uncovering hidden risk for CVD events.  Prior to this, she was the vice president of marketing for Sequenta, a start-up focused on leveraging next gen sequencing for oncology diagnostics.  She served as the executive director of marketing for Genoptix—A Novartis Co., which specializes in the diagnoses of blood cancers.  She also has held various marketing positions for Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Guidant Corp. (now Abbott Vascular and Boston Scientific).  She earned her BA from UC Santa Cruz and her MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Director of R&D, Abbott Vascular

Bridget Hurley is currently the R&D director for Abbott Vascular Structural Heart based in Menlo Park. Bridget has over 13 years of medical device experience, both in product development and clinical trial management. Bridget joined the vascular intervention division of Guidant Corporation in 1998 and played an integral role in the design and development of the XIENCE V drug-eluting stent program. In 2006, Bridget transferred to Brussels, Belgium with Abbott Vascular, and as the director for EMEA Clinical Operations supported the international clinical trials for coronary and endovascular applications. Bridget holds a BS in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and an MS in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Executive Assistant, Aptus Endosystems, Inc.

Jacqué is an Executive Assistant, Independent Event Manager &  Personal Chef. Prior to Aptus, she spent 4 years at FlowCardia/BPV, 5 years at Kyphon, and 2 years at Arthrocare, where her various roles included Executive Assistant, Sales Support Supervisor, & CSR. Through these varied roles a passion developed for Event Planning & Management of all meeting types, domestically and internationally: industry tradeshows, board meetings, sales meetings, incentive trips, physician advisory board, etc. Jacqué is multi-lingual, holds a B.A. in French w/German minor from SJSU, a Culinary Arts Diploma from PCI, now FCI California, and is the recipient of the Bert Cutino Award for Culinary Excellence.

Principal, KMA & Company

Cassie Arnold is a writer, marketing consultant and corporate communications veteran. As principal of KMA & Company she helps clients meet their communications goals and specializes in life sciences, health care and financial topics. Her client work has included the development and execution of thought leadership projects, public relations programs, branding and key message development, writing, blogging, content curation, editorial programs, client and investor events and internal communications initiatives. Recently, she cofounded Mobile Health Market News, an online channel for the latest curated news on the therapeutic and diagnostic mobile health market.

Sr. Analyst, Life Science Strategy Group (LSSG)

Marianna Hecht has worked in the healthcare field for the past 5 years. At her current position as a Sr. Analyst at Life Science Strategy Group, she facilitates clients to achieve their goals involving opportunity assessments, competitive intelligence, scenario analysis, messaging strategy and corporate strategic planning. Prior to that she worked at Advanced Technology Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on healthcare, technology and clean tech investments. She has a BA in art history and biology from California State University Northridge and an MBA from Santa Clara University.