At COO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top Boston based COO’ operating in the Medical space. If you think a COO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected].
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Steven Ertel
Chief Operating Officer of Acceleron Pharma
Mr. Ertel joined Acceleron in January 2006 as a Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Ertel established Acceleron’s business development function and currently leads business development, commercial strategy and program management functions. Mr. Ertel has over 20 years of experience in the biotechnology industry at Vivus, Inc., Genentech, Inc., Biogen Idec, Inc., and Synta. His responsibilities at these companies included program management for preclinical and clinical stage programs, commercial strategy for clinical stage programs, market launch of a novel biologic agent, and business development. Mr. Ertel began his career in the venture capital industry at Oxford Bioscience Partners. Mr. Ertel received a BSE in biomedical engineering from Duke University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
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About Acceleron Pharma: Acceleron is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in developing, manufacturing and commercializing novel biotherapeutics.
Paul LaViolette
Managing Partner, Chief Operating Officer of SV Health Investors
Paul brings over 33 years of global medical technology management experience. Paul was most recently Chief Operating Officer at Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC), an $8 billion medical device leader. During his 15 years at BSC, he served as COO, Group President, President-Cardiology and President-International as the company grew revenues over 20 times. Paul integrated two dozen acquisitions and led extensive product development, operations and worldwide commercial organizations. Paul previously held marketing and general management positions at CR Bard, and various marketing roles at Kendall (Covidien). He served on the boards of Urologix, Percutaneous Valve Technologies and Advamed and currently serves on the boards of *Baxano Surgical, *Cardiofocus, CardioKinetix, Coridea NC2, CSA Medical, *DC Devices, *Direct Flow Medical, Thoratec, *TransEnterix, ValenTx and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA). Paul received his BA in Psychology from Fairfield University and his MBA from Boston College.
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About CardioFocus, Medtech Convergence Fund, SV Health Investors: SV Health Investors is a Boston-based venture capital firm focused on investments in biotechnology and healthcare industry.
George Hillman
COO, VP & Co-Founder of Viracta Therapeutics
George Hillman is the Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer, and Vice President of Viracta Therapeutics.
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About Viracta Therapeutics: Viracta Therapeutics is a precision oncology company focused on new treatment of virus-associated malignancies.
Jon Adkins
COO and Co-founder of XenoTherapeutics
Jon Adkins, M.B.A., is COO and Co-founder of XenoTherapeutics Corporation.3 Jon graduated from the University of Florida and completed his Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Healthcare Management from Southern New Hampshire University. Jon has spent more than 15 years in medical device sales, management, marketing, and consulting. He’s worked with top corporations, including Zimmer Biomet, DePuy Synthes, and Smith & Nephew. In these roles, he supervised simultaneous lines of business involving implantable medical devices and biologics, including those used in orthopedic joint reconstruction and spine and trauma surgeries. Jon combines his expertise in business development with industry experience to focus on implementing the strategic and operational directives of XenoTherapeutics.
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About XenoTherapeutics: XenoTherapeutics is a clinical-stage cell and gene therapy company engineering immune-compatible cells, tissues, and organs.
Jonathan Lanfear
Chief Operating Officer of HiberCell
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About HiberCell: HiberCell is a biotechnology company developing treatments to prevent cancer relapse and metastasis.
Doug Teany
Chief Operating Officer of Corindus
Doug is a forward-thinking medical device executive with a 20+-year track record of driving operational excellence for research and product development organizations. He has contributed millions to top- and bottom-line growth of companies through operational improvement and implementation of emerging and disruptive technologies. Since joining Corindus in 2016, Doug has transformed the organization into a fast-growing, healthcare robotics company aimed at disrupting the current care model for stroke and heart attack. He has positioned Corindus as the global leader in vascular robotics through development of a second-generation robotic system and advanced capabilities in procedural automation and telerobotics. Under Doug’s leadership in 2018, Corindus completed the world’s first-in-human remote robotic interventional heart procedure. That was followed by the first in-human robotic neurovascular intervention in 2019. Prior to joining Corindus, Doug served as Vice President in Boston Scientific’s development organization, responsible for strategy and operations of its global clinical and preclinical research functions. He played a key role in returning BSC to profitability and growth by accelerating pivotal cardiovascular development programs and improving multiple large-scale laboratory and research facilities. Doug holds a Master of Science and Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and served as an Engineer in the United States Army Reserves.
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About Corindus, Method AI: Corindus develops and commercializes remote robotic systems for interventional procedures.
Kate Blanchard
Chief Operating Officer / Founder of ORIG3N
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About ORIG3N: ORIG3N is a biotechnology company developing breakthrough treatments for rare genetically inherited diseases.
Kamran Tavangar
Chief Operating Officer of Affinivax
Kamran Tavangar has over 20 years of experience in pharmaceuticals and vaccines. Prior to joining Affinivax, Dr. Tavangar was Vice President of Strategic Product Development at Visterra. Dr. Tavangar previously served in various operational and strategic positions with Novartis for 19 years. Most recently he was the Global Head of Strategic Planning at Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, subsequent to being Head of Strategic Global Marketing at Novartis Vaccines. Previously, Dr. Tavangar was the Business Unit Head for Novartis Oncology in Australia. He also served as VP Finance for Novartis Pharmaceuticals USA, as well as Head of Investor Relations for Novartis Corporation USA. Dr. Tavangar received his AB in Molecular Biology from UC Berkeley, PhD in Physiology from Stanford University, and MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
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About Affinivax, Visterra: Affinivax is a biopharmaceutical company developing vaccines used to enhance the depth of protection against infectious diseases.
Khushboo Jain
Founder & COO of Impact Guru
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About Impact Guru: We’re a Harvard incubated crowdfunding platform for nonprofits, social enterprises, startups and individuals.
Nathan Dowden
Chief Operating Officer of Entrada Therapeutics
Nathan Dowden is the Chief Operating Officer at Entrada Therapeutics.
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About Entrada Therapeutics: Entrada Therapeutics is a developer of novel therapeutics intended to treat devastating diseases.
Christopher G. Lafarge
COO of MedicaMetrix
A.B., Biology, Harvard College; MBA, Yale University; MFS, Yale University. Mr. LaFarge has been the Founder/CEO of companies in several industries including forest products, oil and gas, and healthcare. He has successfully created, developed and brought to market a number of new products. He grew his last company to a $50M pre-money valuation before selling it to a fortune 500 company. Mr. LaFarge spent 4 years at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Hospital doing biomedical research.
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About MedicaMetrix: Advancing Prostate Disease Management
Jason Heuring
Chief Operating Officer of Procyrion
Experienced venture-backed founder of three start-ups; McKinsey & Co. consultant with CV OR and cath-lab focused engagements; Ph.D. from Oxford University in Sensors, Sensor Fusion, Control Systems, and Artificial Vision.
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About Procyrion: Procyrion develops technology solutions and offers a catheter-based circulatory support technologies.
Chris Renfro-Wallace
Chief Operating Officer of PatientsLikeMe
Chris Renfro-Wallace is the COO at PatientsLikeMe.
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About PatientsLikeMe: PatientsLikeMe is a personalized health network of an integrated community, health management, and real-world data platform.
Karen Brennan
Chief Operating Officer of Checkmate Pharmaceuticals
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About Checkmate Pharmaceuticals: Checkmate Pharma is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new approach for cancer immunotherapy.
Grayson Allen
CFO/COO & Co-Founder of RevBio
Grayson oversees the financial planning and reporting function as Interim CFO at Maxwell Health, and is also involved in strategic and tactical matters related to Maxwell’s continued growth. Previously, Grayson served as the CFO of a venture-backed technology company where he led a team which oversaw all financial planning and reporting, accounting, information technology, and human resources functions at the company. He played a key role in raising more than $60 million in venture capital and implemented the infrastructure necessary for rapid growth. Grayson also served as CFO for a private equity owned company engaged in the design and manufacture of bridge cranes, gantry cranes, and other custom industrial material handling solutions. While there, Grayson played an instrumental role in executing a turnaround strategy which included reducing past due receivables by 71%, managing cash flow during a period of tight liquidity, renegotiating contract terms with customers and suppliers, and assisting in the recapitalization of the ownership structure. Previously, as a Principal at the $500 million private equity arm of a leading commercial bank holding company, he was a member of the team which structured and oversaw a portfolio consisting of private equity, venture capital, and fund-of-funds investments. Grayson started his career as a commercial loan underwriter. Grayson received his B.A. in History (high honors) from Dartmouth College and his M.B.A. from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Outside of work, Grayson enjoys being outdoors and active as much as possible, and likes sailing in the summer, hiking in the fall, and running throughout the year. For many years he has collected Asian art and artifacts and has been actively collecting Japanese woodblock prints since he was 12 years old. Both Grayson and his wife Lorraine enjoy cooking together and are always interested in trying out new recipes when they have the chance.
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About RevBio: RevBio was started with one goal in mind—to end medicine’s 50-year search for a biocompatible bone adhesive.
Claus Botzler
President, Chief Operating Officer of numares HEALTH
Dr. Botzler leads International Sales at numares AG. He is also head of the Numares Group Corporation in Boston and responsible for the worldwide distribution of numares products.
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About numares HEALTH: numares is a fast-growing innovative diagnostics company that develops and markets software-based test systems.
Robert Rioux
CTO & COO of Innoblative Designs
Robert Rioux is Chief Technology Officer at Innoblative Designs.
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About Innoblative Designs: Innoblative is a medical device company whose mission is to develop innovative advanced energy medical devices.
Evan Butler
COO & Co-Founder of Etiometry
Evan Butler is the COO and Co-Founder at Etiometry.
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About Etiometry: Etiometry is a provider of next-generation patient monitoring software and advanced analytics for hospital ICUs.
Hossein Maleknia
Chief Operating Officer of Magellan Diagnostics
Hossein joined Magellan in January 2012, as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to taking on this role, he worked for ThermoFisher/Dionex and ESA Biosciences as General Manager and Director of Engineering, and as Vice President of Operations, from April 2007 through December 2011. Earlier in his career, Hossein was the Director of Operations at Instrumentation Laboratory for 14 years, where he headed all instrument and sensor manufacturing operations, and led the consolidation of three International and US sites to Lexington, Massachusetts. He was also the Group Manager of Baxter MicroScan in Sacramento, California. Hossein earned his BS and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
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About Magellan Diagnostics: Magellan Biosciences is provider of point-of-care analyzers and automated systems for hospital-based labs and near-patient testing.
Joseph G Murphy
Chief Operating Officer of Coverys
Joseph Murphy joined Coverys as the chief operating officer in 2015. In this role, he also oversees the underwriting, marketing and distribution, risk management, Coverys Education, claims departments, and Coverys Insurance Services. He plays a pivotal role in the execution of Coverys’ long-term strategic plan. Prior to joining Coverys, Murphy served as the Commissioner of Insurance for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 2009 to 2014. In this previous role, Murphy oversaw the implementation of both state and national health reform as well as reforming the Massachusetts private passenger automobile marketplace. He was an active member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and served as chair of the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission, and as a member of the Executive Committee, Property and Casualty Insurance Committee, Reinsurance Task Force, Surplus Lines Task Force and Workers’ Compensation Task Force as well as a number of other committees and task forces.
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About Coverys: Coverys is a provider of medical professional liability insurance for physicians, hospitals, dentists and advanced practice providers.
Angelika Fretzen
Technology Translation Director and COO of Wyss Institute
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About Wyss Institute: Wyss is a research institute developing biologically inspired materials and devices to solve critical medical and environmental problems.
Gary Gilbert
Co-Founder, COO of Little Sparrows Tech
Gary Gilbert grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico, the son of a physicist. He recalls his father estimating how many trees are on the earth during a walk in the woods. Gilbert graduated from La Sierra University with a bachelors degree in biophysics, with honors, before studying medicine at Loma Linda University. He worked for six months in Zambia, Africa, prior to advanced training. He completed an internal medicine residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center and a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Tufts-New England Medical Center. His appointments are at the VA Boston Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and he is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. The research in his laboratory has focused on cell membranes and blood coagulation. He married Donna Brezinski in 2009. He has three sons, two step-sons, and hobbies that include landscape design, running, and mountaineering.
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About Little Sparrows Tech: A lightweight, portable, power-adaptable device for treating infant jaundice.
Gary Gilbert
Co-Founder, COO of Little Sparrows Tech
Gary Gilbert grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico, the son of a physicist. He recalls his father estimating how many trees are on the earth during a walk in the woods. Gilbert graduated from La Sierra University with a bachelors degree in biophysics, with honors, before studying medicine at Loma Linda University. He worked for six months in Zambia, Africa, prior to advanced training. He completed an internal medicine residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center and a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Tufts-New England Medical Center. His appointments are at the VA Boston Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and he is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. The research in his laboratory has focused on cell membranes and blood coagulation. He married Donna Brezinski in 2009. He has three sons, two step-sons, and hobbies that include landscape design, running, and mountaineering.
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About Little Sparrows Tech: A lightweight, portable, power-adaptable device for treating infant jaundice.