LATAM Medtech Leaders

Etienne Nichols is a Medical Device Guru and Mechanical Engineer who loves learning and teaching how systems work together. He has manufacturing and product development experience, even aiding in developing combination drug-delivery devices, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, and holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Etienne has managed cross-functional teams for updating legacy products as well as developing new medical devices. His expansive knowledge, experience, and passion for medical devices are evenly matched with how much he enjoys helping customers work efficiently through the design and development process to bring safe, high-quality products to market.

Ruben is the CEO of Alandra Medical. He has dual qualifications in engineering and technology entrepreneurship combined with 16 years of experience in medical device development. Self-motivation, adaptability, trainability, and entrepreneurial drive are his key tools for achieving personal and business goals. Ruben started his career developing hardware and software for medical devices, spending countless hours reading scientific papers, twitching circuits, refining algorithms, and preparing technical reports to deliver products right on time. In a nutshell, his experience as an engineer revolves around developing Class I and II active and sterile medical devices (bio-instrumentation and software); this includes defining design inputs and producing design outputs following state-of-the-art industry standards such as ISO 13485, ISO 14971, IEC 62304 and the IEC 60601 series.

Ernesto has 27 years of experience leading healthcare strategies to drive access and expansion for new products, developing value propositions for public and private stakeholders, and assessing global market opportunities for healthcare companies. He has worked for both government agencies and global healthcare companies in roles ranging from strategic marketing and new product development to health economics and reimbursement. Also, Ernesto led several Market Access projects across the US, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East; Ernesto is the CEO and Founder of ValueConnected.Ernesto also coordinates the ValueConnected team in applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science to address significant unmet needs in healthcare, accelerating the adoption rate of medical technologies that can generate value for patients, payers, and providers. He holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, US, and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Fundação Armando Ávares Penteado(FAAP), in São Paulo, Brazil.

Dr. Antonio Trujillo is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Health with expertise in health economics, the economics of aging, and applied econometrics. Antonio is the co-director of the Master of Health Science (MHS) in Global Health Economics degree program. He teaches an advanced econometrics course on program impact evaluation using observational data and a course on behavioral economics and public health.

Carlos Medina is a Medical Doctor who works with health technology professionals to help them make the best technology for patient care available across Latin America. Carlos has witnessed the many benefits and risks that come with applying technology to solve health problems and is dedicated to helping others follow the best practices available and avoid the missteps that can derail their health technology problems. He has had the privilege to work with local and international companies across most countries in Latin America, helping them to achieve multi-million sales results and establish lasting and efficient global-local collaborations. He is a Licensed Medical Doctor in Mexico City. He is working on finishing his Master's degree in Information Technology for Healthcare while leading the Medical Devices workgroup of the Mexican HealthTech Association.

Yoku Sashida is the CEO & Co-Founder at Kenko Solutions, a company dedicated to managing and developing biomedical projects based on technology. He is responsible for opening economic relationships, capturing technology-based projects, forming work teams to carry out technological development, and administrative and financial accounting. The first product of its own is ecglove, the wearable able to determine the state of the heart in less than 60 seconds.

Luis Santiago is PEGASI's CEO and CTO. By training, he is a social communicator and marketing and public relations professor. By profession, he is a self-taught programmer, technology project manager, and Product Owner, with more than 14 years of experience in the area. He has ventured into banking, IT, and Digital Health. Luis was recognized in 2016 as one of the Young Leaders of the Americas by the American State Department, and in 2020 as one of the 35 Innovators under 35 in Latin America by the MIT Technology Review magazine. He has participated in dozens of international forums and events pointing out the importance of Healthcare digitalization in Latin America.

Dave is the Co-Founder & Executive Chairman at MultiFunctional Imaging, a University of Utah startup company that provides software solutions for improving the efficiency and accessibility of multi-tracer imaging with PET, PET/CT, and PET/MRI scanners. Dolan's career has been built on successes centering around the commercialization and customer adoption of innovative MedTech products/services. Spanning from Fortune 500 corporations through startups, businesses have benefitted from his track record of success in turning medical device innovation into record growth, high market share, and attractive market valuations. He is a trusted business leader who draws upon an analytical and data-driven approach with KOLs, advising boards of directors, investors, C-level executives, and other stakeholders in identifying and capitalizing on opportunities to advance each organization's strategic vision.

Josh Cohn has 15 years of experience in the medical device field, rising to National Sales Director of PENTAX Medical, a major endoscope provider. He has a strong history of leading successful sales organizations, building winning strategies, and launching disruptive programs aimed at changing marketplace conventions. As product champion and strategist for all EUS sales, he has attended hundreds of procedures and has established relationships with key opinion leaders, hospital and ASC administrators, and device distributors. In his current role as CCO, Josh will be responsible for the pre-and post-commercialization Sales and Marketing strategy designed to ensure the integrated commercial success of the organization.

Mr. Bigio is a professor in the biomedical engineering department, responsible for the Senior Capstone Design project. Currently, he is also serving as the department head. He comes to the university after having spent 30 years of professional experience working for large multinationals in different parts of the world, including the development of high technology start-ups in Silicon Valley, commercialization of technology used in large infrastructure projects, and coordinating strategic projects for a multinational consortium. Mr. Bigio clearly understands current challenges and opportunities in the biomedical engineering field. He is very focused on improving the education and skills of graduates in order to provide companies with better employees. He has been working with the Biomedical engineering students during their senior capstone design project to address two important aspects of their education; help them improve on the ‘soft' skills that future employers expect from them, and also teach them about how to become entrepreneurs to give them employability alternatives and promote a much-needed activity in our country.

Widy is the Co-Founder and CEO of two technology companies with vast experience ranging from robotics, product design, fabrication, and automation to the electronic assembly of consumer products, food and beverage tech, biotech, medical devices, and pharmaceutical industries. Widy spent 40+ years living in Puerto Rico, and 20+ supporting pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies with a presence in multiple Latin American locations. He led an automation firm that exposed him to FDA regulations, manufacturing, and compliance during that time. Today, he leads a medical device company with a unique RPM product to capture biomarkers and allow those to be maintained in a safe digital format for exchange with healthcare professionals or as a personal health tracking system.

Mauricio A. Berdugo, MD, MPH, is currently the Director of Medical Affairs at Humacyte, Inc. Mauricio has worked in different capacities within the CRO, pharma, diagnostics, and biotech industries in the USA and globally, including Latin America, Europe, and Asia over the past 9 years.  His clinical and academic research stems from HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, renal disease, and orthopedic spine surgery. Mauricio graduated from medical school at the Universidad Evangelica de El Salvador, completed his Master of Public Health degree from Kaplan University, and he is currently pursuing a Fellowship with the American College of Healthcare Executives.

James has more than 25 years of medical device experience and is currently the CEO of Conformal Medical. Prior to joining Conformal, he led Saranas and private companies such as Drawbridge Health, and Aptus Endosystems as their President, CEO, and member of the board of directors. He held a similar role at the publicly traded medical laser company, Cutera from 2017 to 2019. He was part of the management team that led the turn-around at Cyberonics where he was the EVP & Chief Commercial Officer. James spent 17 years at Boston Scientific in various roles and functions including business development, marketing, and general management. Most of his career at Boston Scientific was spent working and living in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Additionally, Mr. Reinstein has served as a board director for several medical companies, including publicly traded Mainstay Medical in Dublin, Ireland, Pixium-Vision based in Paris, France, and Monteris Medical a privately held company located in Minnesota. James began his professional career with Proctor & Gamble after earning his Bachelor of Arts in Marketing (BA) degree from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia in Athens. He also completed graduate studies at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

Gabriel Alejandro Garza Caro is Co-founder & Managing Director at DocTour who works with international travelers and tourists to solve their health problems during their travel. With innovation in tech & processes, a completely new hybrid model has been created to attend to all travelers' medical needs. Gabriel believes that empowerment, teamwork, strategic planning, and communication are key fundamentals for startups to develop in order to establish early, the way to success in today's health tech environment. Gabriel is trained in Business Process Management and in Project and Portfolio Management as a Project Management Officer. For Gabriel, the most rewarding part of his role is the ability to innovate and think out of the box to solve everyday business and market challenges.Prior to working at DocTour, Gabriel began as a Business Process Consultant and Project Manager at CEMEX, where he collaborated to map, design, and create the new CEMEX's processes, system, and software and implement it in some European countries and in México. Gabriel holds a University Degree in International Commerce from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in México and a Master's Degree in Economics and Society and Master's Degree in Economics of Territorial Development from the Université Toulouse Capitole in France.

Tomás Iglesias is a medical doctor/master in hospital administration/Front-end developer. Tomás is the CEO of Zubia, LATAM's largest digital health marketplace a platform that connects digital health platforms with users that need their services. Currently in 25 countries with more than 400,000 visitors in 10 months from launch, and the co-founder and leader of HealthX, Mexico's largest health-tech community. Tomás is highly passionate about helping others and connecting health with technology. In 2020, created LATAM's most used COVID-19 suspected case self-assessment platform, reaching 194 countries, 24 million users, and generation 2,500 telemedicine consultations per day.

Dr. Ethan Russo and Nishi Whiteley have worked together for almost 10 years in efforts to:improve the scientific understanding of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and how the cannabis plant modulates itassist small and large cannabis companies in product formulationadvise companies on cannabis genetics enhancementsconsult on pre-clinical and clinical research design.“We share a vision of making cannabis better and safer believing in a future in which knowledge of the endocannabinoid system and its therapeutic modulation via the cannabis plant will result in superior highly individualized medicines, aids to wellness, enhanced lifestyles, and novel non-toxic industrial products”.Ethan Russo, MD, is a board-certified neurologist, psychopharmacology researcher, and author. He is the Founder and CEO of CannabisResearch.org. Previously, he was Director of Research and Development at the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute (ICCI) based in Prague, Czech Republic. Medical Director of PHYTECS (2015-2017), a biotechnology company researching and developing innovative approaches targeting the human endocannabinoid system, and from 2003-2014, he served as Senior Medical Advisor, medical monitor, and study physician to GW Pharmaceuticals, United Kingdom for numerous Phase I-III clinical trials of Sativex® for alleviation of cancer pain unresponsive to optimized opioid treatment and initial studies of Epidiolex® for intractable epilepsy.Nishi Whiteley (pronounced Nee-sha), is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at CReDO. She has twenty-five-plus years of international business development experience in cannabis, agriculture, wellness, green energy, and food industries. She has had leadership roles on projects in corporate America and for the US Foreign Ag Service in over 10 countries, in startups, a state agency, and non-profits; as well as worked for foreign governments and met with international leaders in Cuba, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic to open trade and advance development programs. She has worked on investment projects in 8 countries.

Thomas Gibson is the co-founder and chief executive officer at MedGlobal Group, a multisided marketplace for the medical industry. After spending 22 years as an executive for healthcare and hospital organizations, Thomas founded MedGlobal Group with his wife, Patricia, recognizing the need to use technology to help solve the challenges of making healthcare equipment, products, and services accessible to the world. Their international platforms combine technology and tools to help connect manufacturers and distributors with global buyers. Thomas and Patricia believe healthcare is more than a business, and we have a responsibility to ensure medical equipment and products are made available to all parts of the world. Our platforms provide sourcing opportunities for both new and used medical products, and we publish a fully-interactive digital magazine focused on the industry. Thomas holds dual BAs in Business Administration and Emergency Management. Thomas received the American Society of Healthcare Engineering Emerging Leader of the Year Award and is the past president of the Florida Healthcare Engineering Association. Thomas and Patricia also operate the Gibson Soto foundation, a nonprofit that helps young women rise from poverty through education.

Mona Oliveira is one of the creators and founders of the startup BIOLINKER, which in 2019 was awarded as one of the TOP 500 best startups in the world in the area of biotechnology for the project she coordinates. Double Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Nanotechnology from USP (Brazil) and IJS (Slovenia). During her academic career, she has accumulated awards and honors for performance and scientific excellence, publishing in annals and journals of international renown. Currently, he is Co-CEO of BIOLINKER acting in scientific operations and negotiations. After three years of foundation, BIOLINKER was approved for several accelerations and closed contracts with significant industries and institutes in Brazil and the world and had been achieving its goal of revolutionizing the way of making recombinant protein in the world.BIOLINKER is a solutions company for the synthesis and purification of recombinant proteins. You design the protein and we produce it for you in a fast, practical, and high-quality way. We operate in the pharmaceutical, food, and academic markets.

Nicholas Focil is the CEO at Fomat Medical Research, a network of research centers based in Oxnard, California. Nicholas graduated from California with a Biochemistry and MBA degree. During his undergrad days, he spent his extra time in a research lab working with a nominated noble laureate performing investigator-initiated studies, and publishing weekly articles for a spectrum of publications. Was then recruited by Medtronic MiniMed Diabetes division to do pre-pivotal trials. Thereafter, was recruited for the purpose of managing and expanding Diverse Research Solutions. He then spearheaded the spinoff and expansion of FOMAT Medical Research through both the U.S. and Latin America with current operations in the USA (California and Florida), Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru. With well over a decade of research experience, Nicholas, as the CEO of Fomat Medical Research and proud founding partner of hyper core International, continues to innovate and pioneer clinical research in both regions.

Jim Ohneck is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Epoch Lasers and holds a US patent for his unique Laser Therapy device for treating chronic pain. Jim holds degrees in Business Administration and Electronic Engineering and has thirty-five years of medical device development experience. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Laser Medicine & Surgery (ASLMS), a Member of the International Society of Optics and Photonics and of the International Microelectronic Packaging Association, and an Adjunct Faculty at Notre Dame College in Cleveland, OH where he teaches International Finance and Marketing.

Luís Meireles is currently CEO and co-owner of MDI Industrial a Medical Device Industry in Brazil and a senior consultant for European companies. Luís is Portuguese, Ph.D. in Biotechnology but moved to Brazil, spending the last decade helping to introduce medical devices into Latin America he was responsible for the introduction of Mortara Instruments in Brazil with a successful plan growing from almost zero to one of the market leaders. He was a senior consultant for Hill-Rom visiting almost all countries in Latin America, being perfectly aware of the difficulties of implementing and growing the health market in LATAM, especially in Brazil.

Christian is an entrepreneur and advisor in the bio, pharma, healthcare, and technology sectors with 20 years of strategic advisory, business creation, development, and operational experience. He works with biotech companies and VCs on business development and strategy, with industry on innovation, pipeline, and business development, with institutions on technology transfer & innovation, with governments, institutions, and systems on innovation strategy, policy, and ecosystem development, and has served on biotech, patient organization, and non-profit boards.He led a turn-around of Europe's largest biotech association which he represented among the BIO "Heads of Associations" group, was the lead advisor, dialogue moderator, and “rapporteur” for the European Commission's 3-year strategic “Innovation in Healthcare” initiative to revise innovation funding policy based on stakeholder input from industry executives, VCs, biotech CEOs, and technology transfer directors, and has worked with SMEs, industry, and governments in Europe, North America, and Latin America. Christian coordinated the first European level entrepreneur training Bootcamp for biotech founders/CEOs, built the first European biotech investment initiative in collaboration with the EC and EASDAQ (now Euronext), industry and investors, and has extensive experience coaching & mentoring entrepreneurs, CEOs, and tech transfer directors.

Steve Scalia is the President of Tanner Pharma Group, a 20-year-old specialist pharmaceutical services provider headquartered in Charlotte, NC USA with offices in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Switzerland, and Ireland. Tanner provides a portfolio of service offerings focused on improving global access to medicines worldwide. In his role, Steve leads the company's business activities with oversight of the commercial divisions, cross-functional departments, the Corporate Governance Team, and the Senior Management Team. Prior to joining Tanner Pharma in 2011, Steve founded three start-ups that included complex operating models and custom facilities requiring real estate development. Steve began his career in the pharmaceutical industry, holding sales and management positions at Upjohn Pharmaceuticals and Pharmacia Corp.

Jacobo Luchtan is the CEO and Co-Founder at HelloDoctor, a Mexican startup providing data-driven telehealth services. They operate in more than 10 Latin American countries and have successful cases with patients from each. They created a neutral bridge that connects patients and healthcare practitioners where they can provide online consultations, digital recipes, online pharmacies, track their medical records, and more. Jaco strongly believes that healthcare is a human right and anyone should have access to it, they developed a free online consultation service, where in 30 seconds you can speak to a practitioner from 5 different specialties. He is an industrial engineer, and technology fanatic and has been an entrepreneur all his life. Jaco implements innovative thoughts and technologies in order to create an incredible customer experience.

BS in Civil Engineering. More than 40 years of urban building experience; more than 20 years of experience in design-build; construction of pharmaceutical facilities, and more than 15 years involved in startups dealing with technological innovation.  Founded Naveta Construcciones in 1983, a real estate development firm that completed more than 300 projects. Founded Grupo Inmobiliario Pharma, S.A. de C.V. (Parque Pharma®) back in 2003 as a boutique real estate firm focused on the Life Sciences Industry in Mexico. Back in  2009, founded Biohominis and Biodetecta, both biotech companies pursuing the molecular diagnostic market. In 2011, founded T4Oligo, a company focused on offering oligonucleotides to the Mexican market.

CEO and founder of the Alium group of companies in Peru. Rolando is a dentist, a service provider for the local dentistry sector, and a medical device distributor of dental products. Rolando's academic credentials include a global executive MBA from the IESE business school, a fellowship in endodontics, and a degree in dental surgery.

Mahesh Narayanan is an entrepreneur in biotechnology with extensive experience in the healthcare and life sciences industry, and a strong focus on business development and business start-up strategies. As an active member of the Small Business community, he provides business and scientific guidance in the development of therapeutics and medical devices. He has experience in taking an idea from concept to consumers and considerable knowledge on patents, business plans, fundraising, and incorporation. Mahesh received his Master's in Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania and his bachelor's degrees in History and Pre-Medical Sciences from Boston University.

Hernan Burgos is an IT Professional with over 30 years of experience working with various organizations including government, law, and health. Hernan has been the Director of Sales Development for Smile CDR for the last 4 years, with a growth of 300% during 2020 and expecting a 500% growth for 2021. Smile CDR has clients in 15 countries with a forecast of reaching 20+ countries by 2022. We are living through a historical moment in the Health Information World Systems, for the first time the entire world is adopting one health standard to reach interoperability and reduce development and operational costs.

Marie O'Malley is the Senior Director of Supplier Outreach for Medtronic, responsible for developing and executing long-term Medtronic supplier outreach programs, including efforts around Responsible Supply Management and Supplier Diversity. In her role, she also liaises with various government officials and development boards to advance Medtronic's Supplier relations.  Marie also leads the team to advance communication strategies for Medtronic's Global Supply Management organization. Marie joined Medtronic through the Bard USCI/AVE merger and has been with Medtronic for 25 years. Marie has progressed through several positions with increasing responsibility in a number of functions including Finance, Sales & Contract Administration, Customer Service, Global Supply Chain, and Supply Management roles.  Marie has an MBA from Bentley University and a bachelor's in Finance from Binghamton University in New York.  She also maintains credentials as a CPSD (Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity). Certified Management Accountant, and CPIM (Certified in Production and Inventory Management). Marie currently serves as Chair on the Board of Directors of MassMEDIC representing Medtronic.  MassMEDIC is an association of medical device manufacturers in the Commonwealth with over 400 members including manufacturers, product developers, suppliers, research institutions, and academic health centers.  Marie was recognized in the 2018 and 2019 top 100 list of women executive leaders in the MedTech industry.

Charlie Webb is the Founder and President of Van der Stahl Scientific, a medical device packaging and texting machine provider. He also hosts the popular Podcast “SPOT Radio” (sterile packaging on track). Charlie earned his BS degree in Management at the University of Redlands and completed the medical device development program at the Andersen graduate school of management at UCLA. Charlie is a “lifetime” certified packaging professional “CPPL” certified through the institute of packaging professionals as well as a “Six Sigma Master Black Belt”. As a member of a scientific review board, he co-developed micro-surgical devices that broke away from conservative innovation models. Charlie has been in sterile device packaging for 26 years and has been involved in numerous FDA and ISO audits as a regulatory advisor.  

Mr. Deven Patel, the CEO, President, and Cofounder of Global Institute of Stem Cell Therapy and Research (GIOSTAR) with headquarter in San Diego, California, U.S.A. GIOSTAR was formed with the vision to provide affordable stem cell-based therapies to the masses around the world suffering from degenerative or genetic diseases and unable to afford today's high cost of treatment.  Mr. Patel has served as the CEO, President, and Board of Directors in highly comprehensive industries such as Healthcare, Stem Cell Research, Architectural, General Construction, Alternative Energy, and Multifaceted Internet industries. Mr. Patel has served as the President of Federation of India Associations San Diego (FIA-SD) Mr. Patel has also served in key positions of several public and private organizations such as GIOSTAR Foundation, Asian and Pacific American Coalition (APAC), Asian Business Association, Cambridge Companies, Reality Changers, Global Organization of People of Indian Origin. He has also served as Vice President of the newly formed San Diego United Lion's Club.  Mr. Patel has served as the founding President of the Asian and Pacific American Coalition (APAC) representing San Diego API communities from nine Asian countries and spearheaded its efforts in 2011 at San Diego City Hall to create the new 9th City Council District in the City of San Diego to be an Asian Pacific American influenced district, first time in the history of San Diego through the redistricting process. Dr. Anand Srivastava has been associated with leading universities and research institutions in the USA. In affiliation with University of California San Diego Medical College (UCSD), University of California Irvine Medical College (UCI), Salk Research Institute, San Diego, Burnham Institute For Medical Research, San Diego, University of California Los Angeles Medical College (UCLA), USA has helped develop several research programs and has an extensive research experience in the field of stem cell which is documented by several publications in revered scientific journals.  Dr. Anand Srivastava's success has its root in his unique background of expertise in Stem cell biology, protein biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, in utero transplantation of stem cells, tissue targeting, gene therapy, and clinical research. There are many scientists who can work in a narrowly defined field but few have the broad and multidisciplinary experience to carry out clinical research in a field as challenging as Stem cell biology, cancer, and gene therapy field. Dr. Anand Srivastava's wide-spectrum expertise is rare in clinical research and perfectly crafted to fit ideally with the GIOSTAR projects for stem cell transplant, cancer, and gene therapy research. 

During 2020 Jonathan has been in a crucial leadership position, steering Livinguard through a unique inflection point in its business and building the teams to drive brand building, communications, and sales for Livinguard's antiviral, reusable face masks, and several other new products. Jonathan has a wealth of business and leadership experience, having spent the previous 14 years with 3M, where amongst other roles he was Managing Director, 3M Israel. As an innovation enthusiast, he established the first connections between 3M and the Israel Innovation ecosystem and held the position of New Tech Scout for 3M New Ventures in Israel. During his tenure, he held board seats with 2 start-ups and was involved in several other investments on behalf of 3M. A sports enthusiast in his spare time, Jonathan volunteers as a board member of the Israel Cycling Federation. Jonathan holds a BA in Business & Communication from the Tel Aviv College of Management and an MBA from The Edinburgh Business School.

Dr. Michael Hill is a global-minded senior executive with a history of success creating meaningful, patient-inspired, medical device technology innovations. He is a skilled entrepreneur demonstrating repeat innovation execution from idea/discovery to commercial scale. He was inducted in 2012 as an American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow and awarded the Distinguished Engineering Alumni from Duke University in 2013. He possesses deep domain knowledge of science and technology and has more than 27 years of experience with research, product development, and clinical research/regulatory. He is adept in successfully leading large global organizations, as well as multiple programs and projects, to achieve target goals. He has a thorough understanding of the fundamentals related to global healthcare systems to deliver impactful transformative innovations. Dr. Hill received his BSE [Biomedical and Electrical Engineering] and BS [Mathematics] Degrees from Duke University, MS, and Ph.D. [Biomedical Engineering] Degrees from Case Western Reserve University, and MBA [Management] Degree from the University of St. Thomas.

Seasoned Healthcare Executive with proven skills for people development, organizational transformation, and motivation with 15 years delivering above and beyond financial results. Mr. Pastor has an exemplary external focus and is highly collaborative with customers and a wide range of stakeholders to match the company with customers' needs. He is very adaptive and able to connect strategy to purpose in a way that fosters commitment, Javier has the imagination to innovate and the courage to implement organizational changes and go to market strategies highly inclusive and able to build great teams.

Executive entrepreneur turned digital health entrepreneur, his career includes 18+ years leading global drug development, clinical research, and decentralized trials for life science organizations. As CEO of THREAD, John leads their efforts to change the way clinical research is conducted focused on decentralized approaches, enabling the use of their one platform for conducting modern research studies and leading partnerships with their customers. After launching and growing THREAD, they were acquired in 2019 by JLL Partners and Water Street with strategic investment for continued growth and focus on accelerating drug development for our customers.Named one of the Top 100 Influencers in Digital Health, John also provides expertise and execution experience in digital health, clinical trials, and decentralized, remote, virtual, community-based clinical research. John enjoys being a keynote speaker at global industry events, a guest lecturer at Duke University on digital health/innovation/entrepreneurship, and a published author featured in various conferences, journals, articles, and media outlets.

Thomas Celerier is heading their Healthcare, MedTech, and Life Sciences business, teams, and portfolio of clients for the Palo Alto Offices, Marcel Gradidge is a Director in the Business Advisory unit in the Silicon Valley Market and Gautam Narayan is a leader in the Emerge Supply Chain Division. All of them come from a diverse background managing global projects and teams and with experience in international relationships, with careers, professional and personal lives spanning multiple locations such as Australia, Colombia, Mexico, South Africa, Europe, India, and North America.

Luiz Levy has over ten years of medical device industry experience, primarily focused on high-risk devices, including implantable devices, electrical medical equipment, and disposables subject to INMETRO Certification. Luiz's background includes: implementing and auditing quality systems to B-GMP Regulation RDC 16/2013, ISO 13485:2016, Directive 93/42/EEC, Regulation (EU) 2017/745, FDA 21 CFR 807, FDA QSR 21 CFR 820, MDSAP-Medical device Single audit program; performing multiple local and foreign (US, Europe, Japan) audits to prepare companies for ANVISA inspections; assisting companies during ANVISA inspections; compiling medical device and IVD applications; clinical data review; compiling clinical evaluation reports and compiling and peer-reviewing market access reports. As Director, Quality and Regulatory Affairs, Luiz has peer-reviewed more than 300 regulatory filings and reports, conducted multiple onsite audits on local and foreign manufactures, performed internal audits, and performed or reviewed more than 350 classifications/technical files of healthcare products, attended strategic meetings with ANVISA to help Agency on the final draft of new regulations (RDCs). Luiz is the designated Health Manager for Emergo's Brazil Registration Holder services, and he additionally managers Emergo Brazil's RDC 16/2013 quality system. Prior to Emergo, Luiz held RA/QA positions at CPL Medicals, Goen3, and Medics. 

Mitchell is the President of H Clinical, the leader in decentralized trial and home health services for clinical trials across Latin America. With a 15-year passion for enabling clinical research, supporting life sciences, and transforming organizations, Mitchell is responsible for H Clinical's strategy, business activities, and operations. Prior to H Clinical, Mitchell served as Managing Director, Everglade Rx, Executive VP & General Counsel, Advarra, and Associate Attorney, K&L Gates. Mitchell is on the Board of Directors for Life Science Washington, Faculty for RAPS, and a former Steering Committee Member for Harvard MRCT. He is a published author on FDA regulations and a frequent speaker on technology in clinical research. 

Chris Sedgwick is the Americas Trade Specialist at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Office of Trade and Investment. He has lived in Chicago for 9 years. Born in Los Angeles, he attended California State University Northridge where he received his Bachelor of Arts in French. As a student, he participated in the Junior Year Abroad program at the University of Aix-en-Provence in France. He later went on to receive his MBA from the Thunderbird Graduate School of Global Management in Glendale, AZ.After a few years in the freight forwarding and customs brokerage business, Chris went on to a career in international sales for a variety of industrial manufacturing companies in the reinforced plastics, welding, specialty and medical gas, and personal protection equipment industries.

Dr. Uzbelger Feldman's mission is 'Smiles for All'. He is the first Hispanic dentist to adopt Teledentistry and the first dentist implementing it in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and South Dakota since July 2018 as well as in Latin America. Due to his exceptional front-line services during the first month of the pandemic, Daniel received ‘The Teledentist of the Month' award in March 2020. He received his IBM Blockchain Certificate in February 2018 and is currently innovating in blockchain for healthcare. Daniel has been granted several awards for his patented cinematic radiography and low radiation dose pioneering NeoImaging breakthrough. This research has been presented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as at prestigious dental meetings. In 2014, his low-dose x-ray imaging concept received the Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry Dare-to-Design Reader's Choice Award at the Medtech Design Challenge. Since 2003 Dr. Uzbelger Feldman has been teaching in the Department of Endodontology at Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry where he earned his DMD certificate in 2006. With 25 years of experience, he practiced dentistry for seven years in Philadelphia, PA, nine years in Cleveland, OH, and was serving patients in Ballantyne/Indian Land, NC/SC suburbs before Covid-19. He is currently introducing and expanding pioneering Teledentistry and dental aligners services.

Kameel is the Principal of KDF Ventures LLC, venture capital and private equity firm. He is a leader in global finance with over 20 years of experience in established and emerging markets within the biopharmaceutical industry.Prior to KDF Ventures, Kameel was the Senior Vice President of Finance at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc the world leader in developing RNA-based human therapies. He also worked at Amgen, one of the world's leading biotechnology companies, for 16 years. While at Amgen, Kameel held multiple leadership positions in International operations and regional CFO roles of Latin America/Canada/Australia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Jhonatan Bringas Dimitriades, MD is a Medical Doctor and executive who works with technologists, developers, medical professionals, and patients to deliver the right digital and technical solutions to enhance the diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and quality of life of patients around the globe.Dr. Bringas believes in the democratization and digitalization of medicine. He Bringas has worked in the implementation of medical technologies in some of the top medical centers worldwide, such as the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, the Panama Clinic, the Hong Kong University Hospital, the AMC UMC Amsterdam, and many others. His work is related to the medical implementation of technologies, digital health, and innovation in the medical devices area. Jhonatan is a certified Occupational Physician, with postgraduate education in Public Health, Business Strategy, and Digital Healthcare solutions. Jhonatan holds a Medical Degree, recertified in 3 continents and has held the positions of Medical Director, Chief Medical Officer, and is currently the Chief Communications Officer of Finnish MedTech NUKUTE, a respiratory / sleep medicine wearable company with a deep development in diagnostics and digital health tools.

Alejandro Badia, MD, FACS is a hand and upper extremity surgeon at Badia Hand to Shoulder Center in Doral, Florida. Dr. Badia studied physiology at Cornell University and obtained his medical degree at NYU, where he also trained in orthopedics. A hand fellowship at Alleghany General Hospital in Pittsburgh was followed by an AO trauma fellowship in Freiburg, Germany. He runs an active international hand fellowship, serves on the editorial board of two hand journals, and previously organized a yearly Miami meeting for surgeons /therapists devoted to upper limb arthroscopy and arthroplasty. This international meeting was held at the world-renowned Miami Anatomical Research Center  ( M.A.R.C. ), the world's 2nd  largest surgical cadaveric training lab which Dr. Badia co-founded in 2005. He is a founding member of the American Hand Institute, a think tank, and medical device start-up company focused on minimally invasive solutions to hand, wrist, and elbow pathology.In 2008, Dr. Badia completed the Badia Hand to Shoulder Center, a fully integrated clinical facility for the upper limb also encompassing the Surgery Center at Doral, a  rehabilitation center, and an MRI imaging facility. In 2010, Dr. Badia inaugurated OrthoNOW, the first immediate orthopedic care center in South Florida which is staffed by surgeons from the Doral Orthopedic Center (DOC), a group of surgeons from the lower extremity, upper limb, and spine subspecialties who also treat elective orthopedic problems, frequently in international patients. OrthoNOW was officially franchised in early 2013 and is actively engaging healthcare entrepreneurs and surgeons, here and abroad to open orthopedic urgent care facilities nationally and abroad.

Antonino was born and raised in Italy and moved to Mexico in 2016 as Latin America BD and Marketing Director for Ferring Pharmaceuticals. In 2018, he joined Mundipharma also as LATAM BD Director and then assumed the role of General Manager in Argentina. During his tenure in the pharma industry, Antonino has covered all commercial positions, including general management, business development & licensing, alliance management, project and transition leadership, marketing and sales, market access, pricing & reimbursement. Antonino is the Founder of Audaces Iuvat, a consultancy BD and commercial firm based in Mexico. Audaces Iuvat is the ideal partner for small to medium pharmaceutical/biotech companies that want to face the vast and complex Latin American market and need local expertise. It provides support from the search, selection, and negotiation of a partnership, to alliance management and follow-up of the commercial activities. AUDACES IUVAT may also advise on market access and pricing & reimbursement dynamics.

Dr. ​M. Samir​ Qamar​ is the CEO of MedWand, a telehealth technology company. Dr. Qamar invented the award-winning MedWand, a medical device that​ allows clinicians to examine patients over the Internet on smartphones and computers. The handheld MedWand​ advances the telemedicine industry by allowing clinicians​ to remotely obtain real-time vitals, auscultate heart and lungs, look into ears and throats, obtain EKGs, and monitor chronic conditions during video visits. Dr. Qamar has been on the company's board since co-founding the company and is also its chairman.Prior to MedWand, Dr. Qamar was one of the pioneering minds behind the rapidly-rising Direct Primary Care (DPC) industry. He created one of the nation's first DPC companies, MedLion, in 2009 and helped catapult DPC nationwide by focusing on low-cost subscription-based, high-quality primary care. In 2018, MedLion changed its name to MedLion Clinic and converted to a complete Internet-based Virtual Primary Care model. Prior to MedLion, Dr. Qamar began one of the first concierge medical practices in California, where ​​for many years he also served as the official house doctor for the famed Pebble Beach Resorts​.​​Dr. Qamar completed his medical training at Penn Medicine - Lancaster General Hospital in Pennsylvania, one of the nation’s first and top-ranked primary care residency programs. His visions on the future of primary care have been referenced in many publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News, Forbes, and Time. Dr. Qamar is a member of the MIT Technology Review Global Panel, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, and several other organizations. He speaks six languages, has studied and practiced in health care systems worldwide, and currently resides in​ Las Vegas,​ Nevada where he also maintains an active medical practice.

Jan Samzelius has specialized in quantitative methods for 40 years. Jan invented the typing cadence technology of  NeuraMetrix. He has led a large number of analytical projects, ranging from measuring customer satisfaction to price elasticities to conjoint analyses. Mr. Samzelius has invented many new ways of conducting research into complex issues. His largest project was directing a reinvention of the customer satisfaction measurement system for a telecom. The high quality of the data made the unions accept instituting a bonus system for 9000 people. During the late 90s, Mr. Samzelius led an effort to enable a computer to understand the text. He has been the CEO of six companies, in several cases improving profits dramatically. His experience includes one turnaround and one successful exit. Mr. Samzelius holds an undergraduate degree in economics from the Stockholm School of Economics, graduating with honors and an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

Frank is the Founder and President of Ation Advisory Group where he is helping Global Life Science Companies to commercialize their product, service, or technology along with obtaining dilutive and non-dilutive funding. As a retired Pfizer Executive Frank worked for over 25 years in positions of increased responsibility in Finance, Strategy, & Operations. Frank lead the Supply Chain & Finance functions across 35 countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America (where he supported 9 countries), and the Middle East. Frank currently sits on the Area Board of The American Cancer Society. Frank holds a BS in Accounting from Providence College and an MBA in International Finance at NYU Stern School of Business.

Gerardo is a C-Level executive, serial entrepreneur, inventor, and scholar in the medical device industry. Gerardo founded five medical device companies and is a consultant to over 50 medical device companies in the Silicon Valley area. Gerardo is an advisory board member of the Santa Clara University (SCU) BioE, the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF) Catalyst Program, the UCSF Surgical Consortium, and the Simon Fraser University Bioengineering Innovation Blvd. He is also an adjunct professor at the SCU graduate school of bioengineering. As a serial entrepreneur, Gerardo identifies unmet clinical needs, assesses new business opportunities worldwide, and develops new technologies with strong Intellectual property rights. His hands-on experience resides in bringing new technologies from inception to full commercialization under a “vision and execution” type of approach.Gerardo’s unique proximity to Silicon Valley provides a wealth of opportunities for innovation, like no other place in the world. He is always on the quest for the next frontier to improve clinical therapies and reduce healthcare costs. Gerardo has a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the San Jose State University.

Dr. Enrique Saldívar received his medical training in Universidad La Salle, received his MD from Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), his Masters in Biomedical Engineering from Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, and his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego. Throughout his career, he has been appointed faculty at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla Bioengineering Institute, The West Wireless Health Institute, and Case Western Reserve University. His expertise includes: Biomechanics, Microcirculation, Rheology, Platelet Engineering, Digital Signal Processing, Image Processing, Bio-Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (Bio-MEMS), Nanotechnology, and Digital Health. Dr. Saldívar career in medical devices has focused on the transformation of cutting-edge technological developments into meaningful medical solutions. His multidisciplinary background combined with a deep sense of social responsibility provides him with a unique perspective to provide solutions to unmet medical needs in underserved communities. Dr. Saldivar’s interests are focused on the use of technology to improve the quality of life, globally, and to ameliorate the accessibility to first-class medical attention in underprivileged communities. Dr. Saldívar scientific career has focused on the study of biomechanical mechanisms responsible for complex physiological responses with an emphasis on the rheological mechanisms, at both the cellular level and at the cell membrane level. He has made seminal contributions to the understanding of platelet adhesion under flow and chronic adaptation to extreme hypoxia.