Executive Management
Michael P. Kaminski - Chief Executive Officer
Lou Ruggiero - Chief Commercial Officer
James M. Stolze - Chief Financial Officer
Doug Bruce - Chief Technology Officer
Melissa Walker, MS, RAC - Senior Vice President Regulatory, Quality, and Compliance
David J. Burkhardt, MD - Chief Medical Officer
David A. Giffin - Vice President, Human Resources
Board of Directors
Fred A. Middleton - Chairman
Christopher Alafi, Ph.D. - Director
David W. Benfer, FACHE - Director
Ralph G. Dacey, Jr., M.D. - Director
Bevil J. Hogg - Director
Michael P. Kaminski - Director
William M. Kelley - Director
Abhijeet J. Lele - Director
Robert J. Messey - Director
William C. Mills III - Director
Eric N. Prystowsky - Director
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Executive Management
Michael P. Kaminski
Chief Executive Officer
Michael Kaminski joined Stereotaxis in April 2002 after nearly 20 years with Hill-Rom Company (Hillenbrand Industries). In his last position as Senior Vice President of North American Sales and Service, he was responsible for 150 service centers, and revenue exceeding $750 million. Mr. Kaminski began his career at Hill-Rom in a manufacturing management position and then worked in several functional departments, including sales, marketing, purchasing, new product development, and general management of multiple businesses. Over this 20-year period, Hill-Rom grew from $80 million to over $1.2 billion in total worldwide revenues. Mr. Kaminski earned an M.B.A. from Xavier University and a B.S. in Marketing from Indiana University.
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Lou Ruggiero
Chief Commercial Officer
Lou Ruggiero brings to Stereotaxis over 25 years of progressive sales, marketing, and general management experience within the medical device and life sciences industry, with more than half of his tenure in senior leadership roles. In his last experience as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of DJ Orthopedics (DJO), Lou helped drive revenue from $140M to $500M prior to the successful sale of the Company to The Blackstone Private Equity Group. Mr. Ruggiero began his career with Proctor & Gamble, and then moved to C.R. Bard where he held a succession of field sales management positions. Lou spent ten years with GE Medical Systems where he held a variety of leadership positions with increasing responsibility prior to becoming President and Chief Executive Officer of Titan Scan Technologies. Mr. Ruggiero received his BA from St. John’s University and his MBA from Northwestern University.
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James M. Stolze
Chief Financial Officer
James M. Stolze has served as our Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since he joined Stereotaxis in May 2004. Prior to joining Stereotaxis, Mr. Stolze spent eight years as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., from 1995 to 2003. Prior to MEMC, Mr. Stolze was an audit partner with KPMG LLP where he had responsibility for numerous publicly traded companies and served as a member of KPMG’s SEC Reviewing Partners Committee. Mr. Stolze currently sits on the board of directors and audit committee of ESCO Technologies, Inc., a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Stolze earned an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and is a certified public accountant.
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Doug Bruce
Chief Technology Officer
Doug Bruce has served as our Senior Vice President, Research & Development since he joined Stereotaxis in May 2001. Prior to joining Stereotaxis, Mr. Bruce was Vice President, Product Development and Marketing, for Intuitive Surgical, a developer and manufacturer of computer-enhanced minimally invasive surgery systems, from 1997 to 2001. Prior to Intuitive Surgical, Mr. Bruce was a Vice President of Engineering at Acuson Corp, a manufacturer of diagnostic ultrasound systems, and has held positions in mechanical, process and manufacturing engineering at Tandon Corp, ISS Sperry Univac and IBM. Mr. Bruce received a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Santa Clara and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.
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Melissa Walker M.S., RAC
Senior Vice President, Regulatory, Quality, and Clinical Affairs
Melissa Walker, Senior Vice President, Regulatory, Quality, and Compliance, joined Stereotaxis in March of 2001. Prior to joining Stereotaxis, she led the global regulatory team at Bausch & Lomb Surgical, Inc., a subsidiary of Bausch & Lomb, Inc., and a leading manufacturer of refractive lasers and surgical instruments for the eye, from 1997 to 2000. Prior to Bausch & Lomb Surgical, Inc., Ms. Walker was Director of Regulatory Affairs at Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company and a recognized leader in the manufacture of surgical instruments used for minimally invasive surgery, from 1992 to 1997. She served on the board of directors for the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society from 1997 to 2002 and was formerly the Board Chairman. Presently, she serves as the industry representative on FDA’s Medical Device Dispute Panel, reviewing and resolving scientific disputes between FDA and device companies. Melissa received a M.S. degree in Zoology and a B.S. in Biology and Animal Science from East Texas State University.
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David J. Burkhardt, MD
Chief Medical Officer
J. David Burkhardt M.D., F.A.C.C. is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine, and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology. He received his Bachelor’s degree and Medical Degree from the University of Louisville. He trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa, Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Kentucky. He spent two years in specialized Cardiac Electrophysiology training at the Cleveland Clinic under Andrea Natale. After completing his training, he accepted a staff position in Cardiovascular Medicine as an Electrophysiologist at The Cleveland Clinic. He developed interests in remote navigation, new technology assessment, and optimization of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy. In 2005, he was named Associate Program director for the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship training program and directed the Clinical Electrophysiology curriculum at the Lerner Case Western Reserve School of Medicine at The Cleveland Clinic. He has authored or co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications, 10 book chapters, 100 abstracts, and presented at numerous national and international meetings. He has performed several live cases, showcasing remote navigation procedures, atrial fibrillation ablation, ventricular tachycardia ablation, and epicardial ablation. In January of 2008, he accepted a consulting position at Stereotaxis as Chief Medical Officer. He has rejoined Dr. Natale at the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute in Austin, Texas as well as Akron General Medical Center in Akron, Ohio. He has received numerous honors including “Who’s Who in America.”
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David A. Giffin
Vice President, Human Resources
David Giffin joined Stereotaxis in January 2007. Mr. Giffin has over 30 years of human resources experience. He spent the early years of his career with Monsanto Company where he held a variety of HR positions with increasing responsibility. Since then he has held senior leadership roles across a broad range of industries including: Vice President, Human Resources at St. Johns Medical Center in St. Louis; Principle Consultant, The Bannon Consulting Group; Vice President, Human Resources, Huttig Building Products; and Vice President, Human Resources and Social Enterprise, Provident, Inc., a St. Louis based social service agency. Mr. Giffin earned his B.S. in Psychology and M.B.A. from Purdue University.
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Board of Directors
Fred A. Middleton
Chairman
Fred A. Middleton has been Chairman of the Board of Stereotaxis since 1990, and also served as CEO from 1994 to 1997. Mr. Middleton has been a General Partner in Sanderling Ventures since 1987. From 1984 to 1986, Mr. Middleton was Managing General Partner of Morgan Stanley Ventures. He joined Genentech, Inc. in 1978 and was a part of the management team in the company’s early formative period, assisting in developing its strategy and holding a variety of roles including Vice Presidencies of Finance, Administration, and Corporate Development, and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Middleton also served as President of Genentech Development Corporation. Prior to that time, he served as a consultant with McKinsey & Company and as a Vice President of Chase Manhattan Bank. Mr. Middleton holds an M.B.A. from Harvard University and a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Christopher Alafi, Ph.D.
Director
Christopher Alafi, Ph.D., has served as a director since August 2000. Dr. Alafi has been a General Partner of Alafi Capital Company, LLC, a venture capital firm, since 1995. He was previously a Physiology and Anatomy teacher at Santa Monica College, a visiting scholar at Stanford University (Chemistry Department) and a researcher at DNAX. Dr. Alafi received a B.A. in Biology from Pomona College and a D.Phil. in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford.
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David W. Benfer, FACHE
Director
Mr. Benfer has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Saint Raphael Healthcare System (SRHS) and the Hospital of Saint Raphael, New Haven, Connecticut, since 1999. SRHS provides a comprehensive spectrum of care, including wellness and health promotion activities, acute care, long-term care, and home care. The Hospital of Saint Raphael is a 511-bed academic health science center, and the fourth largest hospital in Connecticut.
Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Provena-Saint Joseph Medical Center and Chief Executive Officer of the Provena-Saint Joseph/Morris Health Network, a two-hospital joint operating company in Joliet, Illinois, from 1992 to 1999. Prior to this, Mr. Benfer served the Henry Ford Health System, a regional health system in Detroit, as Senior Vice President for Hospital and Urban Affairs for the years 1985 through 1992. He was also Chief Executive Officer of the Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, during this time.
Mr. Benfer also formerly served as Chief Executive Officer at both the Bon Secours Hospital, a 320-bed for-profit hospital in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and the Medical College of Ohio Hospital, a 319-bed teaching hospital in Toledo. He began his career in 1969 at George Washington University Hospital, Washington, D.C., as an assistant to the administrator.
Mr. Benfer served as Chairman of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), an international professional society of more than 30,000 healthcare executives, from 1998 through 1999. He also served on ACHE’s Board of Governors from 1992 to 2000. Mr. Benfer was named a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) in 1981. He currently serves on the Board of the Catholic Health Association, which represents over 2,000 Catholic healthcare facilities in the U.S.
He received his B.S. degree in Business Administration from Wittenburg University, Springfield, Ohio, and his M.B.A. from Xavier University, Cincinnati.
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Bevil Hogg
Director
Bevil Hogg has had more than 30 years of P&L responsibility and has focused during the last 14 years on the manufacture and sale of technologically advanced equipment for the healthcare marketplace. Mr. Hogg has a long track record in commercializing innovative technologies, having founded or co–founded three successful companies, including Trek Bicycle Corporation and Kestrel. Prior to joining Stereotaxis in 1997, Mr. Hogg was President and CEO of Everest & Jennings International Ltd. from 1994 to 1997, where he effected a turnaround from a loss of more than $50 million to operating breakeven within two years, and successfully negotiated the sale of the company. Mr. Hogg graduated from the Sorbonne (University of Paris, France) in 1969 with a Diplôme Supérieur d’Études Françaises.
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William M. Kelley
Director
William M. Kelley has served as a director since January 2003. Mr. Kelley is the past Chairman of Hill-Rom Company, and is currently consulting for Hill-Rom on a part-time basis. While at Hill-Rom, Mr. Kelley also served as President and CEO from 1992 to 1995, Sr. Vice President, Sales and Operations from 1989 to 1992 and Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing from 1980 to 1989. He currently serves on the Board of National Committee for Quality Health Care and is a member of HRDI (Healthcare, Research & Development Institute) and Health Insights. He has been honored numerous times for his contributions to the healthcare industry including as an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives. He was educated at Hanover College and George Washington University.
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Abhijeet J. Lele
Director
Abhijeet J. Lele has served as a director since April 2004. Mr. Lele is a General Partner of EGS Healthcare Capital Partners, a venture capital firm based in Rowayton, Connecticut, focusing on investments in medical device, biopharmaceutical and specialty pharmaceutical companies. He joined EGS in 1998, after spending four years in the health care practice of McKinsey & Company. Before McKinsey, Mr. Lele held operating positions with Lederle Laboratories, Progenics Pharmaceuticals and Clontech Laboratories. He is currently a director of EP MedSystems, CryoCath Technologies, OptiScan Biomedical and Ekos Corporation. Mr. Lele received his M.A. in molecular biology from Cambridge University and his M.B.A. with distinction from Cornell University.
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Robert J. Messey
Director
Bob Messey has served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Arch Coal, Inc. since December 2000. Arch Coal is the nation’s second largest coal company, with more than 140 million tons of annual coal production. Prior to Arch Coal, Messey served as vice president of financial services of Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. He also has served as vice president and chief financial officer of Sverdrup Corporation and as a partner with Ernst & Young, LLP.
Messey graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.S. B.A. in Accounting in 1968. He became a certified public accountant in 1971.
In addition to his responsibilities with Arch Coal, Messey serves on the board of Baldor Electric Company where he is Chairman of the Audit Committee. He is also a member of the Stereotaxis Audit Committee.
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William C. Mills III
Director
William C. Mills III has served as a director since June 2000. In August 2004, Mr. Mills became a managing member of a new management company being formed by EGS Healthcare Capital Partners to manage EGS Private Healthcare Partnership III. Before joining EGS, Mr. Mills was a Partner in the Boston office of Advent International, a venture capital firm, for five years. At Advent, he was co-responsible for healthcare venture capital investments and focused on investments in the medical technology and biopharmaceutical sectors. He has over 25 years of venture capital experience. Before joining Advent, Mr. Mills spent over 11 years with the Venture Capital Fund of New England where he was a General Partner. Prior to that, he spent seven years at PaineWebber Ventures/ Ampersand Ventures as Managing General Partner. Mr. Mills received his A.B. in Chemistry, cum laude, from Princeton University, his S.M. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.S. in Management from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
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Eric N. Prystowsky
Director
Dr. Prystowsky has been a member of Cardionet board of directors since March 2001. Dr. Prystowsky is currently Director, Clinical Electrophysiology Laboratory at St. Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis Indiana and Consulting Professor of Medicine at Duke University. He has co-authored two textbooks, Cardiac Arrhythmias: An integrated Approach for the Clinician and Clinical Electrophysiology Review with Dr. George Klein and authored over 625 articles and abstracts concerning cardiac arrhythmias. He is Chairman of the ABIM test writing committee for the Electrophysiology Boards, past Chairman of the American Heart Association's Committee on Electrocardiography and Electrophysiology, and past President of the Heart Rhythm Society.
