THIRD POLE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisor
- Director of the Lung Center at Houston Methodist Hospital
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Quality and Regulatory
Tony leads quality, regulatory and test, 42+ years' experience in quality management, global regulatory affairs, risk management, compliance and customer service and supply chain management in the medical device and therapeutics fields. Prior to joining Third Pole, served as VP of QA/RA, Operations and Chief Compliance officer at Gamma Medical, and held advancing leadership positions at companies which include New Harbor SQA, and Sunrise Labs. Tony holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and has advanced leadership and business management certificates from Babson College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Northeastern University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
Bill leads Third Pole, bringing over 25 years of experience creating profitable organizations within the pharma, life sciences, medical device, molecular diagnostics and healthcare software markets on a global basis. Most recently, Athenson served as CEO of Three Lakes Partners, conducting impact funding of pioneering drug discovery, diagnostics and medical device-based technologies and collaborations focused on accelerating therapies and improving care for patients living with Pulmonary Fibrosis.
Bill has served on the Board of the Open Source Imaging Consortium, with the goal of leveraging AI to create an imaging biomarker that accurately detects fibrotic disease progression in the lungs. He has extensive experience in building and leading high performing cross functional device development, operations, and commercial groups from product concept through commercial execution across U.S., Europe, and Asia, with American Hospital Supply, Baxter Healthcare, Allegiance Healthcare and Cardinal Health. Bill received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University in New York.
Christopher leads Third Pole's product and technology development initiatives leveraging over 30 years of experience in the research, design, development and executive management of complex medical and biotechnology products. Christopher has developed or contributed to numerous U.S. patents and directly collaborated on the commercialization of over 20 new and novel medical and biotechnology products including cochlear implants, critical care and point of care monitors, DNA sequencers, laboratory automation systems, HPLC systems and custom space flight medical monitoring systems. Prior to joining Third Pole, Christopher held executive and leadership positions at Altran, Foliage, Dionex, Affymetrix, Advanced Bionics, Nellcor and NASA. Christopher holds a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering and a BS degree in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute as well as advanced training in organizational development and human interaction from NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Executive
- Physician
Dr. Ron Robison is an experienced physician executive with over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, device and medical research field. As a former Executive Vice President, Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer, he led several global organizations in small, mid-size and large pharmaceutical/device companies providing strategic oversight and direction in Research and Development and Market Access. He has product expertise in many therapeutic areas including oncology, immunology, virology, cardiovascular, neurology, psychiatry, gastroenterology, hormone therapy and diagnostic imaging. Dr. Robison has overseen the approval of more than 20 new molecular entities worldwide with more than 10 innovative clinical indications obtained under FDA breakthrough therapy designation. He has worked in both the US and Europe for several global companies including Mallinckrodt Medical, Sanofi/Sterling Winthrop, Nycomed, Amersham Health, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Abbott and AbbVie.
Dr. Robison obtained his M.D. degree from the Oregon Health Sciences University and B.S. degree from Oregon State University. He did residency training at Washington University in St. Louis followed by an M.S. degree in Medical Informatics/Biomedical Engineering at the University of Utah.
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chairman of Cristal Therapeutics
Dr. Werner Cautreels is a highly accomplished biopharmaceutical executive with a core emphasis in Research & Development in various therapeutic areas, who brings a deep understanding of clinical and regulatory strategy. During his 40-year plus career, his work has touched on cardiovascular, autoimmune, oncology, rare disease, and vaccines. As President and CEO, he successfully led Solvay Pharmaceuticals and oversaw its sale to Abbott and built a platform biotech firm, Selecta Biosciences, attracting top tier venture investors and advancing its diverse pipeline, including a lead program now in its pivotal trial.
Prior to joining Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Cautreels worked at Sanofi, Sterling Winthrop and Nycomed-Amersham in a variety of R&D management positions in Europe and the United States.
Dr. Cautreels also served as a Director of Innogenetics NV in Gent, Belgium and of Arqule Inc. in Woburn, MA. Until April 2019, Dr. Cautreels was Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Galapagos NV in Mechelen, Belgium. He was also the President of the Belgian Chamber of Commerce for Russia.
Dr. Cautreels is currently Chairman of Cristal Therapeutics in Maastricht, The Netherlands and of MRM Health in Gent, Belgium and serves on the boards of atbtherapeutics in Marche, Belgium and Accoy Pharmaceuticals in Palm Beach Gardens, FL and Thrombolytic Science International in Cambridge, MA.
Dr. Cautreels earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Antwerp, Belgium and an Executive M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Elizabeth oversees the planning and execution of strategies to meet financial and organizational objectives for Third Pole. Previously, Elizabeth served as Vice President of Finance at MannKind Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company whose lead product, Afrezza®, an inhaled prandial insulin, was approved in 2014, where she was responsible for financial operations and strategic partnering. Prior to MannKind, Elizabeth was the Chief Financial Officer for Ikaria after spending many years in finance and strategic planning roles of increasing responsibility with Ohmeda, Becton Dickinson and INO Therapeutics. INO Therapeutics was the first company to gain FDA approval for inhaled nitric oxide therapy, prior to being acquired by Ikaria. Elizabeth joined INO Therapeutics prior to the approval of INOmax® and had direct responsibility for the accounting, finance and planning functions for the company through their transition from a clinical start-up to a fully integrated, commercial pharmaceutical company. Elizabeth received an MBA from New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from The William Paterson University of New Jersey.
Erin currently serves as a Board Observer at Third Pole, and brings over sixteen years of medical device product development and commercialization experience. She represents Partners/Massachusetts General Hospital on the Third Pole board, where she is a leader in the Boston Biomedical Innovation Center, a life sciences accelerator funded by the National Institutes of Health. Erin started her career in Research and Development at Boston Scientific, and launched several vascular graft and peripheral embolization products before shifting her focus to identifying and implementing company-wide product development lifecycle process improvements. She received her MBA and MS degrees from Babson College, her BA from Stevens Institute of Technology, and holds 9 issued patents.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Core Technology
Greg leads the core technology department building on 22+ years of experience in the research, design, development and commercialization of complex medical device systems. Prior to joining Third Pole, served as General Manager at Cirtec Medical and has been VP of Engineering for several medical device development endeavors including Revivant, purchased by Zoll, Theranova and Velomedix. Currently has 35+ issued patents. Greg holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical & Aerospace Eng. From University of Viginia, a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Clemson University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisor
- Principal Metallurgist, Prince & Izant Companies
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisor
- Professor of Pediatrics, Chief of Critical Care Medicine and Vice Chair of Inpatient Pediatrics, University of California at San Francisco
Jeff is the Chairman and Managing General Partner of Saturn. He founded Saturn in 1993 to help capitalize and grow early stage companies including: the extremely successful business to business e-commerce company, FreeMarkets (FMKT, acquired by ARBA); the largest U.S. biodiesel company, Twin Rivers Technologies (acquired by FELDA); email marketing company, Constant Contact (CTCT); and the ever popular Boston Duck Tours. Saturn Partners II and III have invested in cutting-edge technology companies in healthcare, education, environmental energy, and IT.
Jeff has over 25 years of experience as an investment banker, entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He currently serves on several boards including BioWish, Knopp Biosciences, Third Pole, and XNG Energy.
Jeff is a graduate of Syracuse University, where he received an MBA in Finance and a BS in Biology. He was a Collegiate Scholar Athlete, first team All-American lacrosse player, and a captain of Syracuse's first NCAA championship lacrosse team.
Jeff is a Vice Chair of the CitiCenter for the Performing Arts. He serves on the Dean's Advisory Committee of the School of Management at Syracuse University and is the founding Principal Sponsor of the Sean McDonough Charities for Children Foundation. He is actively involved with Trinity Church in Boston.
Jeff is married with three children.
Kunal has been actively involved in the healthcare industry for over 16 years. He joined Sightline in 2012 and has since been a core part of the investment team, helping manage four secondary direct funds in the healthcare space. Kunal has played a key role in the acquisition and management of healthcare portfolios from leading institutional and corporate investors.
Prior to joining Sightline, Kunal spent seven years in various operating roles at Boston Scientific's Cardiac Rhythm Management business unit where he developed and helped bring to market cutting-edge medical devices in the cardiovascular space.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Manufacturing and Operations
Mahesh leads manufacturing and operations, leveraging 28+ years of experience in international product development and commercialization, manufacturing, supply chain management and operations in the medical device and industrial safety industries. Prior to joining Third Pole, served as Director of Operations at Analogic and held advancing leadership positions at companies including Draeger Medical Systems and Siemens Medical Solutions. Mahesh holds an MBA in Corporate Entrepreneurship and Strategy from Babson College and a B.E. in Electronics and Telecommunications from GOA University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Matt serves as Abiomed's Sr. Director of Business Development. In this role, Matt is responsible for growing, managing, and establishing the enterprise's strategic investment portfolio. Matt's career began as a biomedical engineer, having graduated from Tufts University with Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering degrees. Matt was a ground-floor employee of Serica Technologies, which was acquired by Allergan Medical in 2010. After several years of continued product development and a successful commercial launch within Allergan, Matt left to attend Business School at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. Before rejoining the MedTech industry in 2018, Matt worked in a strategic consulting role for PricewaterhouseCoopers' Healthcare Industry Advisory group.
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisor
- Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Chief, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Division
Philip is an experienced senior pharmaceutical physician who leads our clinical and regulatory efforts. Phil previously held the positions of Senior Medical Director at Janssen R&D and Medical Director at AstraZeneca. Phil has overseen multiple clinical studies in asthma, COPD, interstitial pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis. Prior to industry, Phil was Associate Professor at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado. Phil is a renowned expert in exhaled nitric oxide measurement and holds several patents in the field. Dr. Silkoff holds an MBBS in Respiratory Medicine from University College London and an MBBS in Medicine from the University of London.
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisor
- Director, Pulmonary Hypertension and Thromboendarterectomy Program, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Seth currently serves as Abiomed's VP of Medical Education, Training and Communication. He joined Abiomed in 2015 where he collaborates with interventional cardiology and heart failure specialists to develop best practices for use of the Impella platform in Protected PCI and Cardiogenic Shock, and physician investigators in pre-clinical and clinical research in ventricular unloading.
Seth previously practiced for 23 years as a clinical and interventional cardiologist at Lahey Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital and was Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Chief of the Cardiovascular Steering Committee at Lawrence General Hospital. He was the Founder and Director of Clinical Cardiology Research Program at Pentucket Medical Associates, the largest community based cardiac research program in the Partner's network. He also served on the faculty as an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School, beginning in 1995.
Dr. Bilazarian received a BSE in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University and MD from University of Massachusetts Medical School. He completed his residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and cardiology and interventional cardiology fellowship at Boston University Hospital and Boston City Hospital. Dr. Bilazarian is board certified in cardiovascular, interventional and nuclear cardiology, vascular ultrasound and endovascular medicine.
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisor
- Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Director, Pediatric Heart Lung Center, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children 's Hospital Colorado
Mr. Heiden has more than 30 years experience as a pharmaceutical and biotechnology senior executive. He began his career at Merck (Schering Plough) where he led a of variety of businesses internationally and in the US during the first 15 years of his career. Over the last 15 years he has been a successful CEO in several private and public biotechnology companies. He most recently served as the President and CEO of AMAG Pharmaceuticals where he built a diverse portfolio of commercial and development-stage products before it was acquired by a private equity firm in 2020.
Mr. Heiden has served/serves on the board of directors of GTC Biotherapeutics (GTC), rEVO Biologics, Conjuchem Biotechnologies (CJB), LFB Biotechnologies S.A., AMAG Pharmaceuticals (AMAG) and Atara Biotherapeutics (ATRA). Mr. Heiden holds an M.B.A. from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, a M.I.M. degree from the University of Louvain and a B.A. degree in finance from the University of Florida.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Engineering
Ziad leads the engineering division, including Systems, Software, Electrical, Mechanical and V&V departments, leveraging 28+ years of experience in the research, design, development and commercialization of high volume electromechanical medical device platforms, accessories and disposables. Prior to joining Third Pole, served as VP of Engineering at Respiratory Motion and Mycronic and held advancing leadership positions at companies including Siemens, Zoll, and Medtronics. Currently has 48+ issued patents. Ziad holds an MBA from University of Massachusetts, a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University and a B.S. in Physics from Lebanese University.