Leadership

Fabian Alt previously served in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs’s London office. His experience extends across more than 20 completed capital market and M&A transactions, including several equity capital offerings and IPOs. Fabian received his master’s in finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science, earned an honors master’s in technology management from the Technical University of Munich and Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, and received a master’s in physics from the Technical University of Munich. In addition, he completed research stays at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

David Mercer has more than 12 years of product development experience in medical devices. Previously, he worked at Acelity as Lead Product Development Engineer developing new negative pressure therapy devices within the Prevena and Abthera surgical product lines. Before Acelity David developed mechanical and electromechanical drug delivery systems at DCA Design International in the UK. David received his degree in mechanical engineering specializing in product design from The University of Glasgow.

Christopher Alt has 15 years of research experience in medicine and has a proven track record of clinical trial management. Previously, he worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center in the department of molecular pathology. Christopher joined InGeneron in 2015 as European director of medical and scientific affairs before taking on the role of global director of medical and scientific affairs in 2020. Christopher received his medical degree from PMU Salzburg in Austria.

Dr. Christoph Schmitz is Full Professor of Anatomy and Head of the Department of Anatomy II at Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich (Munich, Germany). He is one of the leading basic and clinical scientists in the field of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) of the musculoskeletal system, with more than 40 related publications out of more than 200 publications listed in PubMed.
His formal medical training includes a M.D. degree and a Ph.D. degree equivalent (“Habilitation”) from RWTH Aachen University (Aachen, Germany). He is also active in a number of professional societies and related organizations, among them the Clinical Sciences & Research Committee of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM). Dr. Schmitz has been awarded more than 2,5 million euros in peer reviewed grants as Principal Investigator. He is currently involved in a number of scientific collaboration projects on ESWT with professional soccer clubs in Germany, as well as with leading specialists on physical and rehabilitation medicine in Europe, Latin America and China.

Robert Charles has over 30 years of experience in quality and reliability assurance management in the medical industry. He has held leadership position at several large healthcare companies including Cyberonics, Intermedics, Abbott Laboratories, and St. Jude Medical. He has a proven track record of quality planning, operation, and management.

Annette M. Zinn, J.D., Ph.D., is a regulatory attorney with over 25 years of regulatory experience in the medical device industry. Previously she was regulatory counsel at Cyberonics for 13 years and regulatory specialist at Intermedics, Inc. for 7 years. During her career she has overseen successful pre-market approval applications (PMA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She instructed LLM students in FDA law and regulations at the University of Houston, Bates College of Law. She has a law degree from South Texas College of Law and is licensed to practice in the State of Texas. She has both M.P.H. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Texas Houston, School of Public Health, where her research included the effect of modernization laws on FDA/CMS approvals.

Marcos has over 30 years of experience in manufacturing leadership In Aerospace, Electronics and Medical Devices. He has led plant operations as large as six hundred employees and managed manufacturing operations for class 3 active implantable medical devices with Cyberonics/Livanova. Marcos has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, a master’s in Electrical Engineering and an MBA.

Eckhard U. Alt is professor of medicine and biomedical engineering at Tulane University in New Orleans and was professor of medicine at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and at Technical University of Munich. He received his medical degree as valedictorian from Heidelberg Medical School. After two years in cardiac surgery at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, he completed his education at Technical University of Munich in internal medicine/cardiology.

Eckhard is a frequent reviewer and serves on the editorial boards of respected journals. From 2001 to 2007, he was president of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society. He has organized major national and international congresses; authored more than 500 publications in peer-reviewed journals, books, or book chapters; and has acquired more than 600 worldwide patents, primarily in the fields of stem cells, electrophysiology, and interventional cardiology. The magazine Focus rated him among the “Best 12 Cardiologists in Germany.” Eckhard received the Hahn Research Award from the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons as well as the Ethica Award as Best Experimental Researcher from Erasmus University in Rotterdam. In 2009, he was named Entrepreneur of the Year in Munich and Innovator of the Year in Houston. In addition to being Executive Chairman of InGeneron, Inc., he is also chairman of the board of ISAR Klinikum in Munich, Germany.

Klaus L. Keller is founding chairman, CEO, and majority shareholder of Sueba USA Corporation in Houston, Texas. He is active in the areas of acquisition, development, and management of U.S. real estate and real estate investment funds. Klaus is also a private investor and syndicator.

Jerry C. Griffin is president of Griffin & Schwartz, Scientific Services Inc., a management consulting firm in the health care products field. He has assisted several development stage companies in areas ranging from venture and public financing to FDA and clinical trial strategy. He is currently a member of the boards of directors of a number of private companies. During his academic tenure, Jerry held leadership positions in several national and international cardiology organizations and is the author or coauthor of five books, four patents, and over 170 medical and scientific articles.

Bobby I. Griffin retired from a 25-year career with Medtronic, Inc., where he held various executive-level positions, including president of Medtronic’s CRM Business from 1991 to 1998. He manages his own fund of companies and serves on the advisory boards of Affinity Capital Management Fund III and IV and Sapient Capital Management Fund, in which he also invests. In addition, Bobby has served on the board of directors of several public companies, including MTS Systems Corporation and Urologix, Inc., and is currently a director of several private companies.

Amber Langner is VP Treasury for Sanford Health and has significant financial experience in the Healthcare Industry. She offers a wealth of knowledge in financial planning, forecast analysis, financial systems strategy implementation, and accounting. Amber spent 5 years at Sanford leading innovative changes to the accounting and finance department and she continues to push for efficiency and innovation in her new role as VP Treasury.

Katie Pohlson is the senior director of innovation and commercialization at Sanford Health. She has significant experience with early to late-stage startup companies with a focus on quality and regulatory. In collaboration with FDA, she developed a template that can be used for developing an original IDE application and has helped several institutions establish templates and infrastructure to successfully complete FDA-regulated clinical trials.

Katie has served as a strategic advisor and board representative for several biotech companies from product development through market launch phases. She has assisted in the development and implementation of regulatory strategies for medical devices, therapeutics, and biologics to meet the requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other international regulatory authorities. She also has a strong background in healthcare operations to help develop successful deployment strategies that translate to clinical implementation. Katie is active in the innovation sector and serves on the steering committee of several organizations to help foster entrepreneurship and technology development.