Embody, Inc., a privately held medical device company focused on soft tissue healing, announces new appointments to its board and leadership team following the recently announced growth funding round of $20.5M to support continued commercial growth.
The company adds Rene Salas to its Board of Directors. Rene is a 30-year life science veteran and previously served as a partner and lead of Ernst & Young’s Mid-Atlantic life science practice, leading both their Innovation Practice and its Entrepreneur of the Year program. He has successfully completed multiple IPOs, private placements, acquisitions and collaborations across the healthcare and technology sectors.
“We are honored to have Rene’s experience of working closely with high growth life science companies that have gone public, generating more than $5B in transactions to our board,” said Jeff Conroy, Chief Executive Officer of Embody.
Additionally, the company has expanded its leadership team with several new hires and appointments to enable the growth of its rapidly expanding commercial business.
- Tim Meyers, Chief Financial Officer – Transitioning from its board of directors to the CFO role, Tim has led investments and served on the boards of more than fifty companies. He has been instrumental in assisting more than 150 companies through capital raises, mergers, and acquisitions.
- Matt Havener, Director of Product Development – Matt brings over 15 yrs. of orthobiologics and product development experience from concept through product launch. He is focused on implementing best-practices in device development to expand the company’s platform of soft tissue healing products. Prior to Embody, he held innovation leadership roles at DSM Biomedical and Stryker where he oversaw successful execution of many cross-functional development programs.
- Vicki Phillos, Director of Commercial Operations – Vicki brings over 17 yrs. of commercial operations and customer care experience. Vicki previously served as the VP of Customer Care at Stryker and K2M, a spinal surgery device-maker, leading the creation of sales and customer care processes as the company grew, went public and was later acquired by Stryker for $1.4B.
- Brianna Schehr, Director of Regulatory & Clinical – Brianna brings over 15 yrs. of regulatory, clinical, and quality experience in medical devices and collagen-based biomaterials. Prior to Embody, Brianna was responsible for multiple successful FDA filings and clearances at DSM Biomedical and adds significant regulatory expertise to the Embody team.
- Jack Gardella, Director of National Accounts – Jack brings extensive, successful national accounts experience, having previously worked with Zimmer-Biomet and Smith & Nephew Endoscopy. Most recently, Jack developed and implemented a national account program with CooperSurgical, Inc., a leader in women’s health care products. Along with national accounts, Jack has also held Sales Management positions with Ethicon, Aesculap and Zimmer-Biomet.
- Christine Nelson, VP of Manufacturing and Quality. Previously Christine held the position of Director of Production & Logistics with the company for over 4 years and led the process to bring Embody’s first product, Tapestry, to market. She is driving the manufacturing and quality processes necessary for the company to scale to meet future demands.
“We see tremendous growth potential based on our recent success, requiring the need to build a team that is equipped to scale,” said Conroy. “With these new additions, we are in a position to further expand our capabilities and help our customers benefit from our technologies.”