BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors at Simpson Interventions consist of a group of veteran medtech executives with extensive experience and background in entrepreneurship, business & financial operation, marketing, applied research, product development, engineering operation and clinical development..
John B. Simpson, PhD, MD
Chairman of the Board
Dr. Simpson has revolutionized the field of medicine through a variety of innovations that have fundamentally altered how physicians treat cardiovascular disease. Dr. Simpson has started numerous companies dedicated to providing patients with the most cutting-edge therapies in a variety of different areas, including directional atherectomy (coronary and peripheral), chronic total occlusions (CTOs), ultrasound, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, suture-mediated vascular closure, and a local drug delivery. He received his PhD in Immunology from the University of Texas and his MD from Duke University School of Medicine. He completed his fellowship in interventional cardiology at Stanford University, is a member of the American College of Physicians, a fellow of American College of Cardiology, has been published on a wide variety of medical subjects, and has lectured extensively throughout the world. Dr. Simpson is the first American to receive the European Society of Cardiology Andreas Gruentzig award and a proud early recipient of the TCT lifetime achievement award. In 2019, he was awarded the Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Price by the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Simpson is founder of Advanced Cardiovascular Systems (ACS, sold to NYSE:LLY, now part of NYSE:ABT), Devices for Vascular Intervention (DVI, sold to NYSE:LLY, now part of NYSE:ABT), Cardiovascular Imaging Systems Inc. (CVIS, sold to NYSE:BSX), Perclose (sold to NYSE:ABT, now part of NYSE:BSX), FoxHollow Technologies (sold to EV3, now part of NYSE:MDT), Avinger (NASDAQ:AVGR), and most recently Simpson Interventions. Today, he focuses his efforts towards developing devices aimed at radically improving the treatment of vascular disease through the expansion of new technologies and approaches such as optics, automation and software engineering.
Joe Knight, PhD
Dr. Knight has 20 years of experience in medical device innovation and commercialization. He has been part of the intellectual property development, business, and strategic planning for multiple ventures, including iRhythm Technologies (NASDAQ: IRTC), Higgs Boson Health, and as Founder/CEO of Medici Medical Technologies. Before joining Simpson Interventions, Dr. Knight spent seven years as the President and CEO of InnAVasc Medical, until it was acquired by W. L. Gore & Associates. He spent five years at Medtronic in various marketing, business development, and strategy roles. He served as the European Marketing Manager in Switzerland, responsible for ensuring successful launch for four separate technologies related to the CoreValve/Engager product lines within 12+ individual countries in the European Union. In his last role with Medtronic, as the Director of Strategic Marketing, he developed and executed the strategy that led to Medtronic's $100M acquisition of CardioInsight. Dr. Knight is an Executive in Residence in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University where he teaches courses on medical device innovation. Early in his career, Dr. Knight served eight years as an infantry soldier in the U. S. Army, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant and was awarded the Expert Infantryman's Badge (EIB), among the most prized peacetime decorations. Dr. Knight received a B.S. and M.S. in Engineering from the University of South Florida, an M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and completed Stanford University's Biodesign Innovation Fellowship.
Scott Addonizio
Scott joined the Board of Directors at Simpson Interventions in March 2023. He has over 29 years of experience in the global medical device industry, having spent 15 years overseas, the majority in mainland China. He is considered an expert in balloon and stent design and manufacturing, has in depth knowledge of the global coronary and peripheral marketplace, as well as a solid understanding of the global regulatory environment. Scott previously served as a Board Director of OrbusNeich Medical, responsible for global operations, where he held the title of Chief Operating Officer prior to transitioning back to the USA. Scott is the primary patent holder for the “Stent Having Dual Helical Design” which served as the backbone for all OrbusNeich stent platforms. Scott was responsible for introducing the OrbusNeich portfolio globally and securing a distribution contract with Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (CSI), which in turn open the US market to the first ever 1.0mm coronary PTCA balloon catheter. Scott is currently the COO of MedAlliance responsible for global operations including research and development, quality, regulatory and manufacturing. He was instrumental in securing an early $50 million round of financing upon being appointed his position as COO and has orchestrated a series of 4 IDE approvals and the manufacturing scaling required to sustain MedAlliance’s exponential growth.
Dennis J. Sheehan, MD, FACC
Dennis Sheehan, MD FACC joined Dr. John Simpson in 1983 in his interventional cardiology practice at Sequoia and Stanford hospitals after completing his Cardiology Fellowship at Loma Linda University Medical Center under Drs. Melvin P. Judkins and William Willis. Along with Dr. Bruce McAuley, he helped develop the first interventional cardiology program for Dr. Simpson at Sequoia Hospital along with coordinating live educational conferences for the early days of PTCA. Prior to Medical School and Chief Medical Residency at Loma Linda, Dr. Sheehan graduated from Stanford University where he celebrated two Rose Bowl Championships with the then Stanford Indians as a center for Jim Plunkett against Ohio State in 1971 and for Dr. Don Bunce against the University of Michigan in 1972. Dr. Sheehan has been a serial entrepreneur in the San Francisco Bay Area. He co-founded Berkley Heart Labs in 1990s, commercializing advanced lipid testing with sub-fractional processing. He has been an advisor or board director for multiple medical start-ups in the Silicon Valley over the last 30 years. In February 2020, he joined the Board of Directors at Simpson Interventions. Dr. Sheehan continues to practice cardiology on a reduced time schedule. Over the years, he has enjoyed volunteer medical mission trips to South America and Saudi Arabia.