Todd Usen joined Minerva Surgical as President & CEO on January 3, 2023. Prior to Minerva Todd served as CEO at Activ Surgical, where he oversaw the FDA clearance of its ActivSight technology, as well as leading four Series fundraising rounds totaling over $92M.

Todd came to Activ Surgical after serving as the President of the Medical Systems Group at Olympus Corporation of the Americas, where he helped lead the expansion from 6 medical divisions to 11 in 3.5 years. Prior to joining the Olympus Corporation, Todd held the position of President, Orthopedics, at Smith and Nephew, overseeing the Total Joint, Sports Medicine and Trauma divisions.

Todd has held several other vital positions for Smith and Nelson including Senior Vice President and General Manager, Joint Reconstruction; Senior Vice President, Sports Medicine; and Senior Vice President, Endoscopy.

Prior to Smith and Nephew, Todd worked for Boston Scientific as the Vice President of Sales for the Neurovascular Division, Director of Endoscopy Sales, and Global Manager of Field Development.

Todd completed his MBA at Pepperdine University and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Isenberg School at the University of Massachusetts, While at UMASS he played baseball and was recognized and inducted into the “Outstanding College Students of America” and the Golden Key National Honor Society.

Joel R. Jung - Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Jung served as the CFO at several life sciences companies including Counsyl, Inc. (acquired by Myriad Genetics, Inc.) from July 2016 to September 2018, Bionano Genomics, Inc. from February 2014 to June 2016, AgraQuest, Inc. (acquired by Bayer CropScience) from February 2010 to December 2012, and Celera Corporation from June 2008 to April 2009. He also served as Vice President of Finance with Bayer CropScience from December 2012 to June 2013, Applera Corporation-Celera Group from June 2006 to June 2008, and Chiron Corporation (acquired by Novartis) from September 1999 to April 2003, and Vice President and Treasurer of Chiron Corporation from April 2003 to July 2006. Mr. Jung holds a B.S. Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University, and an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dominique J. Filloux serves as our Chief Operating Officer of our company. He has held various positions with the Company since 2010, including Vice President of Research & Development and Operations, and Chief Technology Officer. Prior to joining our company, he served as Director of Research & Development at Endovascular Technologies (acquired by Guidant) from 1992 to 2000, Vice President of Operations at Ventrica, Inc. from 2001 to 2004, Vice President of Research & Development and Operations at Cierra Inc. from 2004 to 2007, and Vice President of Research & Development at Arstasis, Inc. from 2007 to 2010. He holds a B.S. Degree in Applied Mechanics from the University of California at San Diego, and an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University, Leavey School of Business.

Eugene V. Skalnyi, M.D. has served as our Vice President of Medical Affairs since January 2011. Prior to joining our company, Dr. Skalnyi served as medical advisor for various companies, including Meditrina, Inc., from August 2016 to April 2020, CorRx, Inc., from January 2015 to April 2020, IoGyn, Inc. (acquired by Boston Scientific), from July 2011 to August 2017, and Pulse Therapeutic Technology, Inc., from January 2015 to January 2017. He has also served as Vice President of Medical Affairs for several companies, including Sierra Surgical Technologies, Cytyc Surgical Products (acquired by Hologic, Inc.), and Novacept Inc. (acquired by Cytyc Corporation). Dr. Skalnyi received his Medical Degree from Moldova Medical University in 1988 and sub-specialized in Advanced Operative Endoscopy in 1990.

Thomas Pendlebury has served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Minerva Surgical since October 2014. Prior to Minerva, his experience building sales and marketing organizations at start-up companies spans numerous specialties including general surgery, orthopaedics, spine, and women’s health.

Mr. Pendlebury began his career in the medical device industry at Johnson and Johnson where he held roles in sales and marketing management in the Ethicon wound closure business; and later Hill-Rom and Synthes Orthopaedics.

In 2002 he joined Novacept at the start of commercialization, and through the successful acquisition to Cytyc in 2004, where he served as Regional Business Director for both the surgical and diagnostic divisions (later acquired by Hologic).

In 2007 he joined SurgRx which was subsequently sold to Ethicon Endo-Surgery in 2008; and later as Vice President of Sales at Nextremity Solutions; and Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Domain Surgical.

Arleen Felt has over 30 years of experience in the Medical Device industry in both Quality Assurance and Operations. Arleen has vast experience working with large, multi-national corporations as well as smaller, start-up device companies. Prior to joining Minerva Surgical in 2021 Arleen held management positions at ZipLine Medical (acquired by Stryker), EarLens, Arqos Surgical, Sierra Surgical, Cytyc Surgical (Acquired by Hologic), Abbott Labs/Hospira, and LifeScan, a Johnson and Johnson Company. In addition, Arleen served as a QA consultant for Minerva Surgical in 2011 during the early development of the Minerva ES system and also worked closely with IOGYN on the development of the Symphion system prior to the acquisition of the product by Boston Scientific. She holds a B.S. Degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A from Santa Clara University. She is also an ASQ certified Biomedical Quality Auditor.

Joanne Long serves as Vice President, Corporate Controller of Minerva Surgical since February 2021. She brings 10 years of experience in accounting, with a focus on health care and medical technology industry. Prior to joining Minerva Surgical, Joanne was Vice President, Corporate Controller at Carbon Health Technologies. She also held financial leadership positions at two other health care companies including Counsyl, Inc., which was acquired by Myriad Genetics, Inc. Joanne began her career in public accounting, spending 6 years at KPMG, LLP, and earned her B.S. in Accounting from University of Queensland, Australia and is an inactive Certified Public Accountant.

Wendy Bowman serves as our VP, Human Resources; she joined us in 2015 as Director of HR. She brings 20 years of in-house and consulting HR experience in large companies, small emerging companies, and venture capital firms. Most recently, Ms. Bowman has been an HR Consultant with Christine Mathews Consulting advising leadership teams and building out HR strategies for business growth. Previously, she held roles at SurgRx (acquired by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a Johnson & Johnson company) and Procter & Gamble. She received a B.S. in Business Administration from University of Costa Rica.

Ross A. Jaffe, M.D. has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2011. Since February 2019, Dr. Jaffe has served as a Venture Advisor at NEA, a global venture capital firm that focuses on development of technologies that drive global innovation. Dr. Jaffe is a co-founder and Managing Director of Versant Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm, where since 1999 he has focused primarily on investments in early-stage medical device companies. Prior to founding Versant, Dr. Jaffe was a General Partner at Brentwood Venture Capital from 1993 until 2020, leading investments in medical device, drug delivery, biotechnology, healthcare services, and healthcare information system companies. Dr. Jaffe has served on the boards of multiple successful medical technology companies, including Acclarent Inc., St. Francis Medical Technologies, Therasense, Inc., Insulet Corporation, and Novacept Inc. He currently also serves on the board of directors of several private companies, including AlterG, Inc., Foundry Innovation and Research 1, LTD (FIRE1), Relievant Medsystems, Inc., Woebot Health, Inc, and DocMatter, Inc. He is also co-founder and Chairman of Faro Health, Inc. Dr. Jaffe earned his bachelor’s degree in Policy Studies from Dartmouth; an M.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He completed his residency in internal medicine and served as part-time attending physician at the University of California, San Francisco.

Todd Usen joined Minerva Surgical as President & CEO on January 3, 2023. Prior to Minerva Todd served as CEO at Activ Surgical, where he oversaw the FDA clearance of its ActivSight technology, as well as leading four Series fundraising rounds totaling over $92M.

Todd came to Activ Surgical after serving as the President of the Medical Systems Group at Olympus Corporation of the Americas, where he helped lead the expansion from 6 medical divisions to 11 in 3.5 years. Prior to joining the Olympus Corporation, Todd held the position of President, Orthopedics, at Smith and Nephew, overseeing the Total Joint, Sports Medicine and Trauma divisions.

Todd has held several other vital positions for Smith and Nelson including Senior Vice President and General Manager, Joint Reconstruction; Senior Vice President, Sports Medicine; and Senior Vice President, Endoscopy.

Prior to Smith and Nephew, Todd worked for Boston Scientific as the Vice President of Sales for the Neurovascular Division, Director of Endoscopy Sales, and Global Manager of Field Development.

Todd completed his MBA at Pepperdine University and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Isenberg School at the University of Massachusetts, While at UMASS he played baseball and was recognized and inducted into the “Outstanding College Students of America” and the Golden Key National Honor Society.

Jill D. Anderson has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2021. Ms. Anderson is a healthcare executive with more than 25 years of experience leading the innovation, development, and commercialization of medical devices. Ms. Anderson was the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cianna Medical, Inc. from January 2008 until its acquisition by Merit Medical Systems, Inc. in November 2018. She also served as President of BioLucent, Inc. from May 2001 until September 2007, as Vice President, Cancer Services of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network from October 1999 until May 2001, and as Vice President, Eastern Region, of Salick Health Care, Inc. from June 1989 until October 1999. Ms. Anderson also serves on the board of directors of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: MMSI) and OncoRes Medical, LLC, and in the past served on the boards of Cianna Medical, Inc. and WDT Acquisition Corporation d/b/a Solis Mammography. She is a member of the Women Business Leaders in Healthcare and a Leadership Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors. She earned a B.A. in Finance, Magna Cum Laude, as well as an M.B.A. from Temple University.

Niquette Hunt has served as a member of our board of directors since June 2021. Ms. Hunt founded Candesant Biomedical in March 2016, and serves as its President and Chief Executive Officer. From 2009 to 2016, Ms. Hunt served as the Senior Vice President of Commercial Development for Revance Therapeutics. Ms. Hunt has served on the board of directors for Soliton, Inc. (Nasdaq: SOLY) since October 2020. Ms. Hunt holds an A.B. degree in Organizational Dynamics from Stanford University.

Ali Behbahani, M.D. has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2011. Dr. Behbahani serves as a General Partner of New Enterprise Associates (NEA), a global venture capital firm that focuses on development of technologies that drive global innovation. He is on the healthcare team at NEA, and specializes in investments in the biopharmaceutical and medical device sectors. Dr. Behbahani also serves on the board for several private and public companies, including Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc, Cardionomic, Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics AG, CVRx, Inc., Genocea Biosciences, Inc., Ivantis, Inc., Monte Rosa Therapeutics GmbH, Nkarta Inc., Oyster Point Pharma Inc., and Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Behbahani holds B.S. Degrees with distinction in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Chemistry from Duke University. He earned an M.D. from The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an M.B.A. from The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, where he graduated with Honors.

Catherine Coste has served as a member of our board of directors since February 2021. Ms. Coste retired from Deloitte and Touche LLP in 2020, where she was a senior partner and served as one of Deloitte’s Life Sciences Industry Executive Leaders. She spent 32 years in both corporate and professional services positions leading global finance, internal audit and operations teams. During her career at Deloitte, Ms. Coste was directly involved with over 30 life science corporations, the majority of which were large-cap and medium-cap public corporations. Ms. Coste also has extensive public company board experience, often attending multiple board committee meetings per month, and currently serves as a director and audit committee chair for Biomerica, Inc. Ms. Coste also has extensive experience in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, corporate risk analysis and management, cyber risk assessment, fraud prevention, IT systems analysis and upgrades, internal controls, and corporate governance. Ms. Coste is a Certified Public Accountant. Ms. Coste earned her B.A. in Business Administration, Accounting, from California State University, Hayward.

David M. Renzi has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2016. Mr. Renzi has served as Senior Vice President of Sales for Pulmonx Corporation (Nasdaq: LUNG) from February 2018 to March 2021, and as President and CEO at Carbylan Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBYL), from June 2013 to June 2016. He served as President and CEO at Neomend, Inc., from May 2009 to December 2012. Mr. Renzi has also served in a variety of executive roles including Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Novacept Inc, and SurgRx, Inc. Mr. Renzi earned his B.S. Degree in Marketing from Indiana University.

Derrick Sung, Ph.D. has served as a member of our Board of Directors since July 2022. Dr. Sung has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Pulmonx Corporation since 2019. From 2015 to 2019, Dr. Sung served as the Executive Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development for iRhythm Technologies, Inc., a digital healthcare and medical technology company. From 2008 to 2015, Dr. Sung was the senior equity research analyst covering the medical devices sector for Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC, a subsidiary of AllianceBernstein L.P. From 2004 to 2008, he served as Director of Marketing and Business Development in the Neuromodulation division of Boston Scientific Corporation. From 2000 to 2004, Dr. Sung was a management consultant at The Boston Consulting Group, and he began his career as an R&D engineer for Guidant Corporation. Dr. Sung holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from U.C. San Diego, an M.B.A. from San Diego State University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.