DELIVERING CONFIDENCE

For more information about Sean, see his LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-morris-0b6a1a7/

Nicholas Franano, MD, is a physician, scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur. He is President and CEO of Artio Medical, and a co-founder. Dr. Franano is an experienced entrepreneur, founding several companies including Artio Medical, Flow Forward Medical, Novita Therapeutics, and Proteon Therapeutics (NYSE: PRTO). Dr. Franano has held positions of President, CEO, and CSO at these companies, which have raised collectively over $120 million in capital and grants.

Before Proteon, Dr. Franano maintained an active clinical practice in interventional radiology, performing a wide range of vascular and non-vascular procedures. He received both his Doctor of Medicine and Master of Science in biomedical research from Washington University in St. Louis. He completed a residency in Diagnostic Radiology and a fellowship in Interventional Radiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He has received numerous research awards, grants and fellowships, and has published many abstracts and articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Franano holds 11 patents and more than 30 pending patent applications. In 2009, Dr. Franano was named a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum and an Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” for the Central Midwest. Dr. Franano serves on the Biological Sciences Advisory Board at the University of Kansas and the Entrepreneurship Council at Washington University in St. Louis.

Paul Muller is Chief Technology Officer and General Manager at Artio Medical. He is an experienced leader with over 30 years of success developing cardiovascular, peripheral vascular, and neurovascular medical devices. Prior to Artio, Paul was Chief Technology Officer and General Manager at Flow Forward Medical (acquired by Artio) where he led the product development team and moved the Arteriovenous Fistula Eligibility System program to clinical readiness. Prior to Flow Forward Medical, Paul started and led the HeartMate Percutaneous Heart Pump ^TM (PHP) program for the Thoratec Corporation, receiving CE mark approval and IDE initiation in 2015. Paul also successfully integrated the HeartMate PHP program into St. Jude Medical, and then into Abbott Laboratories through their acquisitions. Prior to Thoratec, Paul held many leadership and management roles within Guidant and Abbott Vascular. In one role, Paul created and led the Carotid, Peripheral, Biliary, and Neuro Business Unit within Guidant that developed the first device approved by the FDA for carotid artery stenting.

Paul is an inventor and co-inventor on 29 patents and has published several peer-reviewed papers in leading medical journals. He received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the Pacific.

Erdie De Peralta is Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs at Artio Medical. He is an experienced medical device professional with nearly 20 years of expertise in clinical and regulatory affairs, product development, and field and sales training.

Previously, Erdie was the Vice President of Regulatory and Clinical Affairs at ExThera Medical Corporation, where he led the company in the development and execution of regulatory and clinical strategies, including interactions with the FDA and other regulatory agencies. Prior to ExThera, Erdie held various regulatory leadership positions at OptiScan Biomedical, Abbott, St. Jude Medical, Boston Scientific, and Guidant Corporation. He has experience with implantable cardiac rhythm devices, PCI optimization, mechanical circulatory support devices, glucose monitoring systems, and hemofiltration devices.

Erdie has a Master’s degree in Nursing from New York University in New York, NY.

Emily Holliday is the Vice President of Human Resources at Artio Medical. She is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of Human Resources (HR) experience.

Emily is a proactive and strategic leader with experience developing and implementing polices and processes that minimize risk and ensure a positive, diverse, and ethical workplace. She joined Artio from Trystar, where she led the HR team and managed talent acquisition, employee engagement, compensation planning, performance management and development, employee relations, and compliance. Prior to Trystar, Holliday led complex HR teams and ran Employee and Labor Relations at several large consumer organizations, including Best Buy and Target Corporation.  In addition, Emily has overseen several HR functionalities within start-ups and established organizations in private medical practice and higher education in the health sciences.

Emily received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from The University of Kansas.

Irina Galkina is the Controller at Artio Medical. Prior to Artio, Irina was at Aratana Therapeutics, Inc. a publicly-traded animal health company, where she held roles of increasing responsibility in finance and accounting, from Accounting Manager to Controller. As Controller at Aratana, Irina was instrumental in the acquisition of Aratana by Elanco Animal Health, Inc. in 2019.  While at Elanco Irina focused on preparation for acquisition and subsequent integration of Bayer Animal Health, working closely with US and international senior management. Earlier in her career, Irina held roles of increasing responsibility in public accounting firms Anders CPAs + Advisors, Deloitte, and Arthur Andersen.

Irina holds a Masters degree in Economics from the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.

Delane Dale is Senior Director of Quality Assurance at Artio Medical. Delane has 30 plus years of medical device experience with various roles in quality assurance, quality engineering, and regulatory affairs.

Delane was most recently with Confluent Medical Technologies where she was responsible for product development and sustaining quality engineering for the manufacture of neurovascular, endovascular, and cardiovascular products, including nitinol implants and catheter assemblies. Delane held similar roles with Cordis Cardinal Health, Covidien Vascular, LifeScan, Varian Medical Systems and Becton Dickinson, including experience working with the FDA and other regulatory bodies for global device submissions and approvals.

Delane holds a BS degree in Industrial Engineering from California Polytech State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

Mimi Fitterer is Senior Director of Technology at Artio Medical. Mimi has over 20 years of experience in medical device design, development, and process transfer.

Mimi has experience leading product development efforts of new products at every stage from design concept through commercialization. Mimi was most recently at Intuitive Surgical, where she was responsible for exploring new areas for robotic surgical assistance in the endoluminal space. Prior to Intuitive Surgical, Mimi was at Boston Scientific, leading the development of next generation delivery catheters for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). She has also held engineering roles of increasing responsibility at Arbor Surgical Technologies and Conceptus Incorporated.

Mimi holds a BS degree in Bioengineering from University of California, San Diego in San Diego, CA.

For more information about Jenni, please see: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-witte-863a74257/

William Whitaker is a co-founder of Artio Medical and previously co-founded Flow Forward Medical, Novita Therapeutics, and Proteon Therapeutics (PRTO) where he served as Vice President, General Counsel, and Director. He helped raise more than $120 million in capital and grants for the various companies.

Prior to this, Whitaker was a Partner at two law firms before forming his own practice. He had a diverse career practicing in such areas as corporate law and financing, estate planning, municipal bond financing, bankruptcy, and litigation. He has served on the Boards of Directors of the Heart of America Mutual Fund and of Milburn Country Club, where he served a term as President. He also served for three years on the Public Policy and Education Committee of Kansas BIO.

Whitaker earned a Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce. He received his law degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. In 2009 Whitaker was named an Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” for the Central Midwest. Whitaker has held memberships in the Missouri Bar Association, Kansas City Bar Association and the Lawyers Association of Kansas City.