Brad Slaker
Founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board
Slaker brings over 20 years in the for-profit medical device industry, including extensive experience in all aspects of medical device product development from concept generation, product development and refinement, regulatory submissions, quality system requirements, manufacturing development, surgeon/physician relationships, project management and the management of engineering staff and cross-functional project teams. He also holds seven patents for various medical devices. Slaker has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota and his MBA from the University of St. Thomas.
Jodi Raus, MBA, RAC
Vice Chair and Treasurer
Raus is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs & Quality Systems at the Regulatory & Clinical Research Institute (RCRI). Jodi leads the Regulatory & Quality team developing and delivering Regulatory, Quality System and Compliance services for clients. She is also a Senior Principal Advisor for client’s regulatory affairs, compliance and quality system matters. Jodi has over 20 years of experience working with US and international regulatory agencies and has successfully obtained Regulatory approvals in more than 100 countries. Jodi holds an MBA from Bethel University.
Ann Johnson
Secretary
Ann Johnson is the director of the Center for Nonprofit Management in the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas. She has 30 years of nonprofit leadership and management experience in addition to expertise in professional training and curriculum development. She has served as an executive for health care, education, advocacy and grassroots organizations. In addition to her director of research and public policy role, Ann is the director of the Institute for Executive Director Leadership cohort for nonprofit executives. She also is a recognized speaker and presenter offering keynote presentations and training seminars nationally, regionally, and locally with a focus on board and executive development and nonprofit effectiveness.
Jim Hartman
Treasurer
Jim Hartman served as the chief executive of Enpath Medical, Inc. and its predecessor company, MedAmicus, Inc., from 1994 to his retirement in January 2006. He served as board chairman from 1994 to 2007, at which time the company was sold. He also served as chief financial officer from 1991 until his retirement. Enpath developed and manufactured medical devices for the vascular and cardiology markets. Jim serves on the board of two publicly traded companies, NVE Corp, and WSI Industries, Inc. He has an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and is a non-practicing CPA.
Tom McGoldrick
Tom McGoldrick served as chief executive officer of Monteris Medical Inc. from November 2002 until he retired in November 2005. He has been in the medical device industry for over 30 years and was cofounder and CEO of Fastitch Surgical in 2000. Fastitch (Now Incisive Medical) was a startup medical device company with unique technology in surgical wound closure. Prior to Fastitch, Tom was President and CEO of Minntech, a medical device company offering services for the dialysis, filtration, and separation markets. Prior to employment at Minntech, he held senior marketing, business development and international positions at Medtronic, Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson. Tom is on the board of directors of two other startup medical device companies.
Gwenyth Fischer, MD
Dr. Fischer is a board certified pediatrician and 2010 Medical Device Center Innovation Fellow at the University of Minnesota, where she is completing a clinical fellowship in pediatric critical care. Fischer is a co-founder and Associate Director of Pediatric Innovation with the Minnesota Pediatric Devices Consortia, which will be actively developing and promoting pediatric specific technology starting in the fall of 2011. She received her bachelor’s degree at Vassar College in New York with a focus in cognitive sciences, and received her medical degree from Loyola University in Chicago. She completed a pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth before returning to Minnesota.
James Davenport
James Davenport is a partner with KPMG LLP and serves as the firm’s healthcare leader in the Upper Midwest. He serves clients in the payer, provider and medical technology sectors and is responsible for KPMG’s service strategy and delivery to this market. James also serves on KPMG’s national leadership team for the managed care sector and authors an annual Managed Care Industry report that is distributed nationally. In addition to his professional work in healthcare, Davenport is the proud father of a daughter who spent three months in the neonatal intensive care unit and was the beneficiary of a number of pediatric medical devices. He also serves as the vice-chair of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities and is a member of the Neonatal Experience Team at Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota.
Al Emola
Al Emola has been in the healthcare industry for over 30 years and has served as president and CEO of several companies, including StentTech,, Vital Images and FlexMedics . Emola began his career in marketing at Bristol-Myers/ Squibb followed by marketing, strategic planning and business development positions at American Hospital Supply Corporation and St. Jude Medical.
He has served on the boards of Vital Images, StentTech, Medafor and Enpath Medical. He holds an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and is currently consulting with medical device start-ups and turnarounds.
Phil Kading
Phil Kading is the Client Strategy Director for OptumHealth’s Innovation Health Solutions group. Phil is responsible for delivering client performance reporting, client support and developing strategic client roadmaps for each of the Innovative Health Solutions clients and driving innovative solutions in the health management solutions marketplace. Phil has spent over 8 years in the UnitedHealth Group organization. He started at UnitedHealthcare and spent 6 years there in a combination of sales, business development and strategic marketing roles driving demand generation and sales targets in the commercial health insurance arena. After Unitedhealthcare Phil spent 2 years at OptumInsight in a Product Marketing Director role where he was instrumental in the commercialization of new product set for their payer business and was successful in opening up the Medicare Advantage Risk Adjustment marketplace. Phil started his career at a software licensing organization named SoftChoice out of Seattle, WA and held leadership roles in sales, marketing and vendor management. While at SoftChoice Phil lead the relationship with the largest SoftChoice vendor, Microsoft, and successfully managed this relationship to maximization of rebate goals.
Phil has his BA and MBA from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN and graduated with honors for each of the degrees. Phil also has been involved in health policy groups throughout the Minneapolis area and has been actively involved in the discussion around health reform strategies. He enjoys traveling, both internationally and in the US, skiing and playing hockey.
