Michael Berg has over 25 years experience introducing new technology into the professional healthcare marketplace, through his own companies and as consultant to the industry. He is experienced in product development and acquisition, finance, manufacturing, marketing and strategic planning, domestic and international distribution, reimbursement and regulatory affairs. Michael, having studied and lived in Japan is an expert in Japanese regulatory and distribution strategies. As 50% joint-venture owner and President of HemoCue, Inc, Michael launched a blood hemoglobin point?of?care analyzer in the U.S. through a unique distribution model he created, the Independent Direct Distribution Organization. This model incorporated an educational approach to convert the healthcare profession from the prevailing spun microhematocrit technology, to a more expensive but accurate and safer hemoglobin test for the diagnosis of classic anemia. This distribution system provided all the advantages of a direct sales force at a fraction of the cost. Under this model, 13,000 HemoCue analyzers were sold into the market in the first 4 years of operation, with continued placement to date of 30,000+ instruments resulting in a business exceeding $50 million in annual revenue. Michael divested all interest in HemoCue, Inc. upon Mallinckrodt's acquisition of the parent company, HemoCue AB, in January 1991 for $100 million. As a consultant to the industry, Michael has repeatedly formulated and implemented successful strategies to obtain CLIA Waiver categorization for point?of?care technology, solicited and obtained CPT coding through the American Medical Association process, and facilitated strong reimbursement for his clients through the Medicare (CMS) system. Focused on market development and physician education, Michael is experienced in the design and coordination of clinical studies, positioning products to meet clinical guidelines, evidence?based medicine and pay?for?performance criteria, and co?promotion with the pharmaceutical industry to link diagnosis and therapy. Michael received his BA from the University of Notre Dame and currently resides in Orange County California.
Mr. Dumencu served as Occulogix's Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer between September 2003 and June 2005 and has been serving again in that capacity since the middle of April 2006. Prior to his re-appointment as OccuLogix's Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in April 2006, Mr.Dumencu had been serving as OccuLogix's Vice President, Finance. From January 2003 to August 2003, Mr. Dumencu was a consultant for OccuLogix and TLC Vision, and from 1998 until 2002, Mr. Dumencu served in a variety of financial leadership positions at TLC Vision, including Controller. Mr. Dumencu was employed in various financial management positions by Hawker Siddeley Canada, Inc., a manufacturing conglomerate, from 1978 to 1998. Mr. Dumencu is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. He holds a Bachelor of Math degree from the University of Waterloo.
Dr. David C Eldridge currently serves as Vice President, Professional Development for TearLab Inc. He formerly was Vice President, Science and Technology of OccuLogix Inc., a biomedical ophthalmic research technology company specializing in age-related eye diseases. Prior to joining OccuLogix, Dr. Eldridge served on the founding Board of Directors and was the Executive Vice President, Clinical Affairs for TLC Vision. Dr. Eldridge was previously in private practice and adjunct professor at NSU College of Optometry.
He was the first Optometrist to perform laser procedures in the U.S. and has performed and taught Excimer photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), as well as Argon and Yag laser procedures. He was a certified trainer for Visx and Alcon.
In 1993 he was named "OD of the Year" and in 2000, he was selected to the Oklahoma Association of Optometric Physicians "Team of the Century"; is a charter member of the AOA Contact Lens Section and a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. He has served as President of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Academy of Optometry, President of the Oklahoma Association of Optometric Physicians, member of the OAOP Board of Directors and past Chairman of the OAOP Education Committee.
Dr Lemp is a corneal specialist; his major area of research interest is dry eye/ ocular surface disease. Over the last four decades he has published 209 peer-reviewed scientific articles, five books and served on national, international and government advisory boards. He organized and chaired the National Eye Institute/ Industry Workshop on Clinical Trials in Dry Eye; this report stands as the worldwide standard for the definition, classification and design of clinical trials for dry eye. He is one of four organizers of the follow up international Dry Eye Workshop (DEWS) the report of which was published in April 2007. His recent work is directed to further understanding instability of the tear film in dry eye states particularly the pathological events in the disease process and the development of new diagnostic and disease management modalities, most notably tear osmolarity.
After obtaining B.S.(1958) and M.D.(1962) degrees from Georgetown and residency training(1965-68) there, he served as a Fellow in Corneal Disease at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Schepens Eye Research Institute(1968-70) where he authored the initial papers on qualitative disorders of the tear film while at these Harvard institutions. He has served as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology (1983-1992) at Georgetown University, as an officer and board member of many national and international ophthalmic organizations, member of the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Advisory Board, and NIH Study Sections and advisory committees. In 2001 he retired from his clinical practice with University Ophthalmic Consultants of Washington where he was president. He has continued his teaching and clinical research activities and is currently Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Georgetown and George Washington Universities, the founding Editor-in-Chief of The Ocular Surface, the international journal of review for ocular surface disease and serves as a scientific advisor to most of the major ophthalmic pharmaceutical companies. In addition, he is a scientific reviewer for all the ophthalmic journals and currently directs the clinical research program at TearLab Inc., where he is the Chief Medical officer. He has been Visiting Professor at 70 universities, delivered nine named lectures and in 1998 received the Castroviejo Medal, the highest international award for professional accomplishment in the field of corneal disease.
Delano Ligu currently serves as Vice President of Information Technology for TearLab Corporation. Mr. Ligu has more then 16 years of experience in the Healthcare and Information Technology Verticals. Prior to obtaining his Master Degree in Biostatistics and Information Technology in Rumania, he graduated from University of Tirana, Faculty of Pharmacy and worked as a pharmacist for a number of years. Before joining TearLab Corporation, Mr. Ligu worked for OccuLogix Inc. and later TLC Vision Corporation as Director of Technical Services, being responsible for the entire Corporate IT Infrastructure and managing a team of talented IT professionals. He brings a great deal of experience in different areas such as system design, virtualization, networking, and security. Having worked primarily for Public Healthcare companies both in Canada and US, Mr. Ligu has been focused on system's security and compliance with HIPAA, PIPEDA, SOX and other privacy legislations that regulate the Healthcare Industry.
Mr. Morrison has 30 years of Sales, Business Development and General Management experience with proven entrepreneurial success.
In 2003, Mr. Morrison founded a private, high-tech mobile equipment leasing company (The Technology Source, Inc.) currently serving 500 eye care practitioners throughout 20 states by offering technology for the diagnosis and treatment of Glaucoma and Retinal disorders. Over the last 3 years, Mr. Morrison has gained valuable experience in the Dry Eye Disease marketplace by representing and providing consulting services, through The Technology Source, Inc., to a new pharmaceutical eye drop called FreshKote, manufactured by Focus Laboratories, Inc. Mr. Morrison has stepped down as President of The Technology Source, Inc. to assume the role of VP of Sales with TearLab.
Prior to his work in the Glaucoma and Retina disease arena, Mr. Morrison over 9 years held various senior positions with TLCVision (NASDAQ/TLCV, TSX/TLC).Mr. Morrison was part of the 4 member development team that implemented the highly successful optometric co-management business model and strategic plan to bring Laser Vision Correction to the USA. Once Laser Centers opened, Mr. Morrison managed the sites as Regional General Manager and then joined the senior management team as National Director of Development responsible for all Business Development and smaller mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.
With U.S. and global experience in both packaged goods and pharmaceutical products, Tracy brings more than 23 years of marketing and product launch experience to the TearLab Corporation team. Prior to joining Tearlab Corporation, Tracy was the Executive Director of Branding at Alimera Sciences, in Atlanta, Georgia where she launched their first ethically promoted OTC product in record time. Tracy has created and managed brand strategies for numerous ophthalmic OTC and prescription products. In her role as Executive Director, US Marketing at Novartis Ophthalmics, Tracy managed a team of product managers overseeing the anterior segment business for the company. Before moving to the pharmaceutical industry, Tracy worked for healthcare advertising agency, Adair-Greene where she managed the Novartis Ophthalmics account. International consumer experience was achieved during her tenure at McCann-Erickson in Moscow, Russia, a multi-national advertising agency. As head of New Business, Tracy brought a number of key accounts into the agency. In her role as Group Account Supervisor, she led a diverse brand team which managed clients such as Johnson & Johnson, Nestle and Gillette. Throughout her career, Tracy has had proven success in building sustainable brand propositions which meet company P&L objectives.
Benjamin Sullivan is a co?founder of the Company. Prior to obtaining his Ph.D. in Bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego, Benjamin spent six years researching effects of Dry Eye Disease on molecular profiles of the tear film while at the Schepens Eye Research Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Prior to that, he graduated from Boston University in 1997 with a B.S. (summa cum laude) in Biomedical Engineering. Benjamin has explored various aspects of the role of androgens within dry eye and has published several articles pertaining to the characterization of lipid distributions within dry eye patients. His current work is focused on applied electromechanical phenomena at the nanoscale with an emphasis on improving specificity of diagnostic assays.
Prior to TearLab, Mr. Vamvakas co-founded TLCVision (NASDAQ/TLCV, TSX/TLC) in 1993 where he served as President and CEO until 2003. Mr. Vamvakas as CEO, built TLC into the largest eye care service provider organization in North America with revenues of more than $300,000,000 as TLC opened or acquired more than 100 laser eye clinics, over 200 mobile laser sites, more than 250 mobile cataract locations, several ambulatory surgery centers, and through its subsidiary Vision Source Inc. developed the largest independent Optometric Franchise with more than 2,000 locations. TLC's stock, listed on the TSX and NASDAQ since 1996, appreciated to well over $1 billion during his tenure.
Mr. Vamvakas is also the Chairman of Greybrook Capital, a private equity investment firm based out of Toronto that is focused on acquiring and operating companies in Financial Services, Technology and Healthcare. Mr. Vamvakas is also Chairman of Brandimensions Inc and serves on the Board of Jameson Bank.
Mr. Vamvakas has received many management awards from industry and his peers.
- Mr. Vamvakas was named to "Canada's Top Forty under Forty" in 1996.
-an award that recognizes the top 40 Canadians under the age of 40.
- In 2005 he was also voted "best of the best" by his peers.
- In 2000, Mr. Vamvakas was recognized by Profit Magazine for managing Canada's fastest growing company (TLC) with over 25,000% growth over 5 years.
- In 1999, Mr. Vamvakas received the Presidential Medal of Honor from the Illinois College of Optometry.
- In 1999 he was named Ernst & Young's Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year for Innovative Partnering and Entrepreneur of the Year for Ontario in the Emerging Category.
Mr. Walder, PA-C, 57, has over 30 years of healthcare and management experience, both as a caregiver and senior manager. Mr. Walder joined TearLab Corporation as Vice President of Operations in 2008. He is also a principal in The Samaritan Group, a consulting group specializing in medical services. Previously, he was the Vice President of Clinical Operations with Digirad, Corp., a leading developer of solid state gamma cameras and the largest provider of in-office cardiology imaging services. Prior to Digirad, Mr. Walder was the Business Unit Manager for Abbott Laboratories. Abbott Labs is a global organization that develops, manufactures and distributes healthcare products and pharmaceuticals. Mr. Walder graduated from California State College with a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering, the University of Southern California with a Baccalaureate in Medicine and the University of Phoenix with degrees in Business Administration and Management.
Steve Zmina currently serves as Vice President of Manufacturing & Engineering. Steve has more than 28 years of product development experience in a number of high technology industries including medical, telecommunications, semiconductor, and industrial and high volume consumer products. His wide range of skills include product development, product marketing, manufacturing, and operations. Prior to TearLab Corporation, Steve was the Vice President of Product Development at Thermoscan, in San Diego, California, developing professional and consumer infrared ear thermometers. He has also been responsible for the development of a variety of high volume consumer products for Tandy Electronics. While at Tandy, his product development team developed over 40 new, high volume consumer products. He introduced digital signal processing into very low cost consumer products to significantly improve product performance and value to the customer. Steve has also held a number of other executive level positions in the semiconductor and power supply industries, developing products for the consumer and industrial markets. Steve has BSEE and MSEE degrees from Purdue University in semiconductor electronics.
