Mr. Miller possesses more than 20 years of experience in business development, sales and marketing within the medical device industry. He has served as a senior executive in large public companies- including Intuitive Surgical and United States Surgical Corporation - as well as in privately held, venture-financed startups that include Baxano and Optimize, Inc. Mr. Miller received a Bachelors Degree in Health Sciences as well as a Masters Degree in Applied Physiology from The Ohio State University. He holds 17 published patents for medical device applications.
Mr. Lockard brings to Microfabrica over twenty-five years of management experience in manufacturing and product development. At 3D Systems, Mr. Lockard led the team that concurrently developed multi-jet modeling - the technology that brought rapid prototyping into the office - and the Actua 2100 product that first embodied MJM technology. As plant manager, he established 3D Systems world-class manufacturing facility in Grand Junction, Colorado, achieving record revenues during its first quarter of operation. As general manager of 3D Keltool he designed and implemented a new and successful business model based on technology licensing. He holds numerous patents in the fields of rapid prototyping and micro-fabrication.
Mr. Frodis was a member of the team that founded Microfabrica in 2000. As Engineering Manager and later Director of R&D, Mr. Frodis led the effort to develop and implement the customized equipment used in Microfabrica's unique manufacturing process. Prior to joining Microfabrica, Mr. Frodis worked as an engineer and researcher at the University of Southern California and was a key contributor to the technology that led to the creation of Microfabrica. Before this, Mr. Frodis' career focused on automation and machine design after receiving a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada. He holds several patents in the field of micro-fabrication.
Mr. Chen brings Microfabrica a wealth of experience in micro-device design from the MEMS world. Prior to joining Microfabrica, he worked at OMM Inc. where he was a member of the original team that delivered the first qualified MEMS optical switch to the commercial market, and at Lucas Varity Novasensor (currently GE Industrial Systems) where he developed new MEMS products. Mr. Chen received his BS from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana and his MS at the University of California, Los Angeles, both in electrical engineering. He has authored more than 20 patents and 12 technical publications in MEMS fabrication and design.
Mr. Schmitz brings over 20 years of experience developing and building machines and high precision tools at both the R&D and commercial levels. He has led many diverse and challenging projects in the fields of process control, automation, handheld electronics, display technology, printing technology and medical devices. His areas of discipline include complex mechanism design, electronic instrumentation, system analysis, high precision tooling and process development. He holds patents in several fields, from printing technology and industrial equipment, to medical devices. He is currently leading Microfabrica’s initiative to develop micro-invasive surgical tools and expanding the company’s capabilities in design and integration methodology for MICA Freeform components and assemblies.
Mr. Chen is currently a General and Founding Partner of Medenovo, LLC, a private investment firm focused on medical devices. He is currently the CEO of SpiWay, LLC, a neuro-endoscopy company, and the CEO of FRESCA medical, a sleep apnea company. Previously, he was founder and CEO of USGI Medical, which develops technologies to enable incisionless suregery. Prior to USGI, Mr. Chen was a venture partner and entrepreneur-in-residence with Alta Partners, a leading life science venture capital firm. Before Alta Partners, he spent seven years at Applied Medical, including as General Manager of the Cardiovascular and Urology operating divisions, Sr. Vice President of Corporate Operations and International distribution. Earlier in his career, Mr. Chen was founder and CEO of BioFlex Inc. and Kinesys Inc., both medical device startups in orthopedic knee orthotics, and held various positions at Procter & Gamble. He received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and a MBA from The Anderson School at University of California Los Angeles. In addition, Mr. Chen holds 14 US and 2 International patents and is a member of the board of trustees of the Pacific Ridge School.
Philip "Flip" Gianos has been part of InterWest's IT team since 1982. With a background in engineering, he has invested in multiple areas of information technology, including semiconductors, computing and networking equipment, and infrastructure and applications software. He is chairman of the board of Xilinx (XLNX), a publicly held company, and is also a board member of several privately held companies, including Convey Computer, Microfabrica and Nanostim. Gianos also serves on the advisory board of Storm Ventures II, and is a past president of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists. Prior to joining InterWest, Gianos was with IBM for eight years in engineering management. He managed both chip design and systems integration for several IBM office automation products. Gianos earned his M.B.A. from Harvard University and received his M.S. and B.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He has one international and two U.S. patents.
Mr. Miller possesses more than 20 years of experience in business development, sales and marketing within the medical device industry. He has served as a senior executive in large public companies- including Intuitive Surgical, United States Surgical Corporation and Johnson & Johnson - as well as in privately held, venture-financed startups that include Baxano and Optimize, Inc. Mr. Miller holds a Bachelors Degree in Health Sciences and a Masters Degree in Applied Physiology from The Ohio State University.
Warren Packard is a Venture Partner at Draper Fisher Jurvetson. He leads the firm’s investments in BinOptics, Hola!, Microfabrica, Primet Precision Materials, and YeePay. He is also the Founder and CEO of Thuuz, a consumer platform for real-time sports discovery and tune-in. Warren also led DFJ’s investments in Direct Hit (IACI), Feedburner (GOOG), Fogdog Sports (EBAY), SeaMicro (AMD), TicketsNow (LYV), and Xfire (VIAB). Prior to joining DFJ, Warren co-founded Angara, an eMarketing infrastructure company that merged with Personify. Prior to Angara, he was an Associate at Institutional Venture Partners. Before IVP, he was a Senior Principal Engineer at Baxter International. Warren received his BS, MS, and MBA degrees from Stanford University.
Kevin Wasserstein specializes in investing and building medical device companies at Versant. His work with entrepreneurs spans the earliest seed or concept stage of development through the entire life cycle of the company.
Kevin has more than eighteen years of venture capital and operating experience in medical device and high technology companies, and currently serves, or has served, in board or advisory roles with companies which include: Acclarent (acquired: Johnson & Johnson), Autonomic Technologies, Respicardia, LipoSonix (acquired: Medicis), Lutonix, Microfabrica, NeoGuide Systems (acquired: Intuitive Surgical), Rox Medical, Second Sight Medical, St. Francis Medical (acquired: Kyphon) and The Innovation Factory. In addition, he serves as a member of AdvaMed’s National Venture Capital Advisory Board, and MDMA’s Venture Capital Advisory Group.
Before joining Versant in 2002, Kevin held a variety of marketing and business development roles at Guidant Corporation. Most recently he served as head of marketing in Guidant's Cardiac Surgery Group, where he led the group’s product/market development and launch initiatives. In Guidant's Peripheral and Carotid Group, Kevin developed and launched several first-generation stent and embolic protection devices while leading the carotid stent program’s marketing activities. Previously, in Guidant's Compass Business Development Group, Kevin’s responsibilities included acquisition, licensing and investment with both private and public medical device companies, and corporate strategy. His operational experience also includes business development at Heartstream, and engineering design and engineering management at Hughes Aircraft Company.
Kevin holds both Bachelor’s and Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in product design, as well as an MBA, all from Stanford University.