| Thomas J. Shaw |
Chairman, President, CEO
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| Thomas J. Shaw, the Founder of the Company, has served as Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director since the Company’s inception. In addition to his duties overseeing the Management of the Company, he continues to lead our design team in product development of other medical safety devices that utilize his unique patented friction ring technology. Mr. Shaw has over 25 years of experience in industrial product design and has developed several solutions to complicated mechanical engineering challenges. He has been granted multiple patents. Mr. Shaw received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona and a Master of Science in Accounting from the University of North Texas. |
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| Michele M. Larios |
Vice President and General Counsel
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| Michele M. Larios joined us in February 1998 and currently serves as a Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of the Company. Ms. Larios is responsible for the legal and legislative, quality assurance, human resource, and regulatory functions of the Company. In addition to working on legal matters and with outside counsel, Ms. Larios works with legislators on pertinent issues and relevant legislation. Ms. Larios received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California, and a Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California. |
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| Steven R. Wisner |
Executive Vice President
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| Steven R. Wisner joined us in October 1999 as Executive Vice President, Engineering and Production and as a Director. Mr. Wisner’s responsibilities include the management of engineering, production, Chinese operations, and international sales. Mr. Wisner has over 29 years of experience in product design, development, and manufacturing. Mr. Wisner holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Iowa State University. |
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| Douglas W. Cowan |
Vice President and CFO, Treasurer
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| Douglas W. Cowan is a Vice President and our Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and a Director. Mr. Cowan joined the Company as Chief Financial Officer and was elected to the Board of Directors in 1999. He is responsible for the financial, accounting, risk management and forecasting functions of the Company. Mr. Cowan has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas Technological College. He is a CPA licensed in Texas. |
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| Russell B. Kuhlman |
Vice President of Sales
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| Russell B. Kuhlman joined us in February 1997 and is our Vice President, Sales. Mr. Kuhlman is responsible for management of the sales force and liaison with group purchasing organizations (“GPOs”) and product training for our sales organization, as well as distribution. Mr. Kuhlman’s efforts with us have resulted in bringing onboard Specialty Distributors, influencing legislation, and educating influential healthcare representatives about the benefits of the VanishPoint® product line. Mr. Kuhlman is respected throughout the industry and is a main contributor to the safety effort in this country. He has a sales background in the medical service industry that includes his most recent work for ICU Medical (formerly Bio-Plexus), a medical device manufacturing company, from 1994 to 1997, where he developed strategic marketing plans for new safety products. Prior to his work there, Mr. Kuhlman worked as Director of Sales and Marketing for Ryan Winfield Medical, Inc., a medical device manufacturing company, from 1989 to 1994, where he launched several new products, developed strategic sales territories, and was the trainer for Sales and Regional Managers. Mr. Kuhlman also worked for BD Vacutainer® Systems, a medical products company, in several territories from 1980 to 1989, where he was recognized as the National Sales Representative for the year 1987. Mr. Kuhlman holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Tennessee. |
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| Shayne Blythe |
Director of Sales and Marketing Logistics
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Shayne Blythe has been with the Company for over ten years and is our Director of Sales and Marketing Logistics. She is responsible for developing and implementing strategic directions, objectives, comprehensive sales and marketing plans, and programs. In addition, she directs and oversees all aspects of the distribution process and customer service policies in order to monitor and maintain customer satisfaction. Prior to joining us, Ms. Blythe assisted Mr. Shaw with the original 3cc syringe and other SBIR grant projects. Ms. Blythe has a Bachelors of Business Administration in Management from American International University.
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| Kathryn M. Duesman |
Executive Director, Global Health
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| Kathryn M. Duesman, RN, joined us in 1996 and currently serves as the Executive Director, Global Health. She provides clinical expertise on existing VanishPoint® products as well as those in development. She has been instrumental in developing training and marketing materials and has spoken and been published on needle safety issues. Ms. Duesman works with international agencies to promote the use of safe technologies in developing countries. Ms. Duesman is a 1985 graduate of Texas Woman’s University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Ms. Duesman’s clinical background as a registered nurse includes diagnostic, acute, and home healthcare nursing. |
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| John Fort |
Director of Accounting
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John W. Fort III is our Director of Accounting. Mr. Fort joined us in March of 2000 as a Financial Analyst and has served as our Director of Accounting since October of 2002. His primary responsibilities include managing the day-to-day operations of the Accounting and Finance Department, coordination of the annual audits, and interim reviews by our independent accountants, as well as the cost accounting and forecasting functions of the Company. Prior to joining us, he served as the Manager of Financial Planning for the product-marketing department of Excel Communications. Mr. Fort also served as the Manager of Budgeting and Projections for Snelling and Snelling, Inc., an international personnel services firm. Mr. Fort holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Tarleton State University.
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| James A. Hoover |
Director of Quality Assurance
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| James A. Hoover joined us in February 1996 and is our Director of Quality Assurance. Prior to his becoming Director of Quality Assurance he was Production Manager. He is responsible for quality assurance functions of the Company. Mr. Hoover has also developed and implemented FDA required procedures and has been involved in the FDA inspection process. Mr. Hoover joined us after working for Sherwood for 26 years. During his tenure with Sherwood, a medical device manufacturing company, he gained hands-on experience in all aspects of the medical device manufacturing process. Mr. Hoover began his career with Sherwood as a materials handler and worked his way up through a series of positions with added responsibilities to his final position there as Production Manager of Off-Line Molding, Operating Room/Critical Care. In this capacity, he managed several departments, ran several product lines, and hired and supervised over 200 employees. While at Sherwood, he also gained experience with one of the country’s first safety syringes, the Monoject®. |
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| R. John Maday |
Production Manager
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| R. John Maday joined us in July 1999 and is our Production Manager. He is responsible for supervision of the production of our products. Prior to becoming Production Manager on January 1, 2005, he served as our Production General Supervisor. Mr. Maday has 23 years of manufacturing experience in both class two and three medical devices. He spent three years with Mentor Corp. supervising two production departments and 13 years with Sherwood Medical in which he gained hands-on experience in all aspects of medical device manufacturing including managing the Kit and Packaging department with over 225 employees. Mr. Maday’s formal training includes FDA, ISO Six Sigma, and Total Quality Management Systems. |
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| Lawrence G. Salerno |
Director of Operations
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| Lawrence G. Salerno has been employed with us since 1995 and has served as Director of Operations for us since 1998. He is responsible for the manufacture of all VanishPoint® products, as well as all product development and process development projects. In addition, he previously supervised all aspects of the construction of our facilities in Little Elm, Texas. Mr. Salerno is the brother of Lillian E. Salerno, a shareholder holding approximately 10 percent of the Common Stock. Mr. Salerno received his Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of North Texas. |
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| Judy Ni Zhu |
Research and Development Manager
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Judy Ni Zhu joined us in 1995 and is our Research and Development Manager. Her primary focus is on new product development and improvement of current products. Prior to joining us, Ms. Zhu worked as a design engineer with Mr. Shaw on the original 3cc syringe and other SBIR grant projects. Ms. Zhu received her Bachelor of Science from Northwest Polytechnic University in Xian, China, and her Master of Engineering from University of Texas at Arlington. Ms. Zhu has assisted in design modifications for the 3cc syringe, which have maximized both product reliability and production efficiency. She also designed and developed a manual needle assembly machine and an automatic lubricating and capping system for the 3cc syringe and developed and assisted in the design of automated blood collection tube holder assembly equipment. Ms. Zhu has collaborated with Ms. Duesman and Mr. Shaw in the filing of several patent applications.
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