Executive Management

Bjarne Bergheim has served as our Chief Executive Officer and President and as a member of our board of directors since 2008. Mr. Bergheim was our first employee and previously served as our Chief Operating Officer from 2006 to 2008. Prior to joining us, Mr. Bergheim was a co-founder and a member of the management team of Fjord Ventures, LLC, a life science accelerator located in Laguna Hills, California focused on building and operating companies in the medical device, diagnostic and biopharmaceutical sectors. Previously, Mr. Bergheim was the first employee of 3F Therapeutics, Inc., which was acquired by ATS Medical and later by Medtronic, Inc. Mr. Bergheim received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Irvine and an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Mr. Bergheim also studied cardiovascular and biomedical engineering at NTNU, Norway in collaboration with Stanford University and California Institute of Technology.

Michael J. Smith has served as our Chief Commercial Officer since June 2021 and brings more than 20 years international experience of working across a range of medical device and healthcare technology companies. Previously. Mr. Smith served as Vice President of Global Product, Marketing, Innovation and Ortho Channel at Align Technology Inc., the manufacturer of the Invisalign system and previously as their Director of Sales for EMEA.

Prior to Align Technology, Mr. Smith served as a co-founder and director of Developed Edge Ltd. (UK), a specialist training and development organization that works exclusively with medical companies. Mr. Smith has also served in a range of sales, marketing, and management roles at Vygon UK (a manufacturer of single-use medical devices) and DePuy Synthes, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson’s orthopedic company). Mr. Smith received a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, and an M.B.A. from the Warwick Business School, United Kingdom, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Executive Coaching from Henley Business School, United Kingdom.

Michael P. Watts has served as our Chief Financial Officer since November 2017. From March 2013 to October 2017, Mr. Watts served as the Chief Financial Officer of The HydraFacial Company. In addition to his experience at Hydrafacial Mr. Watts held financial leadership positions within Johnson & Johnson, Zimmer Holdings, Inc., and Danaher Corporation. Mr. Watts began his career in public accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant (Massachusetts).

Mr. Watts received a B.S. in accounting from the University of Massachusetts and an M.S. from Bentley College.

Roy T. Chen has served as our Chief Talent Officer since January 2018. From May 2012 to December 2017, Mr. Chen served as Vice President, Human Resources of Nobel Biocare USA LLC a division of Danaher Inc. From 2007 to 2012, Mr. Chen was Executive Vice President Human Resources for Sybron Dental Specialties, a manufacturer of dental and medical products. Mr. Chen also worked at Johnson & Johnson for 16 years in a variety of Operations, Commercial and Human Resources roles. Mr. Chen currently serves on the board of directors of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California. Mr. Chen received a B.A. in economics from Rutgers University, a B.S. in industrial engineering from Rutgers College of engineering and an M.S. in technology management from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Steven Ziemba has served as our Vice President, Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance since May 2021. From January 2015 to February 2020, Mr. Ziemba served as the Executive Vice President Quality, Clinical & Regulatory Affairs of Altaviz, LLC, a specification and design developer for ophthalmic surgical devices. From October 2011 to January 2015, Mr. Ziemba served as the Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Quality Assurance & Clinical Studies of Synergeyes, Inc., a manufacturer of specialty contact lenses for astigmatism, presbyopia and irregular cornea conditions. From September 2007 to October 2011, Mr. Ziemba served as the Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs of Hoya Surgical Optics – America, a manufacturer of advanced optics technologies. Mr. Ziemba received a M.Sc. from University of Southern California and a B.A. in Biology from California State University – Long Beach.