Eric A. Nofzinger, MD
Founder, Director, Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Nofzinger founded Cereve, Inc. in 2008, is currently on the Board of Directors and is Chief Medical Officer. Previously, Dr. Nofzinger was a Professor of Psychiatry and the Director of the Sleep Neuroimaging Research Program at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine where he worked for 25 years. He is also a Past-President of the United States Sleep Research Society and a Past-President of the Sleep Research Society Foundation. As a career National Institutes of Health funded investigator, Dr. Nofzinger pioneered methods to define the brain mechanisms of human sleep and sleep disorders using functional neuroimaging methods such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). He has published widely in this area including publication of the first studies of this kind in insomnia patients and to the development of the leading neurobiological model of insomnia. He edited the first textbook in this field entitled: “Neuroimaging of Sleep and Sleep Disorders”. Dr. Nofzinger invented the technology behind Cereve to reverse neurobiological changes in insomnia discovered using these methods. In his spare time Dr. Nofzinger is an avid runner and marathoner.
Craig B. Reynolds
Chief Executive Officer, Director
Mr. Reynolds is Chief Executive Officer of Cerêve, Inc. From 1998 through 2010, Mr. Reynolds served as the Chief Operating Officer of Respironics Inc., that develops, manufactures and markets therapeutic and diagnostic equipment including: intensive care ventilation, patient monitoring, respiratory drug delivery systems and sleep medicine devices. From 1981 to 1998, Mr. Reynolds was with Healthdyne Technologies, Inc., a respiratory medical device company, serving for five years as Chief Executive Officer and board member.
Mr. Reynolds currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Symmetry Medical, Inc., an NYSE-listed company and leading provider of implants, instruments and cases to orthopedic device manufacturers. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of Welch Allyn, Inc., Vapotherm Inc., and Zephyr Sleep Technologies Inc.
Robert E. Tucker
Chief Technology Officer
Mr. Tucker is Chief Technology Officer of Cereve, Inc. Previously, Mr. Tucker served as Senior Vice President of Operations at Healthdyne Technologies, Inc., responsible for technology, manufacturing and R&D. He has extensive experience in bringing products to market in the fields of sleep therapy devices, computerized sleep diagnostics, critical care ventilation, and homecare products.
Jeff Schirm
VP Engineering
Mr. Schirm is VP of Engineering for Cerêve, Inc. and is responsible for all aspects of product development. He previously held various Research & Development and Operational leadership roles with Philips Respironics, a global leader in the sleep, respiratory and home monitoring markets. Mr. Schirm has extensive experience in bringing successful products to market in the fields of sleep therapy, patient interface and homecare products. Prior to joining Respironics, he served in several key engineering positions at GE.
Damian Rippole
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Rippole joined Cerêve as CFO in November 2012. Previously from 2010 to 2012, Mr. Rippole was Chief Financial Officer of Precision Therapeutics, Inc., a cancer diagnostics company that provides personalized medicine solutions that aim to increase quality of life and cancer survival rates. From 2002 to 2010, Damian held various financial leadership roles with Royal Philips Electronics’ Home Healthcare Solutions business (which acquired Respironics, Inc., a global leader in the sleep and respiratory markets, in 2008). With Respironics prior to the acquisition, he served various roles in finance, most recently as Corporate Controller. Prior to joining Respironics, Damian worked for Ernst & Young’s Advisory and Assurance Business Services group from 1995 to 2002. Damian holds an undergraduate degree in Accounting from Grove City College and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Eric P. Meyer
Chief Marketing Officer (acting)
Mr. Meyer is acting Chief Marketing Officer for Cereve Inc., and Principal of Eric Meyer Consulting, LLC, which advises emerging companies on bringing novel consumer medical, health and beauty products to market. Mr. Meyer has extensive expertise in creating go-to-market strategies that integrate branding, consumer direct response (online and offline), professional recommendation and retail.
Prior to his consulting practice, Mr. Meyer served as CEO of TrafficGauge Inc. Prior to TrafficGauge Mr. Meyer served as VP Marketing and Sr. VP R&D for Optiva Corporation, makers of the Sonicare® sonic toothbrush, over a nine year period from pre-launch of the product through successful sale of the company to Philips Electronics. Prior to Optiva, Mr. Meyer served in senior marketing and sales positions at LifeScan in Milpitas California where he launched the One Touch blood glucose monitor. Mr. Meyer is currently on the Board of Vapore Inc., and has previously served on Boards for Advanced H20, Ventus Medical, and Orahealth, Inc. Mr. Meyer holds a Bachelor Degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering and a Bachelor of General Studies from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Stanford University.
Kevin Wasserstein
Versant Ventures
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(acquired: Bard), 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.
Jan Garfinkle
Arboretum Ventures
Jan Garfinkle utilizes her educational background in biomedical engineering, extensive medical device operating experience and industry connections to select and nurture outstanding companies. Jan led Arboretum’s investment in HandyLab and served on the Board of Directors for five years until the company was acquired by Becton Dickinson. She has also led Arboretum’s investments in CardioMEMS, Uptake Medical, BAROnova, Vasonova, Esperion, NXThera, Sonitus Medical, Cerêve and MSC. She presently serves as a director of NXThera, Sonitus, Cerêve and MSC, and as a board observer on Uptake Medical and Esperion. Jan heads the fundraising efforts at Arboretum and is a member of the Investment Committee. Jan founded the firm in 2002 and has been actively investing since.
Prior to founding Arboretum in 2002, Jan spent 20 years in senior management positions within entrepreneurial healthcare companies. She worked for two successful medical device start-up companies, Advanced Cardiovascular Systems (ACS) and Devices for Vascular Intervention (DVI). Each of these companies was acquired by Eli Lilly for more than $100 million and became the foundation for Guidant Corporation. She joined each company early in its development and held key management roles in marketing, clinical research, and sales and successfully launched over 20 new medical products. She began her career as a manufacturing engineer and production line manager for Procter and Gamble.
Jan is the past President of the Michigan Venture Capital Association, an Advisory Board member of the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center (GCIC) at the Cleveland Clinic, and a member of the Healthcare Advisory Board at the University of Michigan. Jan also serves as a member of AdvaMed’s National Venture Capital Advisory Board. Jan earned a BS in Bioengineering from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ross Jaffe
Ross Jaffe specializes in early-stage investing in medical devices at Versant Ventures, a leading healthcare-focused venture capital firm. Ross co-founded Versant Ventures in 1999 after spending nine years at Brentwood Venture Capital where, as a general partner, he led investments in medical devices, drug delivery, and healthcare information systems companies.
Ross is trained as an internal medicine physician, having attended medical school at Johns Hopkins and completing his residency training at the University of California, San Francisco, where he remained a part-time physician until 1995. He also holds an MBA from Stanford.
During his twenty-four years in venture capital, Ross has served on the boards of a number of successful life science companies, including Acclarent, St Francis Medical Technologies, Ablation Frontiers, Insulet, Therasense, and Novacept. He currently serves on the boards of Alter-G, Cerephex, Intersection Medical, Minerva Surgical, and Sympara. Ross has been recognized as a leading healthcare venture capitalist, including being on Forbes Magazines’ “Midas List” of the top 100 venture capitalists in both 2011 and 2012.
Active in the healthcare venture capital community, Ross is a Director of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) as well as a member of the NVCA Medical Industry Group and the NVCA Medical Innovation and Competitiveness Coalition (MedIC). He is on the Board of the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC) and leads its Patient Centered Benefit-Risk Project. In addition, he serves as the Chair of the Board of Overseers of the Dartmouth Medical School.
Blake Winchell
For the past 30 years, Blake has focused on private equity investments with Leucadia National Corporation, the Channel Investment Group, Generation Ventures, The Fremont Group and Partner Ventures. In addition to his role as Managing Director of Partner Ventures, Blake is the Managing General Partner of Fremont Ventures, the private equity growth-capital fund of the Fremont Group. Fremont Ventures was named by EETimes as one of the top 10 venture capital firms in the US for adding value to portfolio companies.
Blake joined Bain & Company in 1978, and was one of the founders of the San Francisco Bain office. In 1983, he joined the Brae Corporation division of Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE – LUK) as Vice President of Strategic Planning, and subsequently founded and managed the acquisition group for Leucadia.
Blake graduated from Dartmouth College in 1975 with high honors in English and Economics as a Rufus Choate Scholar where he was awarded the Henley Economics Award. He received his MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1979 and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Blake lives in Portola Valley, California. He is a member of the World President’s Organization and is an adjunct professor at IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, one Europe’s leading business schools, where he teaches highly rated courses on Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Acquisition (Search Funds). Blake received the Award for Teaching Excellence from IE in each of the last 4 years. He is also on the IE Business School International Advisory Board.
Don Spence
Don Spence served as Chairman and CEO of Lake Region Medical from 2010 until its sale to Greatbatch, Inc in late 2015. Lake Region Medical (also known as Accellent) was one of the largest suppliers to the medical device industry serving the cardio & vascular and advanced surgical markets. Prior to his role with Lake Region, Don spent five years with Respironics Inc. serving as Group President, Sleep and Home Respiratory and then later as Chief Executive Officer of Philips Home Healthcare after the sale of Respironics to Philips in 2008. In his role with Philips, Don had responsibility for Philips’ entire home care portfolio including the Respironics sleep diagnostics and sleep therapy business, the home respiratory business, Philips home monitoring and Philips Lifeline.
Prior to joining Respironics in 2005, he held a number of roles of increasing responsibility with two large global British companies (GKN, plc and The BOC Group). From 2001 until 2005 Don was the President & CEO of GKN Sinter Metal and during his 15 years with The BOC Group, he served in a number of key roles with Ohmeda’s Medical Systems Division including VP of Global Marketing and President, Ohmeda Medical Systems.
Don received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Michigan State University and his Master’s degree in Economics from Central Michigan University.