Management

Bob Lash, M.D., B.S.E.E./C.S., Senior Vice President & Chief R&D Officer
Dr. Lash brings 18 years of engineering management experience to ViOptix, with 10 years of medical device industry experience leading device development and production. He co-founded M.D. Engineering, where as CEO he led the development and manufacture of embedded-control based surgical instruments for cosmetic and laparoscopic surgery. The company grew to be the largest producer of liposuction equipment at that time, and was later acquired by Medical Device Resource Corporation. He subsequently co-founded M.D. Personal Products, a Hambrecht & Quist backed venture, where he led the development of the "Women's Choice" female condom. Dr. Lash also served as CTO for WebChat Communications, which was acquired by Infoseek, and led its engineering integration into Disney's GO Network. He most recently served as VP of Engineering for Driving Media, a venture formed by the founder of Amiga Computer. Dr. Lash has developed over 14 medical devices and has been awarded a number of U.S. patents. He received his M.D. degree from the University of California at San Diego, and his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Jian-min (Jimmy) Mao, Ph.D.,Vice President of Technology and Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Mao was appointed Vice President of Technology and Chief Technology Officer in April 2007 and previously served as Director of Technology. He brings to ViOptix the skills of converting knowledge in biomedical physics and mathematics into technology in the field of biotechnology. Dr. Mao has published 36 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, and 10 articles in conference proceedings or books. Prior to joining ViOptix Dr. Mao held professorships at The College of William and Mary and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Dr. Mao was awarded a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Houston.

Mark Lonsinger, Vice President of Operations
Mark brings 9 years of medical operations and supply chain management to ViOptix. Mark comes from Philips Medical Systems, formerly ADAC Laboratories, where he was the Director of Operations for the Nuclear Medicine business. He previously was responsible for the sales operations and supply chain for the Radiation Therapy Planning (RTP) and the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) businesses and also held positions in manufacturing, project management, and finance. He was part of the ADAC team that won the Malcolm Baldrige award for quality assurance in 1996. Mark holds a BA in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

Gina Franky, Vice President International and General Manager, Canada
Gina has worked in the healthcare field for over 20 years with extensive sales and marketing experience in Canada, Latin America and Europe. For the past 7 years she was with Spectral Diagnostics, a Point of Care diagnostics company that pioneered the use of rapid cardiac diagnostic tests to detect myocardial infarction. Most recently at Spectral she was Director of Sales, Canada & International for their cardiac product line and B2B Director for their Primecare OEM plasma separation membrane product line. Prior to that, for 9 years, she established and ran her own distribution company, Framedica Ltda based in South America, that provided diagnostic sales, training and service for haematology, chemistry and immunochemistry tests and instruments throughout Latin America. Ms. Franky completed a Masters Program in Business (1989), at the University of La Salle, a Degree in Electrical Engineering (1987), from the Colombian School of Engineering, Julio Garavito, and an Electronic Engineering Program (1981) from Javeriana University, all in Bogot? Colombia.

Jim Kirchberg, Vice President of Sales
Jim Kirchberg is a sales executive with 17 years experience in building and leading integrated campaigns for growing corporations. Most recently he was Director of Sales Development at Microsulis Americas, INC., a private women’s healthcare company that uses microwave technology for endometrial ablation. While with Microsulis, Jim launched a successful sales strategy that resulted in over 60% growth. Earlier, Mr. Kirchberg served as Director of District Sales for FEI Women’s Health where he reported directly to the Executive Vice President. His responsibilities included directing overall sales strategies and the successful implementation of sales programs. He was also responsible for new business development, which included conceptualizing, planning and initiating business strategy to maximize growth and profitability. Jim spent 8 years at Apple Medical Corporation where, as director of sales, he was responsible for all new product introductions including market research, clinical trials, sales implementation, product roll out, forecast generation and market penetration.

Denise Yarmlak, Senior Director of Marketing
Ms. Yarmlak has broad medical device marketing experience in industry leading companies and startups. Prior to joining ViOptix in 2006, she served as senior product manager at Carl Zeiss Meditec where she was responsible for ophthalmology products representing 40% of divisional profit. Earlier, at Landec Corporation she led the launch of the company’s first product, an orthopedic medical device, enabling a successful IPO in 1996. Prior to Landec she spent 10 years with Pilkington Vision Care, a leading manufacturer of eye care products, where she was involved with product development , launch and market management for professional and consumer medical products. Ms. Yarmlak also spent four years with Kendall Healthcare Products Company in sales and marketing positions. She holds a bachelor of science from the College of New Jersey and an MBA from Northeastern University.

Melissa Liu, Controller
With over 12 years of related experience with technology companies, Melissa Liu is the Controller of ViOptix and responsible for worldwide accounting and financial management, and human resources. Before joining ViOptix, Ms. Liu held senior financial management positions with CoWare Inc. and ArcSoft Inc. Her recent experience has centered on developing and growing finance and operations for these companies. She holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern Polytechnic University.