Our Leadership Team

Raymond W. Cohen

Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Cohen has served as CEO and member of the board of directors since co-founding Axonics in October 2013. Mr. Cohen is an accredited public company director with over 35 years of experience in leading medical device companies and serving as a board member at a number of private and publicly traded life science companies.

From 2010 to 2012, he served as CEO of Vessix Vascular, a venture capital-backed renal denervation company that was acquired by Boston Scientific in November 2012. Previously, Mr. Cohen spent nearly a decade as Chairman and CEO of Nasdaq-listed Cardiac Science Inc., which was ranked as the fourth-fastest growing company in the US in 2004. Currently, Mr. Cohen serves as the Chairman of the board of directors at BioLife Solutions (Nasdaq: BLFS – preservation media for regenerative medicine) and member of the board of directors at BioVentrix, Inc. (privately-held transcatheter ventricular restoration company).

From June 2013 to April 2020, he served as an independent director, Chair of the compensation committee and member of the audit and nominating committees of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPPI – Oncology drugs). Mr. Cohen also previously served on the boards of two companies that successfully executed an exit transaction in 2017, Zurich-based LifeWatch (LIFE.SW), sold to Biotelemetry (Nasdaq: BEAT); and Colorado-based Syncroness, Inc. (privately-held contract engineering firm), sold to ALTEN Group, a multibillion-dollar French engineering services company.

Dan L. Dearen

President & Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Dearen has over 20 years of experience in medical devices and pharmaceutical industries. Previously Chief Operating and Financial Officer at Vessix Vascular, Mr. Dearen was responsible for integration following the acquisition of Vessix by Boston Scientific. Prior to that, Mr. Dearen was CFO of a number of life science and venture capital firms including Miraval Holding, Q3DM, Fairbanks Systems Group, ESI Software, Medication Delivery Devices and positions with Ventana Growth Funds.

Rinda Sama

Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Sama brings more than 10 years of Class III medical device experience, implementing lean operations and compliant quality systems. Prior to Axonics, Mr. Sama was the Director of Operations and Quality at Vessix Vascular Inc., and then the Director of Program Management at Boston Scientific. Mr. Sama holds a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine.

Karen Noblett, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Noblett is Board Certified in OB/GYN and in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. Before joining Axonics, she had a long career in academic medicine. She served as the founding Chair and Professor of the Department of OB/GYN in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside, from 2014-2017. Before that, she was a professor in the OB/GYN Department and Fellowship and Division Director for Urogynecology at the University of California, Irvine, as well as the Interim Chief Medical officer.

Dr. Noblett completed her Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research at the University of California, San Diego. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and authored multiple book chapters. She is a recognized expert in the field of Sacral Neuromodulation.

Guangqiang (Jay) Jiang, Ph.D.

Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Jiang is a seasoned technical executive with a 15-year track record of developing complex, implantable Class III medical devices. He was previously VP of R&D at the Alfred Mann Foundation. Dr. Jiang was elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)’s College of Fellows and served as Principal Investigator on several government contracts. Dr. Jiang holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California.

John Woock, Ph.D.

Chief Marketing Officer

Dr. Woock has a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University, focused on neural stimulation to control urinary function. He is the coinventor of several technologies in the field of urology. Dr. Woock was previously a Stanford Biodesign Fellow and an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company.

Al Ford

Chief Commercial Officer

Mr. Ford is an experienced executive leader with 20 years of experience driving global strategic sales, marketing, business development, product development, and commercial operations primarily within the medical device industry. He has led global commercial activities for both private start-up and public organizations, most recently as Chief Commercial Officer of Cardiac Science Corporation. Previously, Mr. Ford was GM and Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing at Opto-Circuits Incorporated, overseeing all global sales and marketing efforts across all product lines, including Cardiac Science, Criticare Systems, and Unetixs Vascular.

Mr. Ford has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marketing and a Master’s of Science degree in International Business from Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA.

Prabodh Mathur

Chief Product Development Officer

Mr. Mathur has over 25 years’ experience in developing Class III therapeutic medical devices. He previously led product-development efforts for Boston Scientific, Vessix Vascular, Cardiac Science, and Medstone International.

Questions?

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