The Southeastern Medical Device Association -- a non-profit trade association driven to make the southeast a world-class region for medical technology, device, and diagnostic companies – has announced an initial group of featured speakers for the 2018 SEMDA Medtech Conference May 2-4, 2018.
 
For the first time ever, the annual Southeastern showcase of who’s who and what is happening in medtech will convene in South Carolina, with the Hyatt Regency Greenville serving as headquarters hotel.
 
Among the featured speakers announced today that have committed to present at the conference are Joe Lee, Executive Director of Life Sciences for JP Morgan; Andy Fish, Chief Strategy Officer of AdvaMed; and Denise Hines, North American Chair of the Health Information & Management Systems Society and current CEO of eHealth Services Group.  Also speaking will be Lee Burnes, Vice President of Global Research & Development at Halyard Health; and Jim Stefansic, Chief Executive Officer of Raiven Healthcare.
 
Additional featured speakers are expected to be named shortly, and companies engaged in presenting to industry executives in the PitchRounds program, co-sponsored by SCRA, SCBIO and Eversheds Sutherland, will be announced within the week.  PitchRounds is a highly targeted event for both start-ups and “Seed” companies as well as later-stage (Series A or later) organizations to present ideas, innovations and products to panels of institutional investors, regulatory leaders, venture capital directors, IP experts and others in structured sessions.  Selected participants receive individual feedback on their presentations and compete for $10,000 in top prize money.
 
“The South Carolina medtech industry has been a strong supporter of SEMDA for many years and is growing at one of the fastest rates in the country, so we are excited to tap into the growth and excitement in the industry by bringing this preeminent event to the Palmetto State for the first time,” said Jason Rupp, Executive Director of SEMDA.  “Most importantly, we are thrilled to unveil members of a stellar group of industry experts who will be presenting to members drawn from across the Southeastern United States and to industry attendees from across North America.”
 
The SEMDA conference typically attracts more than 400 executives in medtech and life sciences from throughout the United States and has become a must-attend for the medtech community. Registration is currently surging, noted Mr. Rupp, and a full house of medtech industry leaders is again expected.  Persons interested in attending can review the agenda, speakers and registration details online at http://www.semda.net.
 
Joe Lee, who will keynote Day 2 of the conference, is Executive Director of Life Sciences for JP Morgan and leads the Middle Market Banking coverage of life science companies across the Southeast. Well-known and respected in life science industry circles, Mr. Lee will discuss key opportunity areas for growth in the Southeast and provide rapid-growth companies with counsel on how to prepare their organizations for success in the competitive space.
 
Andrew Fish is Chief Strategy Officer of AdvaMed, the leading trade association advancing medical technology in the U.S. and around the world. As chief strategy officer, Mr. Fish leads the association’s strategic planning, oversees AdvaMed's global, regulatory, and payment departments, and coordinates the development and operations of AdvaMed’s membership divisions and sectors.
 
Dr. Denise Hines is current Chair of the North America Board of the Health Information & Management Systems Society, and is actively involved in HIMSS’ Women in Health IT initiatives that promote diversity and recognition.  She is CEO of eHealth Services Group and serves as Executive Director of Georgia’s statewide health information exchange.
 
Lee Burnes is Vice President of Global R&D for Halyard Health where the organization is focused on development of products, technologies and solutions that prevent infection, eliminate pain and speed recovery.  Prior to joining Halyard, Lee successfully led numerous R&D organizations at Covidien.
 
Jim Stefansic serves as President and CEO of Raiven Healthcare, a provider of healthcare artificial intelligence and data analytics solutions. An accomplished entrepreneur, Jim has years of experience launching and growing numerous healthcare technology businesses.  He previously was co-founder and COO of Pathfinder Therapeutics, Inc., where he helped bring industry-leading image-guided surgical products to market.
 
“These presenters and others we will announce shortly demonstrates that SEMDA has evolved into a truly regional organization that embraces and represents the collective of medtech startups, universities, corporate organizations, investment resources and capabilities across the southeastern United States,” Mr. Rupp said.  “The conference provides a great opportunity to interact with other companies, investors, customers, partners, and specialized service providers.”