Management Team
Management Team
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
MOTASIM SIRHAN
Co-founder of Elixir and also founded Avantec Vascular and co-founded Maya Medical. Additional experience includes:
- Guidant Corporation (now Abbott Vascular), including leadership roles developing the RX Perfusion Catheter, PET balloon technology and Multi-link stent
- Inventor or co-inventor on 35 patent or patent-pending applications
- B.S. degree in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California
- M.S. in Management from the University of Southern California
President & Chief Operating Officer
VINAYAK BHAT, PHD
Co-founded Elixir with Motasim Sirhan and John Yan after serving together at Avantec Vascular. Additional experience:
- R&D at Guidant Corporation (now Abbott Vascular)
- More than 40 U.S./EU patents
- 25+ pending patent applications
- B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Bombay, India
- M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in North Carolina
Chief Technical Officer
JOHN YAN
Elixir co-founder with extensive experience on catheter-based medical devices. Previously, he served as:
- Director of R&D for Avantec Vascular
- R&D and engineering roles at Cardiac Pathways, Guidant Corporation (now Abbott Vascular), Ohmeda and Mentor
- More than 50 U.S. patents
- B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego
- M.S. in Bioengineering from Clemson University
Vice President, Regulatory and Quality
ERIN MAZZONE
Executive Vice President, Clinical Research
CANDACE ELEK
Proven manager of pre-approval and post-market clinical programs with 18 years of clinical experience and a portfolio of 50+ studies. Her background includes:
- Serving as Director of Clinical Research at Abbott Medical Devices, working on cardiovascular products such as XIENCE, ABSORB and MitraClip
- Providing clinical research management consulting services to companies seeking regulatory approval in the U.S., Europe and Asia
- B.S. from University of California, Davis
- M.S. from San Jose State University
Executive Vice President, Research & Development
HOWARD HUANG
More than 20 years of research and development experience, including:
- Expertise in stents and implantable devices
- R&D engineering and leadership roles at Guidant Corporation, Abbott Vascular Devices and Alvesta Pharma
- Mechanical engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Executive Vice President, Operations
ANDREW KRAMER
Andrew’s two decades of experience in the medical device field include:
- Serving as a Vice President at R&D at Apneon, developing multiple implantable devices and surgical procedures
- Vice President of Operations role at Avantec Vascular, building a team to support the launch of the company’s coronary dilation catheters and stent delivery systems
- Engineering degree from the University of California, San Diego
Executive Vice President, Global Marketing
ALEX NEPOGODIEV
Alex has accumulated more than 20 years of experience marketing medical devices, including:
- Developing successful new markets and therapies for interventional cardiology, structural heart, and endovascular businesses around the world
- Serving as a Divisional Vice President of Global Marketing for Abbott Vascular, overseeing the long-term strategy and marketing for Abbott Vascular’s coronary, endovascular, imaging and physiology portfolios
- BBA in Marketing from Western Michigan University
- MBA from Arizona State University
Executive Vice President, Finance
RICHARD CASTRO
PMN 1713 Rev D