MANAGEMENT
Combining the expertise of proven investment professionals and world-renowned clinicians
Louis Cannon, MD, FACC, FACP, FACA, FCCP
Founder, Senior Managing Director
Louis Cannon, MD, a former Judith Volkman Scholar in Residence, is the President of the Cardiac and Vascular Research Center of Northern Michigan. Dr. Cannon has been repeatedly honored as one of "America’s Top Interventional Cardiologists.” He has authored hundreds of articles for medical publications and holds a vast number of medical device patents in the United States. Currently, he is a member of the Board of Directors of CardioVascular Ingenuity and Kona. Previously, he has served on the strategic advisory boards for Fortune 500 companies such as Medtronic, Abbott, Boston Scientific, Johnson and Johnson, and Covidien, as well as many early developing medical technology companies. Dr. Cannon, through BioStar Ventures, has participated in the start-up and subsequent development of a multitude of developing bio-technological, or emerging healthcare companies, and has served as the National or International Principal Investigator for landmark cardiovascular studies. Additionally, he was Chairman of the Board of AorTx, Inc., which was successfully acquired by a publicly traded company. Similarly, as BioStar was the lead investor of Setagon, later acquired by a Fortune 100 company, Dr. Cannon served as the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. In 2007, Dr. Cannon assisted in performing First-In-Man percutaneous Aortic Valve procedures in Paraguay.
Michael Fulton, MD
Senior Managing Director
Dr. Fulton has spent his entire career in healthcare, including over 20 years as a successful early-stage investor and entrepreneur. Prior to joining BioStar, Dr. Fulton was a Managing Director of Hopen Life Science Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm, where he sourced and led a number of deals and has represented the firm on multiple Boards. Before transitioning to venture capital, he was a medical device and healthcare services entrepreneur, most notably at Lanx, Inc., a device company he co-founded in the spinal implant space. Over a span of eight years as CEO of Lanx, he scaled the company from a business plan into an $85 million revenue, 225-employee corporation that was ultimately acquired by Biomet. Dr. Fulton was also a co-founder, director, and interim CEO of ProNerve, an interoperative neuromonitoring company that was acquired by a private-equity group. He is an inventor of multiple neurosurgical and spinal devices, with over 50 granted U.S. and international patents. Dr. Fulton received his B.A. from Northwestern University and his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College. He also completed two years of neurosurgery training at the Cleveland Clinic.
Renee Masi
Managing Director
Renee Masi has more than 25 years of experience in the venture capital industry where she focused most recently on life science investing. Ms. Masi currently serves on the boards of Autonomix, CardiacMD, and SynergEyes. Prior to joining BioStar Ventures, Ms. Masi was a Partner with Windward Ventures, a firm focused on southern California early-stage companies, where she was responsible for the firm’s life science investing strategy. Ms. Masi was an advisor to Ventures Medical, a seed stage fund affiliated with the Texas Medical Center. In 1990, Ms. Masi opened the Boston office for Technology Funding, a $250 million venture capital fund based in San Mateo, California. She began her career as an investment banker in the healthcare finance group of Merrill Lynch. In addition to holding a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from The Wharton School of Business, Ms. Masi is also a member of the Board of Councilors for the USC Graduate School of Social Work.
Steven L. Almany, MD, FACC
Managing Director
Steven Almany, MD, is the Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab at William Beaumont Health System in Metro Detroit, Michigan. He is an interventional cardiologist and a partner of the Michigan Heart Group, and Associate Professor at Oakland University Beaumont School of Medicine. Dr. Almany has been the Principle Investigator for many clinical trials and sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of many medical companies and has served as a Scientific Advisor to Pequot Capital. Dr. Almany holds six U.S. patents and has authored more than 130 articles and chapters in frequently cited medical journals and books.
William H. (Hank) Kucheman
Director
Hank Kucheman serves as a Senior Advisor or Board Member to various public and private medical device and healthcare companies, including Global Health Exchange. Mr. Kucheman previously served as Chief Executive Officer for Boston Scientific, focused on leading global markets for less-invasive medical devices by developing and marketing innovative products, services and therapies that address unmet patient needs, provide superior clinical outcomes and demonstrate proven economic value. Before being named CEO in October 2011, he was Executive Vice President and President of the Cardiology, Rhythm and Vascular (CRV) Group and was responsible for the Company’s Interventional Cardiology and Cardiac Rhythm Management businesses and its Endovascular Unit, which includes the Peripheral Interventions, Neurovascular, and Imaging and Electrophysiology businesses. He joined the Company in 1995 as a result of Boston Scientific’s acquisition of SCIMED Life Systems, Inc. As Senior Vice President of Marketing for Boston Scientific, Mr. Kucheman was responsible for the global marketing functions of the Company’s Cardiovascular Group and corporate marketing functions. During his tenure, he oversaw the commercialization strategy for the Company’s TAXUS® paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system, defined and developed the Boston Scientific Reimbursement and Outcomes Planning functions, and initiated Marketing Science and e-Marketing programs. He was promoted to Senior Vice President and Group President of the Company’s Cardiovascular Group prior to his role in overseeing Boston Scientific’s CRV Group. Before joining Boston Scientific, Mr. Kucheman held a variety of management positions in sales and marketing for SCIMED, Charter Medical Corporation and Control Data Corporation. He began his career at the United States Air Force Academy Hospital and later was Healthcare Planner, Office of the Surgeon General, for the United States Air Force Medical Service. Mr. Kucheman earned a BS and MBA from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Alan Davis, MD
Director
Dr. Davis serves on the Cleveland Clinic Innovations Committee and is a highly regarded orthopaedic surgeon specializing in Sports Medicine, along with fellowship training in Foot and Ankle Surgery. Dr. Davis has worked closely with Dr. Cannon since 1984 when they attended medical school together, and he has been with BioStar Ventures since 2008. Dr. Davis was an Academic All American and All Big Ten football scholar athlete at Michigan State University, along with being president of the MSU Varsity Club. He has served as a team physician for college and professional sports teams, and for USA Hockey. He has been involved in multiple medical and metabolic technologies including those related to sports drinks and the metabolic needs of high performance athletes as well as computerized software design for maximized bio mechanical muscle training, rehabilitation and conditioning.
Jeremy Touroo
Venture Associate
Jeremy Touroo is a biomedical and electrical engineer, a published research scientist, and an inventor with over 10 years of experience in the medical device and life science fields. Jeremy served as Director, Bioengineering & Business Development for Becker Ventures for over 3 years, supporting the investment group’s expansion into the medical device sector. Prior to venture capital, Jeremy was a Research Engineer Scientist for several years at the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, an internationally recognized cardiovascular technology enterprise focused on clinical translation and commercialization, where he aided the development and evaluation of emerging products with both startup and major medical device companies. Jeremy is a member of the External Selection Committee for the NIH Center for Accelerated Innovations at Cleveland Clinic (NCAI-CC). He holds a M.S. in Cardiovascular Studies / Biomedical Engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University.
Lisa Riedmiller
Controller
Lisa Riedmiller has more than 20 years of venture capital fund accounting, investor relations and fund administration experience. Her current clients include Palomar Ventures, Blade Ventures, Rincon Ventures, Okapi Ventures, Global Opportunities Fund and Crosscut Ventures. Formerly, Ms. Riedmiller has worked with Windward Ventures, Capstone Ventures, Ocean Park Ventures, and Enterprise Partners. Over the years, Ms. Riedmiller has worked with a variety of start-ups as a function of her involvement with their investors. In addition, she worked for OSCCO Ventures from 1988 to 1997. Ms. Riedmiller holds a BA from California State University at San Jose.