President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Miller joined BioVentrix in October 2007 as the company’s president and chief executive officer, bringing with him over 30 years of experience in healthcare. He is accomplished at securing financing, setting and executing strategies, and exceeding revenue and profit objectives. Prior to joining BioVentrix, Mr. Miller was vice president of sales and marketing for Cholestech (NASDAQ: CTEC), a global diagnostics company focused on coronary heart disease and diabetes. During his tenure there, Cholestech was acquired by Inverness for $317 million. Prior to that, he served as chief operating officer for R2 Technology, Inc., a diagnostic imaging company that pioneered the use of CAD for mammography. Mr. Miller helped grow revenues from $3 million to $58 million in three years, prior to the company’s acquisition by Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) in 2006.

He received a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University, and his MBA with an emphasis in Pharmaceutical Marketing from Farleigh Dickinson University.

Chief Financial Officer

William R. Abbott has served as our Chief Financial Officer since July 2019. Mr. Abbott has more than thirty years of experience in multi-industry international companies. Prior to joining us, Mr. Abbott was the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary of Hancock Jaffe Laboratories, Inc. from 2016 to 2018; where he successfully took the company through an IPO and listing on NASDAQ.  Mr. Abbott was also the Interim President from July 2016 to September 2017. Mr. Abbott served as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller and later as Interim Chief Financial Officer of Apollo Medical Holdings, Inc. From 2011 to 2014, he was an independent consultant providing accounting and advisory services. From 2006 to 2011, Mr. Abbott served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer for Cardiogenesis Corporation; where he led a successful sale of the company to CryoLife. From 1997 to 2005, Mr. Abbott served in financial management positions at Newport Corporation, including as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer from 2001 to 2005 and Vice President and Corporate Controller from 1997 to 2001; where he was responsible for 8 aggregate acquisitions for $700M. Prior to that, Mr. Abbott served as Vice President and Corporate Controller of Amcor Sunclipse North America, Director of Financial Planning at Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. and Controller of McKesson Water Products Company. Mr. Abbott also spent six years in management positions at PepsiCo, Inc. after beginning his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP.

Mr. Abbott has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Fairfield University and a Master’s in Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University. 

Vice President of Medical Affairs

Dr. Annest is a co-founder of BioVentrix, where he helped to design, create and develop the company’s innovative devices, surgical applications and related patents. As Vice President of Medical Affairs, Dr. Annest assembled a medical advisory board with world-renowned experts in the field of surgery for congestive heart failure. He is also focused on current and future generations of product design and development at BioVentrix, where he works closely with surgeons to perfect surgical techniques necessary to perform Less Invasive Ventricular Enhancement™ (LIVE™) procedures. He has personally participated in all human cases of the BioVentrix first-generation surgical product in Europe, now having transferred the skills to numerous other surgeons. Having become a pioneer in cardiovascular surgical improvements, Dr. Annest was a practicing cardiothoracic surgeon in Tacoma, Washington, for 20 years, but has recently become fully engaged in the development of medical device technology.

Dr. Annest received his Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and his MBA, with an emphasis on Medical Devices and Disruptive Technologies, from the University of Washington. He has been Board Certified in both General and Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and he has numerous peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Annest holds 25 issued or published patents.

Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Mr. Schickling brings over 25 years of experience in the medical device industry to BioVentrix, with the vast majority in the cardiovascular device marketplace. After starting his career in engineering with cardiovascular market leaders Edwards Life sciences and Medtronic Inc., he has spent the last 20 years in various sales and marketing management roles. During that time, he spearheaded the clinical marketing efforts at multiple venture funded start-up organizations, executing numerous international clinical studies and product introductions for innovative devices. Mr. Schickling has significant experience in the development and management of both direct and distributor sales models. Most recently, he managed the clinical marketing programs for a minimally invasive aortic valve product at privately held Arbor Surgical, which led to a licensing agreement with Medtronic.

He received a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego, and he holds five issued patents.

Vice President of Sales – Europe

Mr. Marques joined BioVentrix in September 2019 as the vice president of sales in Europe, bringing over 20 years of experience in the cardiovascular device marketplace. Mr. Marques’ experience focusing on clinician relationships and global patient access to cardiology devices will provide vital support to continuing to develop the European market. Prior to joining BioVentrix, Mr. Marques was the vice president of international sales for HeartWare Inc. and led the field organization to develop overall business strategies focused on revenue growth and financial performance, which ultimately led to a $1.1 billion acquisition by Medtronic in 2016. As vice president for Medtronic’s mechanical circulatory support (MCS) system, he delivered the overall sales and marketing strategies to accelerate and expand adoption in the marketplace.

Sr. Vice President of Product & Therapeutic Development

Mr. Van Bladel joined BioVentrix in 2008, bringing with him extensive experience in the medical device industry, including more than 20 years in technology development. Prior to joining BioVentrix, he was vice president of engineering at APSARA Medical, a privately held company developing a minimally invasive radio frequency treatment in the $3.8 billion aesthetic market. Prior to this, Mr. Van Bladel was senior director of engineering at BaroSense, Inc., a company developing minimally invasive devices to treat obesity. He also served on the management teams of Sanarus Medical and Reflow Inc., where he was instrumental in managing the sale of the company to Fox Hollow Technologies (NASDAQ: FOXH), now a part of ev3 Technologies. Prior to joining Reflow, Mr. Van Bladel held various engineering and management positions at General Surgical Innovations (acquired by Tyco Healthcare), Menlo Care (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), and Mentor Corporation (NASDAQ: MNTR).

He received a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the California Institute of Technology, and he holds 27 issued patents.

Vice President of Quality, Regulatory Affairs, and Clinical Affairs

Mr. Messenger joined BioVentrix in 2012 from Santa Clara, Calif.-based Guided Delivery Systems. He has served as Vice President for Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance for the percutaneous heart valve repair company since 2007. Prior to Guided Delivery Systems, Mr. Messenger was Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance at TriVascular from 2003 to 2007. The aortic and thoracic aneurysm repair company was acquired by Boston Scientific in 2005. Mr. Messenger’s experience includes obtaining approvals to initiate CE-mark clinical trials in Europe, Canada, and South America for unique heart valve technology. In addition, Mr. Messenger has managed a pilot clinical study in Germany and managed the successful completion of two FDA 510(k)’s for clearance of diagnostic catheters, and gained approval for the first endovascular aneurysm repair system in the United States.

He received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MBA from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.