Jeffrey Vaitekunas is a creative research leader with extensive experience in the field of therapeutic medical ultrasound, holding over 25 patents and many publications. He played a key role in the development of J&J's successful UltraCision ultrasonic surgical device. Jeff received his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati in Engineering Mechanics, working under Dr. Edward Grood, for his dissertation titled- Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments: A Multi-Variate Study for Cutting-Rate Effects. He received his M.S. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Northwestern University while working under Dr. Jan Achenbach in the areas of ultrasonic wave propagation and non-destructive testing of materials. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.
Jeff is a registered Patent Agent, licensed to practice Law before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Prior to joining Omnisonics, Jeff practiced law at the firm of Crawford Maunu PLLC in Minneapolis. Before practicing law, Jeff worked in New Business Development where he was responsible for business acquisition and due-diligence, license negotiations, strategic planning, technology assessment, and research management. He also worked for seven years as a development engineer. While at EES, Jeff worked nights to create a start-up, Novus Communications Technologies, where he held the position of Chief Technology Officer. He is a past member of the board of directors for NOVUS.
Jeff also worked for six years at Argonne National Laboratory, a national "think tank." He ran an ultrasonics laboratory in the Materials Science and Technology department. At ANL he led a technology spin-off and started a small company, Ultra-NDE, specializing in robotically controlled ultrasonic scanning and image-processing systems.
Jim Ries is a charismatic senior sales leader who fuels national medical device revenue through deep expertise in the vascular surgery, interventional cardiology and interventional radiology spaces. Most recently, he has transitioned from Regional Sales Director for medical device firm AxoGen into medical device sales consulting. In coaching sales teams on territory planning, account optimization, or sales strategies, he has proven effective at leveraging team strengths to catalyze exceptional account relationship management.
Jim gained early career sales experience with Sandoz Nutrition, where he earned promotion from Sales Representative into Sales Training Manager and District Manager. Jim worked as a Sales Representative with Nordisk USA before joining CR Bard – USCI Division and rapid promotion to Territory Manager. In this role, he produced 240% of quota, earning Territory Manager of the Year honors and 2 subsequent promotions to Sales Manager (Angioplasty Division and Angiographic Division). Jim lead his team to earn Division of the Year, generating $740K in sales in 1 year, and ranking #1 of 8 divisions.
Jim then joined Intratherapeutics, contributing early 7-figure start-up sales. He proceeded to influence critical growth and set the stage for the company's IPO within 18 months with a corporate value of $200M. Following this Jim worked in key account management and regional sales management roles with Datascope. He secured mission-critical product contracts, aligned pricing, and improved territory sales, propelling my district to first-place ranking. Recruited next to Bayer Interventional, Jim guided his region from bottom to top rankings while exceeding quota 2 years in a row.