Upcoming Events

Back to Search

Women in Medtech Forum - SOLD OUT

Thursday, September 7, 2023 (1:30 PM - 4:00 PM) (EDT)

Description

Women leaders in medtech color outside the lines. As trailblazers in a space often dominated by men, we take calculated risks to drive novel solutions with the goal of commercializing new technology and improving patient care.

At this Women in Medtech Forum, hosted by Olympus Corporation, you’ll hear from a talented group of female medtech leaders about their approaches to risk and things to consider when taking a smart risk on behalf of your company or your career.

Gabriela Kaynor, Olympus’ first female executive officer and head of their innovative Therapeutic Solutions Division, will kick off this groundbreaking discussion with a keynote on smart risk taking. The Forum will continue with a panel discussion with some of the industry’s most accomplished women leaders representing the start-up, financial, and investment medtech communities.

AGENDA

1:30 PM - 2:15 PM – Registration & Networking Reception

2:15 PM - 3:30 PM – Panel Session

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM – Networking

SPEAKERS

	Valerie Dixon is a Managing Director in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at Morgan Stanley. Valerie has advised global corporations on a range of strategic and financial matters, including mergers and acquisitions, and debt and equity financings. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Valerie was an Executive Director of J.P. Morgan’s Healthcare Investment Banking group. Previously, she spent eight years with Citigroup and Lehman Brothers. Valerie earned an MBA from Yale School of Management and is a graduate of Harvard College. She also serves on the boards of The Metropolitan Opera and the National Kidney Foundation.
	Donna Ford-Serbu is the co-founder and CEO of Eximis Surgical. Most recently, Donna served as SVP Sales and Marketing at Bolder Surgical. Prior to that she led the Cardiac Lead Management business unit of Spectranetics until the company's $2.1 billion acquisition by Philips. Donna spent 13 years at Covidien, the last 3 years with Respiratory and Monitoring Solutions where she drove efforts to transform Patient Monitoring resulting in 32% growth. She worked in Covidien's Energy-Based Devices division for 10 years, holding positions of increasing responsibility in the areas of sales and marketing management, business development, strategy and portfolio. Donna holds an MBA from the University of Rochester, and a BS from the University of Colorado.
	Gabriela Kaynor is the Executive Officer and Therapeutic Solutions Division Co-Head and the company’s first female Executive Officer in Olympus’ one-hundred-year history. She has led TSD and Olympus through extensive change and capitalized on opportunities for innovation, especially in the single-use device space. Prior to rising to TSD Division Co-head in 2020, she served in various senior roles across Olympus, including Vice President of Strategy, Portfolio Management, and Project Management Office (PMO) for TSD; Vice President of Upstream Marketing and PMO; and Executive Director of Portfolio Management. Gabriela’s first passion, however, is leveraging her engineering skills to find solutions for both internal and external customers. Before joining Olympus in 2016, she spent more than thirteen years at Covidien and Johnson & Johnson in roles across R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, and Engineering. She holds her MBA from Babson College and her Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Universidad Rafael Landivar, Guatemala. When she’s not at work, Gabriela enjoys exploring new places and cultures with her husband and two daughters.
	Jessica Schenck is the Director of Business Development R&D at Olympus Corporation, leading global M&A Due Diligence and Integration teams. Prior to taking her role at Olympus, Jess worked at Hologic for nearly 15 years, where she last held the role of director of new product development within the surgical division. At Hologic, she was part of teams that launched products in various women’s health conditions including heavy menstrual bleeding, fibroid removal, and breast cancer treatment. In addition to new product development, she was part of the innovation team that created a pipeline of products in adjacent spaces through deep customer insights and differentiation solutions. Jessica graduated with a BS in Engineering from the University of Miami.