~ Appointment of Chief Quality and Regulatory Officer and Chief Business Development Officer supports accelerated growth plan
~ Appointment of Chief Quality and Regulatory Officer and Chief Business Development Officer supports accelerated growth plan
CMR Surgical today announces the appointment of Chris Weatherall as Chief Quality and Regulatory Officer (CQRO) and Bertrand Weil as Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO), strengthening the Company’s leadership team as it continues with its global expansion and commercial scale-up.
Chris Weatherall is a regulatory and quality expert with over 30 years’ experience working at leading healthcare organisations. Chris joins from Phillips RDT where he was Director of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs and sat on the senior leadership team. He has also held senior quality and regulatory positions at Meridian Bioscience International where he was Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs for the lifescience division. As CQRO at CMR, he will lead global regulatory strategy and execution, as well as overseeing quality assurance across CMR’s products and services.
Bertrand Weil is a highly experienced executive with a successful career in business strategy and corporate development for healthcare companies spanning almost two decades. Bertrand joins CMR from Mölnlycke, Investor AB’s wholly-owned medical solutions business, where he was most recently Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Business Development. At Mölnlycke, he strengthened the company’s core Wound Care and Surgical Franchises through a series of acquisitions and partnerships, as well as creating platforms for new areas of future growth. Prior to this, Bertrand spent nearly a decade at GE Healthcare in finance and corporate development roles, as part of the group providing inorganic leadership for General Electric’s Healthcare business. As CBDO, he will lead CMR’s business development activities as Versius is introduced into new markets globally.
These appointments further broaden the expertise of CMR’s leadership team, following a number of hires including Barrington D’Arcy as Chief Operations Officer from Space X last year, and strengthens business and regulatory operations following the Company’s record $600 million (£425 million) Series D financing in June 2021.
Per Vegard Nerseth, Chief Executive Officer of CMR Surgical, commented: “The appointment of Chris and Bertrand is timely and a reflection of the maturity of the business as a global medical devices company. Such experienced individuals will help us to continue to deliver a high-quality system and meet our wider business objectives. Bertrand and Chris are executives with experience in companies across the life science sector, and we look forward to benefiting from their talents and insight as the Company continues to grow.”
Chris Weatherall, Chief Quality and Regulatory Officer of CMR Surgical, commented: “CMR’s vision is for minimally invasive robotic surgery to be made accessible to surgeons and patients worldwide. I’m proud to be leading the continued regulatory progress of the Versius system, whilst ensuring quality across all of our product and services.”
Bertrand Weil, Chief Business Development Officer of CMR Surgical, commented: “Versius represents an outstanding innovation in the surgical robotics space, providing surgeons with an unparalleled level of versatility. I’m excited to work with the team to guide business development globally, and to capitalise on CMR’s potential to become a market leader by making minimal access surgical robotics more broadly available.”
ENDS
The Versius® Surgical Robotic System
Versius® resets expectations of robotic surgery. Versius fits into virtually any operating room set-up and integrates seamlessly into existing workflows, increasing the likelihood of robotic minimal access surgery (MAS). The small, portable and modular design of Versius allows the surgeon to only use the number of arms needed for a given procedure.
Biomimicking the human arm, Versius gives surgeons the choice of optimised port placement alongside the dexterity and accuracy of small fully-wristed instruments. With 3D HD vision, easy-to adopt instrument control and a choice of ergonomic working positions, the open surgeon console has the potential to reduce stress and fatigue and allows for clear communication with the surgical team. By thinking laparoscopically and operating robotically with Versius, patients, surgeons and healthcare professionals can all benefit from the value that robotic MAS brings.
But it’s more than just a robot. Versius captures meaningful data with its wider digital ecosystem to support a surgeon’s continuous learning. Through the Versius Connect app, Versius Trainer and CMR clinical registry, Versius unleashes a wealth of insights to ultimately improve surgical care.
About CMR Surgical Limited
CMR Surgical (CMR) is a global medical devices company dedicated to transforming surgery with Versius®, a next-generation surgical robot.
Headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, CMR is committed to working with surgeons, surgical teams and hospital partners, to provide an optimal tool to make robotic minimal access surgery universally accessible and affordable. With Versius, we are on a mission to redefine the surgical robotics market with practical, innovative technology and data that can improve surgical care.
Founded in 2014, CMR Surgical is private limited company backed by an international shareholder base.