Jay Watkins is a veteran of the medtech industry with over 45 years of experience. Having bought or sold dozens of companies, he is considered one of the most elite dealmakers in the healthcare field.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- Co-founder of Origin Medsystems (acquired by Eli Lilly & Company)
- Management Committee and President of several divisions at Guidant, including Minimally Invasive Surgery Group and Heart Rhythm Technologies at Guidant
- Co-founder of Gynecare (acquired by Johnson & Johnson)
- General Partner at De Novo Ventures
- Founding President of Compass, Guidant’s corporate business development and new ventures group,
- Led venture investments in 14 companies, including Impella (acquired by Abiomed; NASDAQ: ABMD) and Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG)
BOARD AND ADVISORY SEATS
- Director at Neptune Medical
- Director at Jupiter Endovascular
- Chairman of RefleXion Medical
- Chairman at Tissium
- Director at SafeHeal
- Senior Advisor and Faculty Member at Stanford BioDesign
- Former Chairman/Director at Shockwave (acquired by Johnson & Johnson)
- Former Director at Cephea (acquired by Abbott)
- Former Chairman of Gauss (acquired by Stryker)
- Former Chairman at ReCor (acquired by Otsuka)
EDUCATION / ACCOLADES
- B.A. from Stanford University
- MBA from Harvard Business School
