WE ARE SPINEOLOGY.
WE CREATE THE TOOLS
OF TOMORROW.
Spineology stands at the forefront of medical innovation, redefining the landscape of spine surgery with remarkable advancements and a dedicated team of visionary professionals. This pioneering company has become a beacon of progress, continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the field of spine surgery. The exceptional team at Spineology is comprised of accomplished individuals from diverse disciplines all driven by a shared passion to revolutionize spinal care.
MANAGEMENT TEAM
BRIAN SNIDER
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Brian Snider, CEO, joined Spineology in November, 2023 with nearly twenty years of progressive leadership experience in the medical device industry. Prior to joining Spineology, Mr. Snider served as Executive Vice President of Marketing for Alphatec Spine (NASDAQ: ATEC) as a member of the executive leadership team that was responsible for growing the company’s market capitalization from $20M to over $1.2B. During his tenure with ATEC, he had accountability for a variety of disciplines in marketing and product development. Prior to ATEC, Mr. Snider spent 9 years at NuVasive, Inc., a leader in innovative products and procedures for minimally disruptive spine surgery. During his tenure at NuVasive, he held senior level marketing positions in the Thoracolumbar business segment, including the flagship procedure, XLIF®. Mr. Snider received a BBA in Marketing and Information Systems from the George Washington University and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
W. MATT CRONIN
CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER
Matt joined Spineology in December 2020. Mr. Cronin has an extensive history leading sales and marketing teams within the orthopedics and spine industry, including various divisions of Stryker Corporation and Biomet. Most recently, Mr. Cronin served as Senior Vice President at joimax with full responsibility for driving all sales and marketing initiatives in the Americas. Mr. Cronin graduated from Illinois State University with a Master of Science in human performance and sports medicine, and he proudly served in the U.S. Navy.
JAMISON A. YOUNG
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Jamison was named CFO in August 2022. Prior to joining Spineology, she most recently served as CFO of Pediatric Home Respiratory Services, and prior to that was the CFO and then Chief Operating Officer at Summit Orthopedics, and Vice President of Finance for Virtual Radiologic Corporation, where she led the Company's initial public offering. Ms. Young holds a BA in Accounting from Luther College and an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.
WENDY CUSICK
GENERAL COUNSEL AND CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER
Wendy has represented Spineology since 2002. Prior to Spineology, Ms. Cusick practiced Intellectual Property and Commercial Law at Patterson Thuente focusing exclusively on the business and technology needs of medical device clients. In 2007, Ms. Cusick joined Spineology. Ms. Cusick graduated from St. Catherine University with a BS in Biochemistry and a BA in Philosophy. She earned her Juris Doctorate from William Mitchell College of Law.
KEVIN MONK
VICE PRESIDENT US SALES
Kevin joined Spineology in August 2012 and has over 15 years of success leading and managing spine distribution and sales teams focused on selling disruptive technology. Prior to Spineology, Mr. Monk worked at Biomet. He has a degree in Business from Thomas University.
CLINT BOYLAN
VICE PRESIDENT OF R&D AND OPERATIONS
Clint joined Spineology in October 2004. He has held engineering and management positions across multiple departments, including Quality, R&D, and Operations. Mr. Boylan received a BS in Chemical Engineering from University of Minnesota Duluth and an MS in Engineering Management from Saint Cloud State University.
TIM WANG
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
Tim joined Spineology in November 2022. Mr. Wang has worked at numerous medical device companies with innovative and disruptive technologies including Brainlab, Nexstim, joimax, and most recently MicroVention. Mr. Wang graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering along with a Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering.
JOE WALKER
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Joe joined Spineology in May 2022 with over a decade of experience in minimally invasive spine surgery. Mr. Walker previously worked for Nuvasive and Stryker, partnering with surgeons on a national level. Mr. Walker is passionate about educating and expanding new, disruptive procedures and technologies within the spine market. He received his degree in Legal Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Edson W. Spencer Junior
Chairman of the Board
Edson is the Founder and Chairman of Affinity Capital Management. He is the Managing General Partner of the PSF Health Care Fund, L.P., the Managing Member of Affinity Ventures II, LLC and a Managing General Partner of Affinity Ventures III, IV, and V, L.P. Mr. Spencer has an MBA from Columbia University and a BA from Williams College. He serves on the boards of directors of several portfolio companies and non-profit organizations.
Donald R. Brattain
Board Member
Donald is President of Brattain & Associates, LLC a private investment company located in Minneapolis. In 1991, prior to founding his investment company, Mr. Brattain acquired Barefoot Grass Lawn Service, which he grew from $3.2 million in annual sales to $100 million. He guided Barefoot through an LBO and IPO before the sale of the company in 1998. He currently serves on the board of Tyler Technologies, Inc., a publicly traded software services company, and several private companies in which he has a majority ownership.
J. Carter McNabb
Board Member
J. Carter is the Managing Director at River Cities Capital Funds, where he leads the firm’s healthcare investing practice. Mr. McNabb has been instrumental in setting River Cities’ healthcare strategy and establishing the firm’s credibility within the healthcare vertical. He has achieved numerous highly profitable exits in healthcare services and medical technology, and he currently serves on the boards of Nico, OrthAlign, Bolder Surgical, and Catalyst Orthoscience. He is also an independent board member of Ischemia Care. Mr. McNabb obtained his BA in classical studies from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) where he was awarded the James Goodwin Prize, the oldest academic honor at the college, and he received his MBA from Vanderbilt University.
Richard J. Nigon
Board Member
Richard has over 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry. He has served as a board member for Endocardical Solutions, Vascular Solutions, Inc. and Virtual Radiologic Corporation until they were acquired. Mr. Nigon currently serves as a board member for Celcuity. Mr. Nigon is currently Senior Vice President of Cedar Point Capital, LLC. Mr. Nigon was a Director of Equity Corporate Finance for Miller Johnson Steichen Kinnard, which was acquired by Stifel Nicolaus. After that acquisition, he became a Managing Director of Private Placements at Stifel Nicolaus. Mr. Nigon was employed by Ernst & Young LLP, where he served a partner for 19 years. Mr. Nigon received a B.A. degree in Economics and Accounting from Saint Johns University.
J. Robert Paulson, Jr.
Board Member
Bob is the President and CEO at Sonex Health. Bob previously served as President/CEO/Director at VentureMed, NxThera (acquired by Boston Scientific), and Restore Medical (acquired by Medtronic); CFO/VP Marketing at Endocardial Solutions (acquired by St. Jude Medical); Sr. VP/GM at Advanced Bionics; VP/GM of Surgical Navigation Technologies, VP of Corporate Strategy, and Director of Corporate Development at Medtronic. Prior to joining the MedTech industry, Bob held senior marketing, corporate development, legal and finance roles at General Mills, and practiced corporate, M&A, and securities law at Lindquist & Vennum.
Bob is a Director on the Boards of Sonex Health, Spineology, and the VentureMed Group, serves as Chair of the Luther College Board of Regents, and is a member of the Vanderbilt University Law School Board of Advisors.
Bob received a JD from the Vanderbilt University Law School; an MBA from the University of St. Thomas; and a BA from Luther College, with majors in Accounting, Economics and Political Science.
James T. Rybicki
Board Member
James has a strong sales and marketing background. After five years with Johnson & Johnson and Bausch & Lomb, he joined Hydrocurve, which in 1980 was sold to Revlon for $30 million. Mr. Rybicki then joined IOPTEX Inc., where in 1986 he became one of four principals as a result of a leveraged buyout with Merrill Lynch and Johnston & Associates. IOPTEX was sold to Smith & Nephew, Inc. in 1989 for $236 million. In 1992, he became a private investor in microcap medical device companies with a specific emphasis on orthopedics and ophthalmology.
Brian Snider
Chief Executive Officer & Board Member
Brian Snider, CEO, joined Spineology in November, 2023 with nearly twenty years of progressive leadership experience in the medical device industry. Prior to joining Spineology, Mr. Snider served as Executive Vice President of Marketing for Alphatec Spine (NASDAQ: ATEC) as a member of the executive leadership team that was responsible for growing the company’s market capitalization from $20M to over $1.2B. During his tenure with ATEC, he had accountability for a variety of disciplines in marketing and product development. Prior to ATEC, Mr. Snider spent 9 years at NuVasive, Inc., a leader in innovative products and procedures for minimally disruptive spine surgery. During his tenure at NuVasive, he held senior level marketing positions in the Thoracolumbar business segment, including the flagship procedure, XLIF®. Mr. Snider received a BBA in Marketing and Information Systems from the George Washington University and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Phil Soran
Board Member
Phil is a successful serial entrepreneur who has founded several technology companies and was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame in 2016. He was co-founder, President, and CEO of XIOtech Corp., which sold to Seagate Technology for $360 million in 2000. Later, he served as President and CEO of Compellent Technologies, which went public in 2007 and was subsequently acquired by Dell Inc. for $960 million. Most recently, he co-founded Flipgrid, an educational technology company, which was purchased by Microsoft in June, 2018. He currently serves on the boards of Piper Jaffray, SPS Commerce, and Foodsby.