On 12 April, the board of directors of TriVascular appointed Christopher G Chavez as chairman, CEO and president, effective immediately. Michael V Chobotov, co-founder, formerly president and CEO, has been appointed chief technology officer and will continue to serve on the board of directors.
Chavez joins TriVascular with over 30 years of leadership experience in the medical device industry. For the past six years, Chavez served as president of the Neuromodulation division of St Jude Medical. Chavez joined St Jude Medical through its acquisition of Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (ANS) in 2005. At ANS, he served as CEO, president and director leading ANS/NMD through 14 years of profitable growth and innovation. Prior to ANS, Chavez spent 17 years at Johnson & Johnson, most recently as vice president and general manager of the Worldwide Infection Prevention Business. Chavez has previously served as chairman of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, chairman of the Dallas/Fort Worth Health Industry Council, and as a board member of Advanced Medical Optics, which was acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 2009. Chavez received his MBA from the Harvard Business School and holds a bachelors degree in accounting from New Mexico State University.
“Chris has a proven track record leading high technology, growth-oriented medical device businesses,” said Chobotov. “His values and leadership style fit TriVascular’s culture well and we are thrilled to have him join the team. Chris’ decision to join us is a testament to the strength of our technology, team and opportunity. As we prepare for our US commercial launch, we are confident that Chris is the right person to lead TriVascular to rapid growth, further innovation and, ultimately, to a leadership position in endovascular aortic repair (EVAR).”
“TriVascular’s mission and promise are inspiring and motivating,” said Chavez. “The company’s innovative, proprietary EVAR solution, Ovation, will save and improve the lives of thousands of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Mike and his highly capable team have conceived and developed a powerful and innovative technology platform with compelling clinical data. I am excited to join TriVascular and help the team fulfill its important mission and lead it through the commercial growth stage of its journey.”
TriVascular’s flagship product, The Ovation Abdominal Stent Graft System, is an ultralow profile (14F OD) endovascular graft for the treatment of AAA. CE mark approved, Ovation was launched in Europe in January 2011. In the United States, Ovation was granted the first ever human device exemption approval in EVAR in November 2011. The company is currently pursuing full market approval in the USA. To date, over 800 patients worldwide have been treated with Ovation.
