Led Dental Corporate Overview
The Board
Steve Semmelmayer, Director and Chairman of the Board
Steve Semmelmayer is a veteran of over 25 years in the dental industry. He began his career at Ormco, a leader in the orthodontic products market, where he held numerous sales and marketing positions. In 1993, Steve became General Manager and then President of Kerr Corporation, one of the industry's largest manufacturers of professional dental consumable products. He presided over Kerr for twelve years, growing the company from $120 million to almost $400 million dollars in revenue through both internal initiatives and acquisitions. In 2005, Steve was named the President of the Professional Dental Group of Kerr's parent, Sybron Dental Specialties, a position he maintained until just prior to joining LED Medical in early 2007.
Steve and his family reside in Orange County, California. He received his undergraduate degree in business from San Diego State University, and his MBA from Pepperdine University. He serves on the Boards of The Children's Dental Center of Los Angeles, MicroDental Laboratories, and Building Material Distributors Inc.
David Pierson, Director
David’s background covers a broad range of corporate management and ownership positions in the dental industry. He has been an executive and director of leading companies in both dental equipment and materials. He has co-founded several companies that have established new product categories and brand leadership. He and his partner created flowable composites, which are now used by 85% of dentists in the U.S. market. Recently, he was involved in the positioning, branding and marketing of CAD/CAM technology for dentistry. He is currently launching a consulting business that will focus on new technology and products for dentistry. His undergraduate background is in Natural Sciences, followed by an MBA.
Peter Whitehead, Founder Director
Peter Whitehead brings several years of experience in medicine, biochemistry and biophysics research with the St. Paul’s Cardiovascular Research Lab, University of British Columbia (UBC), and the British Columbia Cancer Association (BCCA), combined with expertise in biomedical product development in the field of cardiology. For five years, Peter worked one-on-one with international thought leaders in cardiology from institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic, Stanford, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He has published in Circulation, the world’s largest peer-reviewed cardiology journal, has invented and patented fluorescence image-based cardiac transplant rejection monitor products and has patents awarded and filed in endoscope development. Peter has taken three projects from concept to human use. Before the age of 30, Peter brought a device project from conception to a $50-million market cap medical device company.
Rodger Tourigny, Director
Rodger Tourigny is the President of Tourigny Management Ltd., a private consulting company. He has been providing consulting services since 1979 primarily dealing with oil and gas, financial services and real estate.
During his 26 years of consulting, Rodger has been involved in numerous business ventures including the establishment of a public oil and gas company, managing investment portfolios, purchase and sale of various real estate properties and owning and managing various oil and gas properties.
Prior to establishing his own consulting company in 1979, Rodger was Vice President – Finance of Siebens Oil & Gas Ltd. from 1976 to 1979 and Secretary-Treasurer of Ranger Oil (Canada) Ltd. from 1969 to 1976. Rodger obtained his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan in 1964 and became a Chartered Accountant in 1966.
Currently, Rodger is a Director of Advantage Energy Income Fund, NAV Energy Trust, Burmis Energy Inc. and Caribou Energy Inc. He is the Chairman of the Audit Committee at Advantage Energy Income Fund and NAV Energy Trust and a member of the Audit Committee at Burmis Energy Inc. and Caribou Energy Inc.
W. Keith Smith, Director
Keith Smith served as senior vice chairman of Mellon Financial Corporation and Mellon Bank, N.A., as well as a member of the Board of Directors from 1987 until his retirement on December 31, 1998. In his capacity as head of Mellon Trust he served as chairman and chief executive officer of The Boston Company and Boston Safe Deposit Company, as well as Chairman of The Dreyfus Corporation and Buck Consultants Inc.
Mr. Smith joined Mellon in 1987 as vice chairman and chief financial officer of Mellon Bank Corporation and Mellon Bank, N.A., and served in that capacity until 1990.
Before joining Mellon, Mr. Smith managed the finance and leasing subsidiaries and corporate staff departments at PACCAR, Inc., a manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks. Previously, he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Crocker National Bank, and as senior vice president of accounting and control for the Bank of Montreal. He also has held executive positions at Central National Bank in Chicago, and Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc.
A native of Regina, Saskatchewan, Mr. Smith received a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Western Ontario. He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Financial Executives Institute. He also serves on the boards of Dentsply International Inc., PPL Corporation, Baytree National Bank & Trust Co., Baytree Bancorp, LED Medical Diagnostics, Inc., West Penn Allegheny Health System, Allegheny General Hospital, River City Brass Band Endowment, Robert Morris University, and Greater Pittsburgh Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
The Team
David Cox, CGA, President and Chief Operating Officer
David is a Certified General Accountant (CGA) and he holds an MBA in Managerial Leadership. He joined LED from Emco Corporation, a privately-held Canadian distributor, where he spent 5 years as Regional Controller and Operations Manager for British Columbia, comprising 27 branches. David was responsible for facilities and equipment, business case development, branch openings, closures and relocations, health and safety, employee training and development, human resources, customer satisfaction, and financial affairs for the BC region. Prior to joining Emco, David gained 21 years of experience in finance, accounting, procurement and IT with Alcan Aluminum Limited, a publicly-traded multi-national and the world’s 2nd largest aluminum manufacturer. His career with Alcan spanned positions in Kingston, Ontario to Richmond, British Columbia, as well as international assignments in the United States and South Korea.
Wayne Rees
Wayne’s background in sales began with his commerce and business administration training at Malaspina College, where he majored in marketing. He co-founded Intadata Management, a national computer support company with eleven branch offices throughout Canada. Wayne was recently the Director of Dental Imaging for KODAK Dental. KODAK Dental was previously known as PracticeWorks, the largest dental software company in the world. PracticeWorks Inc. was publicly traded and was recently purchased by Eastman Kodak Inc. He has been involved in Dental Imaging for the past 18 years, co- developing and commercializing such products as PicturePerfect, InfoSource, Image F/X and CosmetiX, MedX for Medical Imaging and, most recently, DICOM ImagExplorer and Simulator. Wayne has consulted with Kodak and Olympus on Dental Digital Photography and has lectured on Digital Dental Photography and Imaging internationally. He also serves on the American Dental Association Standards Committee.
Dr. David Morgan, Ph.D, Senior VP Product Development
David has a PhD in Physics and spent four years in research at UBC, the University of Cambridge, and the BC Cancer Research Centre before working in medical devices.
He has over eight years of experience working with medical device companies in the Vancouver area, first as a Project Manager at Biomax Technologies Inc and then as Vice President of Engineering at MDMI Technologies Inc. He has also acted as an engineering and regulatory consultant with a variety of other development stage companies. He has a wealth of experience in both diagnostic and therapeutic device product development and has expertise in quality systems and regulatory affairs for the U.S., Canada, and Europe
Ricardo Romero, M.Sc., P.Eng., Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs
Ricardo received his M.Sc. in Mechanical/Biomedical Engineering from the Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia), where he spent two years as a Research Associate working on PFC-based blood substitutes and other cardiovascular research projects. He has over nine years of experience in the medical device industry as a design, development and manufacturing engineer, and quality and regulatory affairs consultant. His expertise focuses on research and development of therapeutic and diagnostic devices, implementation of ISO 13485 / CE / QSR-compliant quality systems, and regulatory management of medical devices in the US, Canada, and Europe. Ricardo is a member of ASME and a registered Professional Engineer with APEGBC
Scott Benjamin, D.D.S., Clinical Advisor / Consultant
Dr. Benjamin is a graduate of SUNY Buffalo, School of Dental Medicine and has been in full-time private practice in rural upstate New York for over 25 years. He has been a leader in computerized dental practice management since its infancy. Scott has presented at major dental meetings, workshops, study clubs and user meetings throughout the U.S. and Canada. He has published more than 100 articles on dental technology in over a dozen separate publications on topics ranging from computerization and the Internet to instrumentation, diagnostic aids and lasers.
Scott is presently the Section Editor of Advanced Technologies for the Journal of Practical Procedures & Aesthetic Dentistry (PPAD) and the Technology Editor of the Journal of Practical Hygiene (JPH) and the Journal of the Academy of Laser Dentistry (JALD). He is a member of the ADA Standards Committee on Dental Informatics (ADA-SCDI) and is the Working Group Chair for three subcommittees and is also a member of the ADA Standards Committee on Dental Products (ADA-SCDP) and the National Healthcare Information Infrastructure (NHII) Task Force. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Laser Dentistry (ALD), a member of the National Dental Electronic Data Interchange Council (NDEDIC) Board of Trustees and President of the Tri-County Dental Society.
Scott acts as a consultant and advisor to several technology companies, ranging from practice management, digital radiography, imaging and networking to manufacturing and design for other high-tech dental instrumentation, as well as dental office design, layout and workflow. He is president of Advanced Integration & Mentoring Inc., a company whose mission is to provide hands-on assistance and guidance to dental offices looking to incorporate advanced technologies into their practices.
Steve Wick, Regional Sales Manager – Western U.S.
Steve is a sales and marketing professional with over 16 years of experience in the dental industry. He has managed regions and established distribution processes for companies such as Dentsply, Ivoclar and Septodont. His strong dental sales experience is coupled with an ability to train and support dealer networks on new products and technologies. He has a BS in Economics from Seattle University.
Ebon Turner, Regional Sales Manager – Eastern U.S.
Bio coming soon.
Angus MacDonnell, Regional Sales Manager – Canada
Angus joined LED Dental Inc in February of 2005, to create the Customer Support program, and has continued to assist in the development of other areas of operation since that time. He brings a broad public and private sector background ranging from his own entrepreneurial business ventures, to classroom educator, to working with Provincial Government Emergency Response Ministries. Angus brings a strong focus on relationship building, educating and customer satisfaction to his passion for the life-saving potential of VELscope. Having worked and traveled widely nationally and internationally, Angus recognizes rapport building at all levels as a core value in his commitment to supporting his customers.
Claudia Morell, International Business Development Manager
Claudia, who joined LED in mid 2007, oversees the company’s expansion and sales in all markets beyond North America. Presently LED’s VELscope system is being sold in over 20 international countries, with several others targeted for market launch in the near future. Claudia, who received her MBA at Schiller International University in Heidelberg, Germany, brings to LED over 10 years of international marketing experience both as an entrepreneur and as a corporate manager. Her corporate experience includes four years at German-based Bayer AG, one of the world’s largest health care companies. She has studied and worked in Germany, Spain, France, Austria and Canada, is fluent in five languages, and holds citizenships in both Canada and Spain.
Betty Thomasson, Support
Betty is a seasoned dental professional with over 19 years of experience in the industry. As a Certified Dental Assistant, she has learned firsthand the inner workings of Dental Offices and the importance of providing professional, courteous, and friendly service.
Last updated 08/05/2007.