Led Dental Corporate Overview
The Board
Peter Whitehead, Founder Director and Chairman of the Board
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.
Steve Semmelmayer, Director
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.
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.
Rick Pauls, Director
Rick Pauls is the Managing Director of CentreStone Ventures Inc. where he manages all aspects of the fund. He leads the investment in several life sciences companies including DiaMedica Inc. and Sanomune Inc, both named to the 2008/2009 Canada's Top 10™ Life Sciences Competition Winners. Prior to co-founding CentreStone, he was with Centara Corporation, an early stage focused I.T. venture capital firm, where his responsibilities included assessing business opportunities, sourcing new opportunities, and working with investee companies, in addition to managing a public markets equity fund. Mr. Pauls has also been president and worked in business development roles for both private and public companies in the life sciences and IT industries. Before this, Mr. Pauls was with General Motors Acceptance Corporation in Minneapolis, where he specialized in asset-backed securitization and structured finance. He received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Manitoba and his M.B.A. in Finance from the University of North Dakota.
The Team
Ralph Green, D.D.S., President and CEO
Dr. Green has held a number of key positions in the dental industry, amassing considerable corporate, entrepreneurial, academic, clinical and volunteer experience in the process. He was the founder of Nobel USA, which is now the largest dental implant company in the world. Dr. Green later founded a dental implant company that he sold in 18 months to a publicly-traded company. He subsequently served as President of the Zila Pharmaceuticals division of Zila, Inc. His other corporate positions have included President of Ralph Green DDS PC, and Vice President of Clinical Affairs for Reachout Healthcare America, which provides healthcare services to underserved communities in twenty-one states and to the brave men and women serving in our country’s armed forces. Dr. Green began his career in private dental practice, later serving as a faculty member of Tufts University Dental School and the Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene. He has served as the President-elect of the Dental Manufacturers of America and on the Board of Oral Health America, and is a founder of the Arizona School for Oral Health and a trustee of the Forsyth Institute. He is also a member of the American Dental Association, the American Association for Dental Research and the International Association for Dental Research. He has conducted extensive research in the areas of bone growth, implants, tissue engineering and oncology, is the holder of numerous patents, and is considered an expert in stewarding dental devices through the FDA registration process. He received his Doctorate in Dental Surgery from the University of Iowa and his MBA from Boston University.
Dr. David Morgan, Ph.D, Chief Science Officer
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 Product Development & 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 ten 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 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.
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
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 10/20/2008.