Management Team

• Sacha Loiseau, Ph.D. President and CEO. Co-Founder

  Sacha founded Mauna Kea Technologies in May 2000 and has been the CEO ever since. He piloted the development of the Cellvizio product line and brought together a world-class executive team to raise over € 32 million with investors specialized in the health industry. In July 2011, he successfully led the company to an initial public offering on the NYSE Euronext Paris index and raised € 56.5 million to fund a large-scale commercial development. Sacha started his career at the National Center for Space Studies (CNES) in Toulouse and at the Paris Observatory, then joined NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, as a research scientist. Sacha is a graduate of the École Polytechnique in Paris and has a Ph.D. in Astrophysics and Optical Instrumentation.

• Eric Cohen, MBA Vice President Finance

  Eric brings significant executive leadership and more than 10 years of experience in corporate finance for companies in the life sciences sector. Prior to joining Mauna Kea Technologies, Eric served as the CFO of Biocortech, as the Deputy General Manager and CFO of the publicly-held company, Hybrigenics and as Finance Director of Teva Pharmaceutical in France. Eric's management experience ranges from small start-ups to publicly-held multinationals. He has raised over 30 million euros in equity capital. He was previously the CFO of Radio BFM, the French national business news station. Eric holds an MBA from the London Business School and a Master degree in Finance from Dauphine University in Paris.

• Thierry Thaure CEO, Mauna Kea Technologies Inc.

  Thierry is the former President and CEO of EndoGastric Solutions (EGS) and has more than 30 years experience in the medical device industry. During his career, he has built successful businesses including four start-up medical device companies (Origin MedSystems Inc., Intuitive Surgical Inc., ISRG and Accuray Inc.) and helped introduce technologies and procedures that have pushed the boundaries of minimally invasive surgery in the North American market. Prior to joining EGS, Thierry Thaure was Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Accuray and first VP Sales and Marketing at Robotic leader Intuitive Surgical.

• Chris Tihansky Executive Vice President, Corporate Development

  Chris joined Mauna Kea Technologies in January of 2008 as the President of its U.S. subsidiary and brings 23 years of experience in the industry. Chris worked as a Senior Healthcare Analyst at Genesis Merchant Group, an investment banking firm based in San Francisco during the mid-90's. He then joined Teleflex Medical where he was appointed Vice President and General Manager for the surgical instrument business. In 2003, Chris became the President and the CEO of Surgical Services, Inc. Chris holds an MBA from the University of San Diego, an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.

• Bruno Villaret Vice-President, International Sales

  Bruno has a rich, international background garnered from his studies in Lebanon, Italy and France where he became fluent in four languages. He has been a business manager in Europe and Asia starting his career as an Export Area Manager for Sapag, a division of Saint-Gobain, then working for 15 years for Tyco Fire & Building Products where he was appointed General Manager of Asia-Pacific. In January of 2009, Bruno joined Mauna Kea Technologies with a mission to develop the Asia-Pacific market for Cellvizio. Since 2010, Bruno has been responsible for the deployment of Cellvizio in all territories excluding North America, France and Germany.

• François Lacombe, Ph.D. Chief Scientific Officer

  François is a world-renowned scientist and the author of more than 150 scientific papers and 10 patents. He spent 14 years working on major international astronomy projects such as ISOCAM, the Infrared SPace Observatory (ISO) satelite's on board camera, ADONIS, the first multi-user adaptive optics system and most recently NAOS, an adaptive optics system for the Very Large Telescope in Chile. François has been collaborating with Mauna Kea Technologies since its inception. François is a graduate of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and holds a Ph.D. in Astrophysics.

• Véronique Dentan, Ph.D. Director of Operations

  Véronique has valuable experience in R&D, product design and engineering management on innovative products. She began her carreer at the Thales Central Laboratory, first as a research engineer, then as Head of the Organic Materials laboratory. Véronique then went to Photonetics, a telecom company sold to GN NetTest in 2000, where she worked as Chief Technical Officer setting up and developping the R&D and engineering departments for Optical Components. Before joining Mauna Kea Technologies, Veronique also spent 2 years at IXsea, a French Company specialized in fiber-optics based inertial sensors where she was responsible for the OCTANS gyrocompass product line. Véronique is a graduate of the École Supérieure d'Optique in France and holds a Ph.D. in Non-Linear Optics.

• Christophe Archier Supply Chain Director

  Chris joined Mauna Kea Technologies in 2004. Prior to joining the company, Chris managed technical and industrial projects both in France with Thomson-CSF and in the U.S. with Microvision where he implemented optical, endoscopic and scanning technology production and operation solutions. Chris brings solid technical experience and a clear understanding of operations and industrial production to Mauna Kea Technologies. Chris has an engineering degree from the Université Paris Sud in France.

• Caroline Garnier Director, Administration and Finance

  Caroline brings 30 years of experience in accounting and finance to Mauna Kea Technologies. Prior to joining the company in 2004, Caroline was the Chief Financial Officer of Apria, a 1,500-person healthcare organization serving more than 1.5 million beneficiaries. Before that, she held the position of Chief Accountant and then Chief Auditor at Guerbet. Throughout her career, Caroline has played a key role in the improvement of each organization and its financial performance. Caroline is a graduate of the École Superieure de Commerce in Reims, France and holds a degree in accounting.

• Anne Osdoit Director of Marketing and Clinical Affairs

  Anne has been responsible for defining and implementing Mauna Kea Technologies' clinical strategy since 2005. Beginning with pre-clinical applications, Anne took on the first clinical trials and moved on to define and implement the strategy for clinical development in gastroenterology and other clinical indications, including building the community of Cellvizio users. In early 2011, Anne's responsibilities grew to global marketing operations, which she manages in addition to clinical affairs. Anne studied at the École Polytechnique, in Paris and holds a Masterof Science from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA.

• Agnès Rouffiac Human Resources Director

  Agnès was hired in July 2011 to reinforce the global human resources strategy at Mauna Kea Technologies. She brings with her an experience of 20 years in marketing, sales and human resources management. Agnès began her business career in 1991 at the French offices of Reckitt Benckiser, the world leader in cleaning and hygiene products. For the following eight years, she worked in the Marketing Department as a product manager and category leader. From 1999 to 2000 (following the Reckitt & Colman/Benckiser merger), she served as Integration Manager for the Head Office. From 2000 to 2002, she pursued her career as category manager and notably stood in for the Marketing Director for one year. In 2002, she was promoted to Trade Marketing Director at Reckitt Benckiser. Two years later, she began her career as an HR Manager within the same group and, for the next seven years, managed the HR activities of the group’s only industrial facility in France (with a workforce of 400). Agnès is a graduate of HEC Paris business school and also obtained a Master’s in Economics in Brazil (where she lived for 10 years). She is fluent in French, English and Portuguese.