CardioFocus has announced the appointment of Omari Bouknight as chief commercial officer and Jeff Rynbrandt as vice president of US Sales. Together they will lead the commercialisation of the HeartLight Endoscopic Ablation System, which was recently FDA-approved for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF), in the USA while expanding the US sales field force.
In the newly created role of chief commercial officer, Bouknight will lead and integrate the US and EU commercial teams and oversee the company’s launch efforts. In the newly created role of vice president of US Sales, Rynbrandt will be responsible for building and leading a best-in-class domestic field sales force.
Paul LaViolette, CardioFocus executive chairman, says, “We are excited to bring onto our commercial team two highly successful leaders in the cardiology industry. Omari and Jeff bring a combined 30 years of experience leading commercial cardiology launches and sales to CardioFocus. They will be building a revenue ramp from targeted sales of the HeartLight System in the US AF market, which is growing at nearly 20% annually. There are more than three million people in the USA and more than 33 million worldwide who suffer from AF, and we expect this number to increase given the growing elderly population. HeartLight is very well positioned to assist physicians that treat these patients.”
Prior to joining CardioFocus, Bouknight held the role of vice president of Sales and Marketing for Cardiac Dimensions, an early stage cardiovascular company with a novel mitral valve repair system, the Carillon Mitral Contour System. Prior to Cardiac Dimensions, Bouknight led the US launch of the HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist System at Thoratec, where he held the role of Business Unit director. He began his cardiovascular career at Guidant with strategy and sales roles in Cardiac Rhythm Management, working directly with electrophysiologists. Bouknight received his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and his Bachelor’s degrees from Michigan State University.
Before joining CardioFocus, Rynbrandt built and led cohesive sales teams to success within a variety of electrophysiology markets. He has held various leadership roles in sales and marketing at Boston Scientific, and has extensive experience in new product launches. Prior to his 14-year sales career with Boston Scientific, Rynbrandt served more than six years as an officer in the United States Army in multiple command and leadership positions. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Michigan State University and his Bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
