ZELTIQ Aesthetics, the medical technology company which developed the innovative CoolSculpting® System designed to target and reduce stubborn fat bulges (using a simple non-invasive 60-minute procedure) that don’t respond to amelioration via diet and exercise, announced the appointment today of 25-year industry veteran Mark J. Foley to the role of President and full-time CEO.
This is a step up for Foley, who has held the Interim President and CEO slot up until now, also serving on the company’s Board since back in 2009, with a stint as Executive Chairman up until early 2010. Foley brings considerable experience to the role, gathered from such ongoing engagements as being Managing Director at early-stage tech venture capital firm, RWI Ventures, as well as Executive Chairman at Onpharma, Senior Advisor to the TauTona Group, and a Director for both Sonitus Medical and Voyage Medical.
This kind of deep field experience has seen Foley in senior operating, investment, and board positions at large cap medical device sector companies for decades and his CEO capabilities have been made abundantly clear. With a great deal of work in venture-backed early stage development on success stories like Ventrica (of which Foley was Founder and CEO), which was later acquired by major player Medtronic, the appointment is a shrewd play by ZLTQ to kick start the next level of commercialization for their proprietary controlled-cooling technology and the CoolSculpting System. The list of successful start-ups Foley has under his belt is quite impressive and includes prominent examples like Guidant, US Surgical Corp., and DVI, later acquired by juggernaut Eli Lilly, and Perclose, which was acquired by Abbott.
Mark asserted that his long history with the company and familiarization with every aspect of the technology has placed him in the pole position to execute on growing the CoolSculpting market. Currently in a leadership position in the non-invasive fat reduction space, this remarkable technology is a clinically proven, FDA-cleared, and totally non-surgical solution to unsightly stubborn fat accumulation that has customers out the door fast with no downtime (as opposed to existing solutions that require healing or recuperation of some sort). CoolSculpting is extremely accurate and targets only the intended fat cells using a patented procedure that was developed by Harvard scientists, whereby fat cells are crystallized and then later break down over a period of a few months, the cell constituents naturally eliminated or otherwise reabsorbed by the body, leaving healthy skin and other cells unaltered.
Foley (B.A., University of Notre Dame) noted that the proven safety of the CoolSculpting technology and demonstrated efficacy in some 400k procedures to date granted ZLTQ a huge inroad to capitalize on their lead position in the market, as this incredible technology accumulates broader market impact.
Chairman of ZLTQ’s Nominating and Governance Committee, Bryan Roberts, Ph.D., a Partner over at technology, healthcare, and energy focused venture cap firm Venrock, was delighted at the permanent-basis CEO appointment of Foley, whom he regards as possessing an “in-depth understanding” of the company’s business, technology platform, and growth strategy. The logistics of that growth strategy are immediately apparent to a seasoned pro like Foley, and ZLTQ will be looking to extend significant Q2 performance with increased market penetration, aided by the vision of this born leader.
For more information on this key appointment, or to learn more about ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc., please visit the company’s website at: www.CoolSculpting.com
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