Laidlaw Venture Partners Adds Industry Leading CEOs Jeffrey O'Donnell and Dr. Ann Marie Sastry to its Board of Advisors

NEW YORK, June 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Laidlaw Venture Partners, the venture capital arm of Laidlaw & Company (UK) Ltd., today announced the addition of Jeffrey O'Donnell and Dr. Ann Marie Sastry to its Board of Advisors. With more than 50 years of combined experience in leading companies across medical devices and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, O'Donnell and Sastry will help guide Laidlaw Venture Partners in building and expanding its already diverse portfolio of innovative companies.

The medical devices sector, part of the $3 trillion healthcare industry in the United States, is an area of growth and innovation where researchers and manufacturers are seeking to integrate accuracy with automation. There are several emerging applications of AI in the medical devices sector and business leaders and professionals are working to uncover opportunities to leverage technology for new products and solutions. Both O'Donnell and Sastry will help advise portfolio companies on the market and the efficacy of solutions in this space.

"We are in the midst of an exciting growth period for Laidlaw Venture Partners and both Jeffrey and Ann Marie will add tremendous value to our businesses, with years of experience in the medical device and AI sector," said Matthew Eitner, Chief Executive Officer, Laidlaw & Company (UK) Ltd. "Both are passionate about contributing leadership and business guidance particularly to companies that are focused on the betterment of society and their combined knowledge and entrepreneurial acumen will accelerate our already strong momentum."

Jeffrey O'Donnell Sr. has extensive experience in the healthcare industry, merging a solid, traditional corporate background with emerging growth experience. Jeff brings more than 25 years of Board and Chief Executive Officer experience running emerging medical device firms. Businesses under his direct leadership have achieved over $2 Billion in value creation from initial public offering of stock or mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to July of 2019 Jeff was founder and CEO of Trice Medical. Trice Medical is an emerging growth medical device company developing optical needles used by orthopedic surgeons to diagnose soft tissue damage of joints. In 2008, Jeff started and ran Embrella Cardiovascular, a medical device startup company, which was sold in 2011 to Edwards Lifesciences. Prior to Embrella Cardiovascular, Jeff served as President and CEO of Photomedex from 1999 to 2009. As President and CEO of Cardiovascular Dynamics (CVD) Jeff took CVD public on NASDAQ in June of 1996 and purchased Radiance Medical Systems and Endologix. From 1994 to 1995 Jeff held the position of President and CEO of Kensey Nash Corporation. Additionally, he has held several senior sales and marketing management positions at Boston Scientific Corporation, Guidant Corporation and with Johnson & Johnson's Orthopedic Division.

Dr. Ann Marie Sastry is President and CEO of Amesite, an award-winning AI software company focused on improving learning, and one of Crain's Best and Brightest Places to Work in Detroit (2019) and the BIG Innovation Award (2020). Dr. Sastry was previously CEO and co-Founder of Sakti3, recognized as one of MIT's 50 Smartest Companies (2015), and as a Crain's Detroit Business Cool Places to Work winner (2017). The company was acquired by Dyson in 2015 for $90M. Sastry was invited to the White House in 2015 to be recognized for her technology entrepreneurship and meet with President Barack Obama. Prior to starting her companies, she was an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan, for 17 years. She has co-authored over 100 publications and 100 patents and filings and has delivered over 100 invited lectures and seminars globally.

"Laidlaw Venture Partners' goal is to work with a select group of companies with novel products and platforms which address unmet medical needs in attractive commercial markets. We thrive on working with select firms that, when partnered with capital markets, strategic and advisory capabilities, maximizes corporate value and progresses innovation in areas including preclinical programs, earlier stage programs in drug reformulation and medical technology," said Matt Duffy, Managing Partner, Laidlaw Venture Partners. "Jeff and Ann Marie are great additions to our Advisory Board that will help us achieve our goals and drive value in our portfolio companies."

Pat Gallagher, Managing Partner, Laidlaw Venture Partners, continued: "We are proud to announce Jeff and Ann Marie as members of our Board of Advisors. The addition of such experienced people to help guide our companies is truly exciting and presents a bright and focused vision for our strategic investments. With Jeff spearheading our newly formed medical device effort and Ann Marie bringing vast perspective and skill in the AI sector, we are poised for significant growth. Further, our entire team is actively involved in our portfolio healthcare companies from our pre-clinical to our Phase 3-ready assets. This unprecedented effort across all teams will help us build sustainable and impact-generating organizations across multiple disciplines."

"As we facilitate the financing of our portfolio companies, we are delighted to have these incredibly talented individuals driving value for our investors," said James Ahern, Founding Partner, Laidlaw Venture Partners.

About Laidlaw & Company
Laidlaw & Company is a full-service investment banking and brokerage firm offering personalized investment advice and skillful execution to private institutions, public institutions, and high net worth individual investors.

Laidlaw & Company (U.K.) Ltd., a broker-dealer registered with FINRA in the United States, clears on a fully-disclosed basis through INTL FCStone Financial Inc., a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Laidlaw & Company International Limited, an affiliate of Laidlaw & Company, is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom.

Laidlaw Wealth Management is an affiliate of, and Laidlaw Venture Partners is a DBA, of Laidlaw & Company.

For more information, please visit: https://laidlawltd.com/

Media Contact:
Matt Pennacchio
516-851-4766
[email protected]

Investor Contact:
Matt Duffy, Managing Partner
646-335-5923
[email protected]

SOURCE Laidlaw Venture Partners

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