SynCardia Announces Promotion of Don Webber to CEO & Appointment of Peter Spadaro as President and CCO

TUCSON, Ariz., April 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SynCardia Systems, LLC, manufacturer of the world's only clinically-proven and commercially approved total artificial heart, is pleased to announce that Don Webber has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer, and Peter Spadaro has been appointed as the President and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).

Don Webber joined SynCardia in 2018 as Chief Operating Officer (COO), leading Manufacturing Operations and Engineering, Quality and Supply Chain Logistics for the SynCardia product line. Don's demonstrated leadership as COO led to his promotion in January 2019 to Chief Executive Officer (CEO).  He brings extensive management experience from more than 25 years in public and private sector life science companies. Prior to joining SynCardia, Don had been the COO at OptiScan since 2010. In addition, he's previously served as VP of Manufacturing Operations at C.R. Bard, VP of Operations at EKOS Corporation, and President and CEO of Mitralign. He holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering technology from the State University of New York and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University.

Peter Spadaro has joined SynCardia's leadership team as the President and Chief Commercial Officer. Peter will be responsible for oversight of the global Sales and Marketing Organizations and for driving the company's sales growth. He assumed the new role on April 2, 2019 reporting directly to the CEO, Don Webber.  Peter started his career at St. Jude Medical as a Sales Representative in New York City. During his almost 30-year career with St. Jude Medical he progressed through the organization's Sales and Marketing organizations taking on leadership roles that included Vice President of Global Marketing, Vice President of Cardiovascular Sales, and Division Vice President of Cardiac Rhythm Management to name a few. Peter comes to SynCardia from his recent leadership role at Medtronic as Senior Director of Sales, Cardiac Surgery. He holds a bachelor's degree from Fordham University.

Together, Don and Peter bring over 60 years of medical device leadership and management experience to SynCardia.

About SynCardia Systems, LLC

Headquartered in Tucson, Ariz., SynCardia manufactures the world's only commercially approved total artificial heart. In clinical use for more than 35 years and with more than 1,800 implants, the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH) is the most widely used and extensively studied TAH in the world.

By partnering with, training and supporting healthcare teams at more than 140 transplant hospitals and heart failure programs in more than 20 countries, SynCardia helps create better outcomes for critically ill adults and adolescents whose best chance at survival is total heart replacement. When a donor heart isn't an available option, SynCardia provides a new heart without the wait for patients with end-stage heart failure affecting both sides of the heart (biventricular failure).

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Media Contact:

Kris Peiffer, [email protected], (520) 618-1859

SOURCE SynCardia Systems, LLC