- Appointment to support Company’s ambitious growth strategy to create value across its platform
- Follows a transformative 2022 having expanded the Cydar Maps product to provide a compelling solution for image guided minimally invasive endovascular procedures and signed strategic collaborations with key industry players providing strong third-party validation of Cydar’s technology and vision
CAMBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM, X FEBRUARY 2023 – Cydar Medical (“Cydar” or “the Company”), a global, cloud-based surgical software company, announces that Ken Hitchner has been appointed as Chairman of the Board with immediate effect. Lord Mervyn Davies of Abersoch who has served as Chairman since January 2017 will step down from the Board alongside Dr Franz B. Humer who has served as a Non-Executive Director since March 2017.
Ken Hitchner brings over 30 years of strategic healthcare advisory, M&A, underwriting and other transactional expertise. Ken was a member of Goldman Sachs Global Management committee and Chairman and CEO of Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, from 2013 to 2019. Prior to this he was Goldman Sachs Global Head of Healthcare banking and Global Co-Head of TMT banking. Ken spent much of his 28-year career at Goldman Sachs in the biopharmaceutical and medical device sectors. Before joining Goldman Sachs, Ken was a carrier-based fighter bomber pilot for the U.S. Navy. Ken is currently a Board member of publicly traded Wuxi Biologics and CStone Pharmaceuticals, as well as a senior advisor to Wuxi Apptec. In addition, Ken is Chairman of HH&L, a healthcare focused specialty acquisition company listed on the NYSE. He is also a senior advisor to early-stage venture capital firm Antler.
Cydar Medical is a surgical augmented intelligence company that uses cutting-edge artificial intelligence (“AI”) technology to transform the way information is provided to clinicians undertaking image-guided minimally invasive surgery (“MIS”) simplifying complexities within operating theatres and informing better clinical decision-making. 2022 has been a transformative year for Cydar having signed collaboration agreements with Medtronic Vascular Inc. and BrainLab AG, initiated the UK ARIA1 study and successfully completed a Series A funding round raising over £9.3 million, including a £3 million cornerstone investment by Pembroke Venture Capital Trust and participation from Downing LLC’s Healthcare Ventures fund as well as existing and new investors. Following a year of strong operational progress, today’s appointment of Ken Hitchner is in line with the Company’s ambitious growth strategy to deliver a future surgical landscape where all patients benefit from Cydar’s platform solutions.
Paul Mussenden, Chief Executive Officer of Cydar Medical commented:
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to both Mervyn and Franz for their support and commitment to the Company over the past five years, during which time we have developed Cydar Maps from a minimally viable product to a proven first product from Cydar’s technology platform, secured an accelerating global customer base and generated support by a range of leading industry players. We are delighted to welcome Ken Hitchner as Chairman. His depth and breadth of global healthcare experience is particularly relevant at this time as we look to progress the Company into its new phase of growth by delivering value from across the Cydar platform.”
Lord Mervyn Davies of Abersoch, former Chairman of the Board of Cydar Medical commented:
“The last five years have been transformational for Cydar and I step down leaving the Company with a strong management team, a truly innovative platform in image guided minimally invasive surgery, an exciting growth strategy and a supportive shareholder base. I am very optimistic about the future for Cydar and am leaving the business in trusted hands under Ken’s leadership.”
Ken Hitchner, Chairman of the Board of Cydar Medical added:
“I am delighted to join the Board of Cydar at an exciting time in the Company’s evolution and build upon the successful track record it has in revolutionising image-guided MIS. I look forward to working with the Board and Senior Management Team as we look to execute on the Company’s growth strategy and deliver its vision of building a future where all patients benefit from its augmented surgical intelligence platform.”
