K.T. Venkateswara-Rao , PhD

Principal

KT&M Advisors
,

K. T. Venkateswara Rao is Principal at KT&M Advisors- an executive management consulting firm providing strategic and implementation leadership support to medical technology companies. Currently he is streamlining manufacturing operations at Trireme Medical (Pleasanton, CA) and incubating a clinical-stage start-up (Northwind Medical, San Jose, CA) focused on development of neuromodulation therapies to treat chronic diseases mediated by sympathetic nerves.

Most recently, he was Chief Executive Officer of Relisys Medical Devices (Hyderabad, India) involved with development and commercialization of biomedical devices to treat cardiovascular disease in India and emerging markets. And previously, he was Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of R&D at Nellix Endovascular (acquired by Endologix, Irvine, CA), where his leadership resulted in a differentiated platform (for aneurysm sealing using polymer-filled endobags) to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms.

A healthcare executive with over 15 years of implementation experience in R&D, operations, global clinical trials and regulatory requirements at Guidant (now Abbott: ABT) and Johnson & Johnson (Cordis, Nitinol Devices and Components), he led the development of over 20 products with cumulative revenues exceeding US$ 20 billion. As Director of New Product Development and Pilot Operations at J&J, he managed implementation of new business opportunities. At Guidant, he directed R&D programs on metallic, coated, bioabsorbable and drug-eluting stents, which established and sustained Guidant's leadership in stents. Notable accomplishments include FDA approval of Multi-Link coronary stent, and development and launch of Multi-Link Vision: the first cobalt-chromium coronary stent and platform for Xience- the leading drug-eluting stent in the world.

KT enjoys strong relationships with physicians, investors, and scientists worldwide. He is involved with business development, financing, and due-diligence activities relating to mergers, acquisitions, and integrations as well as the formation of new ventures. He has authored more than 50 scientific papers, holds 8 issued US patents, and has over 20 pending applications.

KT holds BTech, MS, and PhD degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology at Madras, Purdue University and University of California at Berkeley, respectively.