Board of Directors

William Kozy is the Chair of the Board of Directors of LivaNova. Mr. Kozy previously served as Interim Chief Executive Officer of LivaNova from April 2023 to February 2024. Mr. Kozy retired from Becton, Dickinson and Company, a global medical technology company, in 2016 where Mr. Kozy served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from 2011 to 2016. During his time at Becton Dickinson, he was responsible for all worldwide businesses of the company with leadership emphasis on profitable revenue growth and talent development At Becton Dickinson, he also served as a member of the corporate leadership team and in various executive roles since 1988, including head of BD Medical (2009 to 2011), President of the BD Biosciences segment (2006 to 2009), President of BD Diagnostics (2002 to 2006) and Senior Vice President of Company Operations (1998 to 2002). Mr. Kozy holds a BA from Kenyon College.

Director Skills:

As a seasoned executive with more than 40 years of experience with global medical device companies, Mr. Kozy has extensive expertise in executive leadership, innovation, operations, manufacturing, and ERP implementation as well as relevant experience in global strategy, mergers and acquisitions, technology, and product development. Additionally, Mr. Kozy has in-depth experience in investor engagement and relations and corporate governance matters such as succession planning. 
 

 

Chris Barry serves as Executive Vice President and Group President of the Medical Solutions Division at Solventum, formerly known as 3M, a position he assumed in March 2024. He previously served as CEO and a member of the board of NuVasive, Inc., a medical technology company focused on spine technology innovation, from 2018 to 2023, at which point, NuVasive Inc. was acquired by Globus Medical. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Barry served as Senior Vice President and President of Surgical Innovations at Medtronic after Medtronic acquired Covidien, and, prior to Covidien’s acquisition, Mr. Barry spent more than 15 years in increasing commercial and executive leadership roles at Covidien, rising to vice president of sales for energy-based devices. Mr. Barry has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Texas Tech University.

Director Skills:

Mr. Barry is a senior executive in the medical device industry with substantial experience in medical device technologies, international business strategy, and mergers and acquisitions. He has robust general management experience and expertise in corporate governance matters. He is also an audit committee financial expert. 

Francesco Bianchi serves as Chair of Seven Capital Partners S.r.l., a financial consulting firm, a position he assumed in June 2018. He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Seven Capital Partners and has been with the firm since 2013. Mr. Bianchi has over 30 years of mergers and acquisitions and strategic advisory experience working for well-recognized international financial institutions including JPMorgan Chase (Paris), Morgan Grenfell (London), Citi (Milan), and Bankers Trust (Milan), where he served in various roles including general manager and head of the mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance division. He also headed the strategic planning division of Banca-Intesa S.p.A. in Italy and abroad. Mr. Bianchi earned a degree in economic sciences with honors from the University of Florence and is a chartered accountant.

Director Skills:

Mr. Bianchi has an extensive professional background working in strategy and mergers and acquisitions. As a former executive leader and current Chair of a financial consulting firm, Mr. Bianchi has vast expertise in global business strategy, compensation analysis, and corporate governance. He is also an audit committee financial expert.

Stacy Enxing Seng has served as an Operating Partner with Lightstone Ventures, a venture capital group focused on medical technology and biotechnology-related investments, since 2016. Prior to joining Lightstone Ventures, Ms. Enxing Seng was with Covidien, a global healthcare products company, as its President, Vascular Therapies (2011 to 2014) and President, Peripheral Vascular (2010 to 2011). Ms. Enxing Seng joined Covidien in 2010 through the $2.6 billion acquisition of ev3 Incorporated, where she was a founding member and executive officer, responsible for leading its Peripheral Vascular division (2001 to 2010). Prior to ev3, Ms. Enxing Seng held positions of increasing responsibility with Boston Scientific, SCIMED, Baxter, and American Hospital Supply. She holds a BA in Public Policy from Michigan State University and an MBA from Harvard University.

Director Skills:

As a former senior executive responsible for a worldwide business unit of a major medical device company, Ms. Enxing Seng has extensive experience in strategy, marketing, sales, innovation, and mergers and acquisitions. She also has experience with human capital management matters and compensation analysis.

Vladimir Makatsaria is Chief Executive Officer and a Board Member of LivaNova. Prior to LivaNova, he worked for 27 years at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), a multinational pharmaceutical and medical technologies corporation, in executive leadership roles, spanning various technologies and geographies. He most recently served as Company Group Chairman at J&J MedTech where he led Ethicon, a global leader in the surgical technologies market. Other executive positions throughout his J&J tenure include leading J&J China, J&J MedTech APAC, and Ethicon EMEA, among others. He also served on Ethicon, DePuy, and total MedTech global leadership teams. He served as Chairman of the Board of the Asia Pacific Medical Technology Association (“APACMed”) and as an Advisory Board Member to Singapore Management University. Mr. Makatsaria holds three degrees from the University of Minnesota: a bachelor’s degree in physiology, an MBA, and a master’s in healthcare administration.  

Director Skills:

Mr. Makatsaria has extensive experience in executive leadership roles within global medical device companies. He is an inquisitive leader with a variety of leadership experience, ranging from startups to managing a global $10 billion business. Mr. Makatsaria has considerable international experience and is credited as being a key component in establishing culture, talent, and innovation transformations in his previous positions.

Dr. Sharon O’Kane serves as a non-executive director and member of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Health Products Regulatory Authority Board in Ireland and has a Visiting Professorship at Ulster University where she advises the Faculty of Life and Health Sciences. She has also served as an Entrepreneur in Residence at University College Dublin since 2015. She was a non-executive director of Iomet Pharma Ltd (2010-2016), an expert advisor to the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst Facility at GlaxoSmithKline, (2012 to 2019) and a Commercial Mentor to Queen’s University, Belfast (2016 to 2019). Previously, Dr. O’Kane served as Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Manchester Intellectual Property Company UMIP (2009 to 2014) and was a non-executive director of the Manchester Inward development agency (2010-2012). Dr. O’Kane co-founded and, from 1998 to 2010, was the Chief Scientific Officer and a Director of Renovo Group Plc, a UK biotech company. Dr. O’Kane earned a Bachelor of Science (Honours) First Class in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Ulster from which she also earned a PhD in Biomedical Sciences. She earned a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors (UK), where she was recently made a Chartered Director and Fellow of the Institute and received corporate governance training at Harvard Business School.

Director Skills:

With extensive experience in healthcare, both in the academic and government realms, and in research and  development capacities, Dr. O’Kane has a keen understanding of the medical device industry. She also has deep expertise in corporate governance, intellectual property and licensing, public policy and government, and regulatory affairs. 

Susan Podlogar served as the Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer at MetLife from July 2017 until her retirement in June 2024. Prior to MetLife, Ms. Podlogar spent 16 years at Johnson & Johnson in various leadership roles, including Global Head, Human Resources Medical Devices; Global Head of Total Rewards and Head Human Resources for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and Global Head, Human Resources and Communications Pharmaceutical R&D. Early career highlights include positions with Bayer Pharmaceutical, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and William M. Mercer. She holds an MBA from the University of South Florida and a bachelor’s degree with a double major in Labor and Industrial Relations and Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. 

Director Skills:

As a former Chief Human Resources Officer of a global organization, Ms. Podlogar has a keen understanding of the evolving dynamics of the global business landscape, with expertise in human capital management, innovative and strategic leadership, cultural transformation, and compensation analysis.
 

Todd Schermerhorn served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of C. R. Bard, Inc., a multinational developer, manufacturer, and marketer of life-enhancing medical technologies, from 2003 until his retirement in 2012. Prior to that, he had been Vice President and Treasurer of C. R. Bard (1998 - 2003). From 1985 to 1998, Mr. Schermerhorn held various other management positions with C. R. Bard. Mr. Schermerhorn received a BS from the University of Lowell and an MBA from Babson College.

Director Skills:

As a former Chief Financial Officer of a global medical technology company, Mr. Schermerhorn has significant public company and financial reporting and investor and public relations experience. Mr. Schermerhorn is also an audit committee financial expert.

Brooke Story serves as Integration Lead at Becton, Dickinson and Company, a position she assumed in June 2024. She previously served as the Worldwide President, Surgery at Becton, Dickinson and Company from July 2023 to March 2024 and Worldwide President, Integrated Diagnostics Solutions at Becton, Dickinson and Company from April 2021 to July 2023. Prior to that, Ms. Story spent 15 years at Medtronic, where she held a variety of roles in finance, sales, and business unit leadership, culminating in her tenure as President, Pelvic Health and Gastric Therapies. Ms. Story began her career in sales at Johnson & Johnson and as a consultant for Accenture. Ms. Story holds a BS in industrial engineering from the University of Tennessee and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Director Skills:

Ms. Story is a seasoned senior executive with expertise in international business strategy and operations in the highly regulated medical technology industry. Throughout her career, she has excelled in helping large medical device corporations inspire teams, mentor and develop talent, and deliver economic value.

Peter Wilver served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., a leading provider of laboratory products and services, from November 2006 to July 2015 and as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer from August 2015 until his retirement in March 2017. He served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Thermo Electron from 2004 to 2006 and as Thermo Electron’s Vice President, Financial Operations from 2000 to 2004. Before joining Thermo Electron, Mr. Wilver held financial leadership roles at Honeywell International, Grimes Aerospace Company and General Electric Company. Mr. Wilver holds a BS in Business Administration in Accounting from The Ohio State University and is a certified public accountant.

Director Skills:

As a former Chief Financial Officer of a publicly traded multinational company, Mr. Wilver has significant public company experience in financial reporting, investor relations, strategic planning, business development, compensation planning, and strategy formation and execution. Mr. Wilver is also an audit committee financial expert.