Board of Directors

Robert W. Duggan has been a director and chairman of the Board of Directors since November 2017. From 2015 Mr. Duggan has been CEO of Duggan Investments, a venture capital and public equity investment firm. His venture investments primarily focus on patient-friendly breakthrough solutions to complex diseases of aging. From 2008 to 2015, Mr. Duggan was Chairman, CEO and the largest investor in Pharmacyclics, a patient-friendly, science-based, employee-driven developer of small-molecule medicines for the treatment of cancers. Pharmacyclics was sold to AbbVie for $21 billion in May of 2015. From 1990 to 2003, Mr. Duggan was Chairman of the Board of Computer Motion. From 1997 to 2003, Mr. Duggan also served as Chief Executive officer of Computer Motion. In June of 2003, Computer Motion merged with Intuitive Surgical [NASDAQ:ISRG]. This culminated in Computer Motion shareholders owning a 1/3 interest in the resulting business. From 2003 to 2011, Mr. Duggan served on the Board of Directors of Intuitive Surgical. Mr. Duggan received a U.S. Congressman's Medal of Merit from Ron Paul in 1985 and in 2000 he was named a Knight of the Legion D’Honor by President Jacques Chirac of France. He is a member of the University of California at Santa Barbara Foundation Board of Trustees. Mr. Duggan has also funded two Chairs in Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences as well as a Chair in Religious studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Manmeet S. Soni was appointed to our Board of Directors in November 2017. Mr. Soni currently serves as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for patients with serious or life-threatening diseases by targeting molecular pathways involved in the regulation of cellular metabolism and inflammation.  From May 2017 to August 2019, Mr. Soni served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.  From March 2016 to February 2017, Mr. Soni served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of biopharmaceutical company ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he played a central role in the strategic review, turnaround, and subsequent acquisition of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. Before joining ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Mr. Soni joined Pharmacyclics, Inc. in 2012 as Corporate Controller and held various other roles there until becoming Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in February 2014. He also played a vital role in the acquisition of Pharmacyclics, Inc. by AbbVie, Inc. for $21 billion. Previously, Mr. Soni worked at Zeltiq Aesthetics, Inc., and PricewaterhouseCoopers San Jose, in the Life Science and Venture Capital Group. Prior to that, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers India. Mr. Soni graduated from Hansraj College at Delhi University in India. He is recognized as a Certified Public Accountant, licensed by the State of California, and as a Chartered Accountant in India.  Mr. Soni currently serves as director of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Summit Therapeutics plc.

Ms. Spray currently serves as Head of Marketing at Summit Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel, precision medicinal therapies to solve serious unmet needs. Ms. Spray has over 25 years in the healthcare industry holding multiple executive roles which include Chief Marketing Officer of Aesthera Corporation (acquired by Solta Medical), where she focused on growth strategies and commercialization of their Isolaz photopneumatic system, and Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Xlumena Inc. (acquired by Boston Scientific), where she led the development of their launch strategy for its endoscopic ultrasound guided transluminal system. Before this, Ms. Spray was Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Intuitive Surgical [NASDAQ: ISRG] where she led early commercialization strategies into the US and international markets. In the late 1990s, Mr. Spray was Vice President and General Manager of the Radiosurgery and StealthNet Divisions of Medtronic, Inc. At Medtronic, she rebuilt infrastructure, redefined divisional focus, and developed B2B and B2C strategies for minimally invasive brain tumor treatments. Ms. Spray has been honored with many awards including a prestigious Telly Award and a Business Week Magazine Bronze award for product development and design. Ms. Spray received a BS in Business, Magna Cum Laude, Beta Gamma Sigma, from Arizona State University and graduated from the Competitive Strategic Marketing Program of Columbia University’s Executive School of Business.

Darrin R. Uecker has been our Chief Executive Officer and President and a Director since September 2015. Mr. Uecker has over 25 years of experience in the medical device field and is a named inventor on over 70 patents. Prior to Pulse Biosciences Mr. Uecker was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Progyny, Inc., Menlo Park, California, a company that developed Eeva™, the world’s first automated time-lapse system for embryo selection during in-vitro fertilization. Prior to that Mr. Uecker was the Chief Executive Officer and President and a Director of Gynesonics, Inc., Redwood City, California, a company that developed a novel medical device for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids using ultrasound guided radiofrequency ablation. Mr. Uecker has served in a variety of executive level roles at CyberHeart, Inc., Conceptus, Inc., RITA Medical Systems, Inc., and Computer Motion, Inc. Mr. Uecker attended the University of California at Santa Barbara where he received a B.S. and M.S. in electrical and computer engineering.

Richard van den Broek was appointed to our Board of Directors in August 2020. Mr. van den Broek currently serves as managing partner of HSMR Advisors, LLC, a position he has held since February 2004, and as a director of PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since February 2019. He previously served on the boards of directors of Pharmacyclics, Inc. from December 2009 to April 2015, Response Genetics, Inc. from December 2010 to September 2015, Special Diversified Opportunities, Inc. from March 2008 to October 2015 and Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. from December 2014 to December 2016. Mr. van den Broek received an A.B. from Harvard University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Mr. van den Broek has extensive experience in the biotechnology sector and deep understanding of the global pharmaceutical market.

Mahkam “Maky” Zanganeh, DDS, MBA, was appointed to our Board of Directors in February 2017. Dr. Zanganeh is currently Founder and CEO of Maky Zanganeh and Associates, an executive management and consulting firm. Previously, from August 2012 to September 2015, she served as the Chief Operating Officer of Pharmacyclics, Inc., where she was instrumental in managing all the internal functions of the organization as well as closing several key deals for the company, including the strategic collaboration and licensing deal with Janssen Biotech, Inc. in 2011 and the sale of the company in 2015 to AbbVie for $21B. She was also served as Chief of Staff and Chief Business Officer of Pharmacyclics from December 2011 to July 2012 and Vice President, Business Development from August 2008 to November 2011. Prior to joining Pharmacyclics, Inc., Dr. Zanganeh served as President Director General (2007-2008) for the French government bio-cluster project initiative in France, establishing alliances and developing small life science businesses regionally. From September 2003 to August 2008, Dr. Zanganeh served as Vice President of Business Development for Robert W. Duggan & Associates. Dr. Zanganeh also served as worldwide Vice President of Training & Education (2002-2003) and President Director General for Europe, Middle East and Africa (1998-2002) for Computer Motion, Inc., the world initiator of medical robotics. Dr. Zanganeh received a DDS degree from Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France and MBA from Schiller International University in France.