OUR TEAM
Experienced Leadership
Joanne Rupprecht, Esq.
Chief Executive Officer
Joanne Rupprecht, CEO, brings more than 35 years of medical device commercialization experience to Flourish as a scientist, regulatory affairs professional, attorney and educator.
Jo’s extensive work history includes serving as Colorado State University’s manager of regulatory affairs, interim director of research integrity and interim head of quality. She has held the positions of regulatory affairs specialist and assistant scientist at Abbott Laboratories, and chief regulatory officer at Summit Biolabs, Inc. Throughout her career, she has advised academic institutions, inventors, entrepreneurs and start-ups in commercializing their healthcare products.
Jo holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She serves as an adjunct professor in the master’s program in biomedical sciences and biotechnology at the University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus.
Robert Spitz, M.D.
Inventor and Chief Medical Officer
Robert Spitz, inventor of the Flourish device, serves as medical director at ICON Government and Public Health Solutions, and Coastal Connecticut Research, in New London, Connecticut. He also has served as president of Contine Corporation (New London).
A board-certified gynecologist, Spitz holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College, and the medical doctor degree from Boston University School of Medicine.
Gary Kaiser
Senior Vice President of Commercialization
Gary Kaiser has over 25 years of senior management experience launching numerous biotech and consumer products, building brands, and developing organizations for commercial success in various therapeutic areas.
Prior to joining Flourish Medical, Mr. Kaiser worked at Viveve, Inc., where he guided the organization’s entrance into the female stress urinary incontinence market. Preceding Viveve, he held numerous leadership roles, most notably as the commercial lead for the launch of Myrbetriq®, for overactive bladder.
Jim Kasic
Chairman of the Board
With more than 25 years of experience in the Class I, II, and III medical device industry, Jim’s range of experience spans a spectrum from large multi-national organizations to start-ups with both national and international scope. He holds 40 U.S. and international patents and has authored several dozen scientific publications.
Prior to Boulder iQ, Jim founded and served as president of Boulder BioMed, and president and CEO of Sophono, Inc. (acquired by Medtronic). At Otologics LLC, he held the positions of director of clinical research and training, and worldwide director of sales and marketing. Early in his career, Jim was an engineering manager and senior design engineer with Boston Scientific, and a reliability/process/design engineer with W. L. Gore and Associates.
Jim earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics, and a Master of Science degree in chemical and biological engineering, from the University of Colorado. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix.
Larry Blankenship
Director of Business Development
Larry is a veteran medical device industry professional, with more than 30 years of experience in product development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs, strategic management, and funding. With hands-on experience in business planning, staffing, funding, design, development, regulatory approval, manufacturing, launch, and exits, he has helped start-up companies in the medical device industry get products to market since 2007. Larry has also held management positions in divisions of Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and the Battelle Memorial Institute.
He is a member of the advisory board at Colorado State University’s School of Biomedical Engineering, and of the Constituency Committee at the University of Colorado Denver Department of Bioengineering. He serves as a healthcare industry advisor to Blackstone Entrepreneur Network of Colorado and is a former director of the Colorado BioScience Association.
Larry holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University.
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