Management

Synecor Management

Richard S. Stack, M.D., F.A.C.C.

President, Synecor, LLC

Dr. Richard S. Stack is President of Synecor, LLC (Synecor) a business generator and financial incubator of new medical device companies based in the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Santa Rosa, California, and Silicon Valley, California. He is also General Partner of Synergy Life Science Partners, LP (www.synergylsp.com) a life science venture fund. In the past six years, Richard has co-founded and invested in five major medical device companies, including Synecor itself, with a combined current valuation of over $675M. Richard chairs the scientific advisory board, leads the pre-clinical testing services provided at Synecor and is the interim President of each of the Synecor spinout companies.

Richard has long been recognized as an international thought leader in the medical technology field. He has authored over 360 manuscripts, book chapters and scientific abstracts. He has been a principal and co-principal investigator of three NIH grants and received numerous research awards during his career including the International Award for Best Interventional Cardiology Experimental Research (1995, Netherlands). Richard has invented and/or invested in numerous technologies that have become adopted by physicians the world over. He has over 70 worldwide patents issued or pending on a wide variety of medical devices.

Richard is Professor Emeritus of Medicine in Cardiology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where he spent his entire academic medical career, since 1981, as Founder and Director of Duke Interventional Cardiology. Richard retired early from his academic career to join the investment community with the formation of Synecor, LLC in the year 2000 and Synergy LSP in 2006.

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William N. Starling

Chief Executive Officer, Synecor, LLC

William N. Starling is General Partner of Synergy Life Science Partners, LP (www.synergylsp.com) and Chief Executive Officer of Synecor, LLC, (Synecor) a business generator of new Life Science companies based in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina, Santa Rosa, California, and Portola Valley, California. Synecor (www.synecor.com) has significant academic, scientific, physician, venture capital, corporate, and investment banking partnerships and is focusing its efforts on the identification and development of proprietary, disruptive technologies with extraordinary market potential in the life sciences field.

As CEO of Synecor, Mr. Starling is a cofounder of BaroSense, Inc., Bioerodible Vascular Solutions, Inc., (acquired by Guidant/Abbott in April 2004), InnerPulse, Inc. (formerly Interventional Rhythm Management, Inc.), TransEnterix, Inc., and Interventional Autonomics Corporation, the initial five companies founded and incubated by Synecor. Mr. Starling currently serves as Chairman of the Board of InnerPulse Inc., a RTP, NC - based cardiac rhythm management company, Chairman of the Board of Interventional Autonomics Corporation, and as a board member of TransEnterix, Inc., a RTP, NC - based less invasive GI Surgery company.

William N. Starling received his BS degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his MBA degree from the University of Southern California. He began his 30 year career in the medical technology device industry at American Edwards Laboratories (Edwards LifeSciences - NYSE:EW). He was subsequently part of the founding management team and Director of Marketing for Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (acquired by Guidant/Abbott), and was a cofounder, Vice President and Board member of Ventritex, Inc. (acquired by St. Jude Medical). In 1992, Mr. Starling was a cofounder and Chairman of the Board of Directors and President/CEO of Cardiac Pathways Corporation (acquired by Boston Scientific Corporation), and was responsible for raising significant capital from the early venture capital period through an initial public offering in 1996.

Mr. Starling has been primarily responsible for raising over $300 million in private and public capital for the companies that he has co-founded and the combined revenues of these companies exceeds $2.75 billion annually. In addition to the companies that he has co-founded, Mr. Starling has made private investments in the initial equity financings of over 40 startup companies and has served/is a Board member in over 20 early stage life science companies.

Mr. Starling serves on the Board of Visitors of the Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the External Advisory Board of the Stanford Stroke Center at the Stanford University Medical Center.

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Michael Williams

Chief Technology Officer, Synecor, LLC

Michael Williams is Chief Technology Officer of Synecor, LLC, a business generator of new medical device companies based in the Research Triangle Park, N.C., Santa Rosa, California, and Silicon Valley, California. Synecor has significant academic, scientific, physician, venture capital, corporate, and investment banking partnerships and is focusing its efforts on the identification and development of proprietary, transformational technologies with extraordinary market potential in the life sciences field.

Prior to joining Synecor, Mr. Williams was Vice President of Science and Technology at Medtronic AVE. Mr. Williams led the research and development of multiple new technology frontiers including vascular brachytherapy, stent based controlled release drug delivery, photodynamic therapy, gene therapy, tissue engineering, and neurovascular interventions. Mr. Williams founded and was the VP and General Manager of the Neurovascular Technologies Division of Medtronic AVE that was responsible for bringing to market the worlds first neurovascular stent and delivery system. While at Medtronic Mr. Williams was also responsible for all of the vascular division’s pre-clinical, biological and materials research.

Before joining AVE Mr. Williams held senior management and engineering positions at Microvena Corporation, Guidant's Advanced Cardiovascular Systems and Baxter Healthcare's Pharmaseal Division.

Educated at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Mr. Williams holds over 60 issued and pending patents, has coauthored 6 technical papers, abstracts, and a book chapter and has been an invited speaker at various scientific, technical, and clinical conferences.

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R. Frederick McCoy, Jr.

Vice Chairman, Synecor, LLC

Fred McCoy is Vice Chairman of Synecor, LLC (www.synecor.com). Synecor was founded in the year 2000. It has become a successful business accelerator focused on creating highly proprietary, disruptive technologies in the largest medical device and combination drug-device markets. In addition to his duties with Synecor, Mr. McCoy is active in business, academic, and civic pursuits.

A native of Laurinburg, North Carolina, Mr. McCoy was graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1979. He was graduated with a degree of Master of Management from the Northwestern University J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1981.

Mr. McCoy began his business career with Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. There he worked in a series of assignments of increasing responsibility in finance in the corporate, domestic, international, pharmaceutical, and agricultural businesses of the Company. During part of this early period, he also served as a pharmaceutical sales representative in Montgomery, Alabama.

In 1988, Mr. McCoy became Vice President of Finance of Hybritech Incorporated, a Lilly subsidiary, in San Diego, California. In 1991, he became Chief Financial Officer of Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc., a Lilly subsidiary, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Mr. McCoy entered general management in 1994 as General Manager, Northwest Operations, in Seattle, Washington. Later in 1994, Guidant Corporation was formed out of the medical technology enterprises of Lilly. In 1995, Mr. McCoy became Vice President of United States Operations – West. In 1997, he moved to Tokyo, Japan as President, Guidant Japan and Asia Pacific Operations.

In May of 2000, Mr. McCoy became President, Guidant Cardiac Rhythm Management, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he served until his retirement in March 2006 pending the sale of Guidant.

Mr. McCoy is a member and past chairman of the Kellogg Alumni Advisory Board of Northwestern University. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Andrews Presbyterian College, and as CEO of Interventional Autonomics Corporation.

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