About us
Leadership Team
A management team with deep experience in medical devices and orthopedic surgery
Robert Ball
CEO & Executive Chairman
Read Robert Ball's Bio
Robert Ball has served as our Chief Executive Officer since October 2020 and as our executive chairman of the board of directors since April 2015. Prior to joining Shoulder Innovations, Mr. Ball was a Principal at Imascap SA, a privately-held software company focusing on preoperative planning for shoulder arthroplasty, from July 2013 until its acquisition by Wright Medical Group, Inc. (now Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK)) in 2017. Prior to this, Mr. Ball held positions at Tornier NV, a global orthopedics company that was acquired by Wright Medical Group, Inc. (now Stryker Corporation), from August 2006 to December 2013, including Vice President, Research & Development, Regulatory and Clinical. Mr. Ball also previously held positions at Kinetikos Medical Inc., a privately-held company focusing on orthopedic implants, and DePuy, the Orthopaedics Company of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). Since its inception in January 2013, he has served as Chairman of Genesis Innovation, a company focused on early-stage medical device investing and development. Mr. Ball currently serves as a director for Genesis Innovation, Genesis Software, Genesis Investment Holdings, NSite LLC, Strados Labs LLC, and cultivate(MD) Holdings, LLC. Mr. Ball received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University.
Jeffrey Points
Chief Financial Officer
Read Jeffrey Point's Bio
Jeffrey Points has served as our Chief Financial Officer since September 2023. Prior to joining Shoulder Innovations, Mr. Points worked at Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSII), a medical device company that developed solutions for treating peripheral and coronary artery disease, from 2007 to 2023, where he held various roles, including most recently as Chief Financial Officer from 2018 to 2023. Mr. Points received an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas and a B.A. in Business focusing on Finance and Accounting from Bethel University.
Matthew Ahearn
Chief Operating Officer
Read Matthew Ahearn's Bio
Matthew Ahearn has served as our Chief Operating Officer since October 2020 and a member of our board of directors since February 2017. Prior to this role, Mr. Ahearn was our Chief Executive Officer and President from February 2017 to October 2020 and our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer from November 2020 to September 2023. Mr. Ahearn also currently serves as a director for HAPPE Spine, LLC, SpinTech MRI, Inc., CPD to SPD, LLC, cultivate(MD) Holdings, LLC, and Genesis Investment Holdings. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Management from Albion College.
David L. Blue
Chief Customer Experience Officer
Read David L. Blue's Bio
David L. Blue has served as our Chief Customer Experience Officer since October 2023 and previously served as our Chief Commercial Officer from May 2017 to October 2023. From May 2017 to October 2021, Mr. Blue served as Director, VP, Sales & Marketing at Genesis Innovation and as Chief Commercial Officer at Conventus Orthopedics from July 2013 to May 2017. Since January 2018, Mr. Blue has also been a member of the board of directors of cultivate(MD) Capital Funds and currently serves as a director of cultivate(MD) Holdings, LLC. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Marketing from Augustana University.
Jon Osborne
Vice-President, Commercial Development
Read Jon Osborne's Bio
Jon is a transformational executive who has led organizations and successful teams for over 25 years in the orthopedic device space. He has worked in sales management, global marketing, and general management in both domestic and international markets with companies such as Arthrex, Tornier, and ArthroCare. Prior to Shoulder Innovations, Jon served as Vice President of Commercial Marketing at Smith and Nephew, Inc.
Robert Ball
CEO & Executive Chairman
Read Robert Ball's Bio
Robert Ball has served as our Chief Executive Officer since October 2020 and as our executive chairman of the board of directors since April 2015. Prior to joining Shoulder Innovations, Mr. Ball was a Principal at Imascap SA, a privately-held software company focusing on preoperative planning for shoulder arthroplasty, from July 2013 until its acquisition by Wright Medical Group, Inc. (now Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK)) in 2017. Prior to this, Mr. Ball held positions at Tornier NV, a global orthopedics company that was acquired by Wright Medical Group, Inc. (now Stryker Corporation), from August 2006 to December 2013, including Vice President, Research & Development, Regulatory and Clinical. Mr. Ball also previously held positions at Kinetikos Medical Inc., a privately-held company focusing on orthopedic implants, and DePuy, the Orthopaedics Company of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). Since its inception in January 2013, he has served as Chairman of Genesis Innovation, a company focused on early-stage medical device investing and development. Mr. Ball currently serves as a director for Genesis Innovation, Genesis Software, Genesis Investment Holdings, NSite LLC, Strados Labs LLC, and cultivate(MD) Holdings, LLC. Mr. Ball received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University.
Matthew Ahearn
Chief Operating Officer
Read Matthew Ahearn's Bio
Matthew Ahearn has served as our Chief Operating Officer since October 2020 and a member of our board of directors since February 2017. Prior to this role, Mr. Ahearn was our Chief Executive Officer and President from February 2017 to October 2020 and our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer from November 2020 to September 2023. Mr. Ahearn also currently serves as a director for HAPPE Spine, LLC, SpinTech MRI, Inc., CPD to SPD, LLC, cultivate(MD) Holdings, LLC, and Genesis Investment Holdings. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Management from Albion College.
Paul Buckman
Chairman, NeuroOne
Read Paul Buckman's Bio
Paul Buckman has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2020. Mr. Buckman has served as the Chief Executive Officer and a director of Rhythmlink International, LLC, a privately-held medical equipment manufacturer, since April 2024. He previously served as President of North America for LivaNova PLC (Nasdaq: LIVN), a publicly-held global medical technology company, from May 2017 to March 2023, and as the Chief Executive Officer of Coventus Orthopaedics, Inc. from 2013 to 2016. Mr. Buckman also currently serves as a director for Ablative Solutions, Inc., Helius Medical Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSDT), MiroMatrix Medical, Inc. and NeuroOne Medical Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq: NMTC). He received a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Western Michigan University.
Prior to Rhythmlink, Paul was the North American President for LivaNova and President of the Cardiovascular Divisions of both Boston Scientific and St. Jude Medical, where he implemented significant growth strategies in both core and emerging technologies.
He was also a co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of ev3, which was eventually sold to Covidien for $2.5B. Paul has also had previous CEO roles with Conventus Orthopaedics, SentreHeart, Pathway Medical (sold to Bayer Healthcare), and Devax (sold to Biosensors Intl.), in addition to executive management roles at DVI (sold to Eli Lilly) and American Hospital Supply.
Presently, Paul serves as a Director on the Boards of Rhythmlink, NeuroOne (Chairman), Helius Medical, Shoulder Innovations, AMX Medical, and SC Bio.
Casey Tansey
Board of Directors
Read Casey Tansey's Bio
Casey Tansey has served on our board of directors since October 2020. Since 2014, Mr. Tansey has served as the Managing Partner of USVP Management Company. Mr. Tansey has been a member of the board of directors of Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.(NYSE: INSP) since 2007 and of UCSF MTVP Investment Advisory since 2017. He has also served on the boards of several other medical technology and healthcare-related companies, including Cagent Vascular, HeartFlow, Inc., Highlife Medical, Inc., Luminopia, Inc., MicroTransponder, Inc., Neuros Medical, NeoChord, Inc., and ShiraTronics. He received a B.S. in Business and a M.B.A. in Business from the College of Notre Dame.
Casey’s investment strategy is a lot like his strategy as a CEO: identify unmet clinical needs where patients are in need of new and improved products and services. At USVP, Casey focuses on the trend toward the miniaturization of devices and the development of minimally-invasivetechnologies that promise innovations in the delivery of medical products and services, especially in cardiovascular products, orthopedics, spinal care and neurology.
Casey’s passion is to strive for delivery of medical services with fewer traumas to the patient and improved quality of life. Innovations shaping this trend include minimally invasive technologies. During his tenure as CEO, President and board member of Epicor Medical from 2001 to 2004, Casey, along with a dedicated team, pioneered a minimally invasive treatment for atrial fibrillation and transformed the Company into a recognized market leader, and he led Epicor’s acquisition by St. Jude Medical.
Prior to Epicor, Casey was CEO, President and board member of Heartport, a public company that helped pioneer minimally invasive cardiac surgery, which is now a Johnson & Johnson company. Before that, he was with Baxter Edward’s Cardiovascular Division for nearly tenyears, holding various sales and marketing positions. During his tenure at Baxter, Casey was involved in launching innovative heart valve products that have grown to be the market leaders.
Casey’s notable board activities have included Inspire Medical (IPO), IntersectENT (IPO), AtheroMed (sold to Volcano), Nanostim (sold to St. Jude Medical), PlaceIQ (acquired by Precisely) and SentreHeart (sold to AtriCure). Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors for Cagent Vascular, Contego Medical, Dstillery, HeartFlow, Highlife Medical, Inspire Medical, Luminopia, MicroTransponder, Neochord, Neuros Medical, Shiratronics and Shoulder Innovations. In addition, Casey served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the World Heart Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing humanitarian efforts in heart surgery worldwide through education and collaboration. Casey holds a B.S. and M.B.A. from the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, CA.
Michael Carusi
Board of Directors
Read Michael Carusi's Bio
Michael Carusi has served on our board of directors since October 2020. Since 2013, Mr. Carusi has served as a Managing Partner at Lightstone Ventures. Concurrently, Mr. Carusi serves as a member of the board of directors for several private companies, including Cala Health, Inc., Willow, Inc., Tallac Therapeutics, Inc., Allay Therapeutics, Inc., Apreo Health, Inc., Medisix Therapeutics, Inc., and Endogastric Solutions, Inc. Mr. Carusi received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business.
Featured on the Forbes Midas List of top technology and life science investors, Mike is a recognized thought leader in the industry and a frequent speaker at healthcare conferences. He serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College. In addition, Mike has been heavily involved with several programs at Stanford University including the Stanford Biodesign Program and, more recently, the Stanford Center for Clinical and Translational Research and Education (Spectrum). Lastly, Mike served as a Director on the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) Board of Directors and remains active in helping to shape policy affecting both innovation and healthcare.
Earlier in his career, Mike served as a Director of Business Development for Inhale Therapeutic Systems (now Nektar Therapeutics, NASDAQ: NKTR), a venture-backed pulmonary drug delivery company that went public in 1994. At Inhale, Mike led partnering activities with a number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Mike also was a Principal at The Wilkerson Group, a leading management consulting firm focused exclusively on healthcare. At The Wilkerson Group, Mike helped establish the firm’s offices in London and San Francisco.
Kevin Sidow
Board of Directors
Read Kevin Sidow's Bio
Kevin Sidow has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2020. From February 2008 until his retirement in July 2017, Mr. Sidow was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Moximed, Inc., a medical device company focused on knee osteoarthritis. He currently serves on the board of directors of several private companies in the healthcare industry, including Carlsmed Inc., Hip Innovation Technology, LLC, and Mantis Health Inc. He received a B.S. in Accounting from West Virginia University.
Geoff Pardo
Board of Directors
Read Geoff Pardo's Bio
Geoff Pardo has served as a member of our board of directors since February 2023. Since June 2011, he has also served as the President and General Partner of Gilde Healthcare US Inc. Concurrently, he serves on the boards of Nalu Medical, Mainstay Medical Holding plc, Ablative Solutions Inc., GT Medical Technologies, Inc. and Alleviant Medical. Previously, Mr. Pardo also served on the board of directors, including various committees, for several public and formerly public companies, including Inari Medical Inc. from March 2018 to May 2021, Axonics Inc. (Nasdaq: AXNX) from July 2017 to April 2019, Eargo Inc. (Nasdaq: EAR) from July 2020 to July 2021, Vapotherm, Inc. from March 2014 to October 2020 and CVRx Inc. (Nasdaq: CVRX) from August 2016 to June 2022. He received a B.A. from Brown University and an M.B.A from The Wharton School of Business.
Previously, he was a Partner at Spray Venture Partners where he led investments into Interlace Medical (sold to Hologic), Solace Therapeutics, TearScience (sold to J&J) and Cascade Ophthalmics. He served on the board of Solace, TearScience and Cascade, and was actively involved in Interlace and Conventus Orthopedics.
Geoff also served as President & CEO of Facet Solutions, a spinal implant company focused on treating lumbar spinal stenosis until the company was sold to Globus Medical in 2011. He has also worked at Cardinal Partners as an Associate leading their investing activity in the medical device sector.
Geoff began his career in medical devices as a product manager with Synthes USA.
He has a B.A. with honors in History from Brown University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business. He is a US citizen based in Gilde Healthcare’s Cambridge, MA office.
Geoff is the host of the MedTech Talk podcast in which he interviews entrepreneurs and other MedTech investors.
Geoff is also Chairman of Advamed’s Medtech Investor Working Group which focuses on the key issues that affect emerging medtech companies and the investors which support them.
Richard J. Buchholz
Board of Directors
Read Richard Buchholz Bio
Richard J. Buchholz has served as a member of our board of directors since August 2025. Mr. Buchholz has served as Chief Financial Officer of Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: INSP) since 2014. Prior to that role, Mr. Buchholz served as the Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of superDimension, Ltd., a medical device manufacturer (which was acquired by Covidien plc in 2012), from 2006 to 2013. Mr. Buchholz holds a B.B.A from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).