John F. Feilders

Baxano, Inc., based in San Jose, California, is focused on developing minimally invasive tools to restore spine function and preserve healthy tissue. Baxano is a well funded, privately held company which was founded in 2005 by Jeffery Bleich, M.D., who had the vision to create flexible tools to provide precision lumbar decompression from the 'inside out.' Baxano's mission is to develop innovative tools that restore spine function, preserve healthy tissue, and enable a better quality of life for the patients it serves. Along with its dedication to advanced technology development, Baxano is focused on providing exceptional value to patients, customers, investors and employees.

Presidio Partners is a venture capital firm founded in the year 1989 by Thomas R. Baruch. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Praxim SA manufactures and sells orthopedic surgical instruments. It specializes in minimal invasive products for knee arthroscopy. The company was founded by Stéphane Lavallée in 1995 and is headquartered in La Tronche, France.

Biomatrix, Inc. develops, manufactures, markets and sells a series of proprietary viscoelastic products called 'hylans'. Hylans are the second generation of viscoelastics used in medicine and are characterized by significantly enhanced physical properties such as elasticity, viscosity and pseudoplasticity. These products are used in therapeutic medical applications and skin care. The company was founded by Endre A. Balazs and Janet L. Denlinger in 1981 and is headquartered in Ridgefield, NJ.

SurgiQuest, Inc. engages in developing, manufacturing, and marketing of access technologies for minimally invasive surgery. It offers laproscopic surgical access system, enabling a variety of complex laproscopic procedures. The company was founded by Kourosh Azarbarzin on April 17, 2006 and is headquartered in Utica, NY.

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. provided wealth management, securities trading and sales, corporate finance and investment banking services. Merrill Lynch was a global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a range of asset classes and serve as a strategic advisor to governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company was founded in 1913 and was headquartered in Charlotte, NC.