CWRU Entrepreneurship | Alumni Speaker Series: Mike Fisher, CTO, Etsy

Joe Mandato

Senior Advisor

Mainsail Partners

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-mandato-4223766/

Joe Mandato, D.M., has been a Managing Director at De Novo Ventures since 2003, a venture capital firm focused on the life sciences. Dr. Mandato also serves as a Senior Advisor to Mainsail Partners and its portfolio companies. Dr. Mandato served as a member of the Board of Directors of AxoGen Corporation from February 2006 until its merger with and into AxoGen, Inc. in September 2011, and then served on the Board of AxoGen, Inc. until September 2016. Dr. Mandato has served on other public boards and continues to serve on the board of directors of several private companies and non-profit organizations.

Dr. Mandato has served as CEO of several successful operating companies, including two leveraged buyouts. The first, an ophthalmic implant company, was sold to a UK-based public company, and the second, a leveraged purchase from Johnson & Johnson, was subsequently acquired by a NYSE-listed company. Both transactions resulted in significant value creation for shareholders. He also advised the founders, was an active investor and was appointed to the Board of Directors of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN), developer of the Invisalign clear orthodontic appliance.

Earlier in his career, he served as President and CEO of Origin Medsystems, a developer of minimally invasive surgical devices, where he also co-founded and served as CEO of Gynecare, a women’s health spin-out from Origin, which was later acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Origin was acquired by Guidant Corporation (which was NYSE-listed prior to being acquired by Boston Scientific), where Dr. Mandato served as a Vice President and member of the founding management committee and CEO of two of its five operating units. He has also served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Mayfield Fund, a venture capital firm.

Prior to his distinguished career, Dr. Mandato served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. He currently serves on the boards of Embrace Global and Save the Children. In 2004, Dr. Mandato received his doctorate degree in management from Case Western Reserve University, focusing his research on the evolving role of boards of directors in ensuring effective enterprise governance, and serves on its Board of Trustees. Dr. Mandato holds the Carlo Rossi Chair in Entrepreneurship and Management at the University of San Francisco, is a Lecturer at Stanford University and is currently a Fellow in the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative.