Executive raid: Triangle medical device firm loses its CFO to a neighbor

When Raleigh medical device company Baxano Surgical (NASDAQ: BAXS) disclosed last week that CFO Joe Slattery was resigning to “pursue another business opportunity,” it wasn’t clear where he was going. It turns out he’s not going far. In fact, he’s going to work for another Triangle medical device company.

Slattery will become the new CFO for TransEnterix, a Research Triangle Park medical device developer focused on minimally-invasive surgical products. SafeStitch Medical (OTCBB: SFES), which recently completed its merger with TransEnterix, disclosed the hire of Slattery for the top financial spot. SafeStitch’s name is expected to change to TransEnterix upon stockholder approval.

Slattery joined Baxano in 2010 when the company was called TranS1, a Raleigh company focused on minimally-invasive treatments for the spine. The name change for that company was also the result of a merger; TranS1 and Baxano announced their merger in March. After the close of that deal in May, the combined company, led by the TranS1 team, adopted the Baxano name.

Before joining TranS1, Slattery was CFO of Maryland-based Digene Corporation, a molecular diagnostics company that was acquired by Qiagen N.V. in 2007. Slattery currently serves on the boards of directors of two privately-held companies: medical device company CVRx and molecular diagnostics company Exosome Diagnostics.

TransEnterix’s current CFO James Martin will step down as CFO on Oct. 2., and will “transition to a new role within the Company and will no longer be a named executive officer,” TransEnterix said in a securities filing.

Slattery’s resignation from Baxano is effective Sept. 27. He is slated to start at TransEnterix on Oct. 2, reporting to TransEnterix CEO Todd Pope. Slattery will receive a base salary of $275,000, which is $10,000 less than what he was offered when he started with TranS1. But with TransEnterix, he’ll be eligible for a 2013 year-end bonus of $25,000, according to securities filings. In subsequent years, he’ll be eligible for a year-end bonus of 40 percent if he meets agreed upon objectives. The employment agreement also provides Slattery restricted stock units and stock options. 

TransEnterix’s hire of Slattery follows a $30.2 million capital infusion into the company that came with the closing of the merger of TransEnterix and SafeStitch. Pope said at the time of the closing that the private placement, made be investors in both companies, will be applied to final development and testing of TransEnterix’s latest product candidate, SurgiBot. The company expects expects to file for Food and Drug Administration marketing clearance on SurgiBot in 2014. SurgiBot brings robotic capabilities to the minimally-invasive medical device platform that TransEnterix had previously commercialized with its SPIDER surgical system.

Slattery will have an incentive to guide TransEnterix to another round of financing. He is in line for a stock option grant exercisable for 2.5 million shares of common stock after the closing of a fundraising of at least $20.0 million, half of which must come from outside investors, according to securities filings.