WellAir President and CEO Todd M. Pope Named Chair of AdvaMed Accel
Outgoing chair Martha Shadan praised for role in improving industry inclusion and diversity standards
WASHINGTON, D.C. – AdvaMed Accel, the division within AdvaMed dedicated to addressing the unique needs of small and start-up medical technology manufacturers, announced that Todd M. Pope, President and CEO of WellAir, has been named chair of the Accel Board of Directors for a two-year term.
Pope has served on the Accel Board of Directors since 2014, and he currently sits on AdvaMed’s Board Membership and Business Development Committee, leading the effort to increase membership among small and mid-sized companies. He also spearheaded the creation of a dedicated AdvaMed working group to bring together medtech investors and company business executives for policy discussions and networking.
“Emerging medtech companies have big ideas, and it’s important that the current policy environment incentivizes, nurtures, and sustains those ideas,” said Pope. “Already, AdvaMed Accel members are delivering the tools we need to get the pandemic under control and prepare for life afterwards. With the right legislative and regulatory infrastructure in place, we’ll see that innovation multiply even further. I’m excited for the opportunity to help get us there, and for the honor of leading AdvaMed Accel at arguably the most important time in its history.”
“Todd has the leadership, the experience, and the expertise AdvaMed Accel needs at this critical juncture,” said DeChane Dorsey, Executive Director of AdvaMed Accel. “He’s worked on the manufacturing side of the industry, and he’s worked on the investment side of the industry, so he understands what it takes to succeed in the innovation ecosystem from every angle. I know he’s ready to put that understanding into practice as our Board chair.”
Pope succeeds Martha Shadan, President and CEO of Miach Orthopaedics, who has served as chair of Accel since 2018. Shadan will continue to serve as the first chair of the Board Committee on Inclusion and Diversity, where she helped found AdvaMed Advance, an industry convenor that aims to support the creation, maintenance, and expansion of inclusion and diversity strategies across the medical technology industry. Under Shadan’s leadership, AdvaMed Advance has hosted two Inclusion and Diversity Summits, launched an industry-wide research study on current inclusion and diversity practices, and initiated development of an I&D “maturity model,” a framework that evaluates individual company progress across five core categories: compliance, awareness, talent integration, business integration, and market integration.
Shadan also helped direct AdvaMed’s PPE procurement program at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she provided critical support in the establishment and uptake of the AdvaMed Value Framework, a tool that assists small companies in formulating their value proposition.
“Martha is one of the fiercest advocates to ever lead AdvaMed Accel as demonstrated by her list of accomplishments during her time as Chair,” said Dorsey. “She made sure that our Accel companies had every chance to succeed, but also that they found a welcome, productive place within the larger AdvaMed membership. I wish I had more time to work with her in my role as Executive Director of Accel but am glad to have worked with her in the payment and other spaces – and I look forward to continuing our work together even as she departs her chairmanship.”
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AdvaMed member companies produce the medical devices, diagnostic products and health information systems that are transforming health care through earlier disease detection, less invasive procedures and more effective treatments. AdvaMed members range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies. For more information, visit www.advamed.org.