Kimberly Bridges named to lead vascular intervention business unit at Spectranetics

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Aug. 22, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Spectranetics Corporation (Nasdaq:SPNC), a leading maker of medical devices used in minimally invasive cardiovascular procedures, today announced the appointment of Kimberly McIntosh Bridges as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Vascular Intervention, effective August 30, 2013. She will report to Scott Drake, President and Chief Executive Officer, and will be located at the company's global headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO.

"Kim brings strong global leadership and a solid track record of commercial success to complement our existing roster of world-class talent," said Drake. The Vascular Intervention business is growing rapidly, reflecting an underserved global demand for life-saving, minimally invasive cardiovascular procedures.

Bridges' executive leadership tenure encompasses large and small- to mid-sized businesses with increasing levels of responsibility over the past 10 years, including sales, product commercialization and overall general business management. She most recently served as Vice President, Sales and Marketing, at Blockade Medical in Irvine, CA, where she played a key role in shaping corporate strategy, portfolio management and preparing the organization for success beyond the start-up stage. Prior to her role at Blockade Medical, she served as Vice President of U.S. Commercial Therapy Development and Global Acute Ischemic Stroke Marketing for Stryker Neurovascular. Stryker acquired Concentric Medical, Inc. in 2011, where she served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for North America and Asia for almost five years.

Before joining the neurovascular business, she spent 11 years in peripheral and cardiology sales leadership roles within the Cordis division of Johnson & Johnson, Guidant Corporation and ev3, Inc.

Bridges received her Executive M.B.A. from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and her B.S. in Management from Pepperdine University.

In addition, Donna Ford-Serbu moves into a new role as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Lead Management. Ford-Serbu joined Spectranetics as Vice President, Global Marketing, Strategy and Portfolio in October 2011. Prior to joining Spectranetics, she held the position of Vice President, Global Marketing Patient Monitoring at Covidien.

Jason Hein also takes on new responsibilities as Senior Vice President of Lead Management Sales, including oversight of the regional sales managers and training teams. During Hein's seven-year tenure at Spectranetics, he has served in leadership roles on both the Vascular Intervention and Lead Management sides of the business. Before joining the company, he spent seven years with Guidant's Cardiac Rhythm division.

According to Drake, the company's nimble approach to establishing the right operational framework at the right time is central to the success it has enjoyed over recent years. "We operate with a crystal-clear strategic plan that is based on data and shaped by the voice of our customer," said Drake. "That said, we are not the same company we were a year ago, or even six months ago. We operate in a dynamic, fast-changing landscape where the patient need grows daily. We execute our strategy as if lives depend upon it, because they do. These leadership initiatives are part of a logical progression to take our company to the next level."

About Spectranetics

Spectranetics develops, manufactures, markets and distributes single-use medical devices used in minimally invasive procedures within the cardiovascular system. The company's products are sold in more than

40 countries and are used to access and treat arterial blockages in the legs and heart, and to remove pacemaker and defibrillator cardiac leads.

The company's Vascular Intervention (VI) products include a range of laser catheters for ablation of blockages in arteries above and below the knee. The company also markets support catheters to facilitate crossing of peripheral and coronary arterial blockages, and retrograde access and guidewire retrieval devices used in the treatment of peripheral arterial blockages, including chronic total occlusions. In addition, the company markets aspiration and cardiac laser catheters for the treatment of blockages in the heart.

The Lead Management (LM) product line includes excimer laser sheaths and cardiac lead management accessories for the removal of pacemaker and defibrillator cardiac leads.

For more information, visit www.spectranetics.com.

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