Team

Carla joined Ajax with 24 years of medtech experience at two of the industry’s top companies. Her last thirteen years were at Medtronic, building, transforming, and leading large sales organizations. Carla has successfully launched over ten products across the cardiovascular space, including electrophysiology, structural heart, and interventional cardiology.

Before Medtronic, Carla spent eleven years in sales at Boston Scientific as a commercial leader and director of the EP Fellows Program Division. She began her career in the Women’s Health division at Eli Lilly. Throughout her career, she has earned multiple distinguished awards for leadership, including the 2021 Wallin Award for strong performance and leadership as well as the GIDE Award for Inclusive Leadership.

Carla holds an M.B.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Villanova University.

Prior to Ajax, David was an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP, where he advised emerging companies and VC and PE firms on corporate governance issues, equity financings, and M&A transactions.  Before Latham, David served as a judicial law clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts (U.S. Supreme Court), Judge Brett Kavanaugh (U.S. Court of Appeals), and Judge Dabney Friedrich (U.S. District Court), and as a judicial extern to Judge Mark Wallace (U.S. Bankruptcy Court).

David received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he served as editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated first in his class, summa cum laude.  He received his B.S., summa cum laude, from the University of Southern California.  Before law school, David led business development for The Drop Box, a documentary film that has raised over $10 million for children with disabilities through strategic partnerships and worldwide distribution.

Prior to Ajax, Jocelyn was the CFO of Symic Bio, a biopharmaceutical company that developed therapeutics focused on matrix biology. At Symic, Jocelyn was responsible for the management of all finance and accounting functions, as well as investor communication. Jocelyn was with Symic Bio from its inception to partnering of its lead assets. Jocelyn was also the CFO of TauTona Group, an early-stage life science venture. She was closely involved in the sale of TauTona’s assets to Allergan (AGN), LifeCell, and Novadaq (NVDQ). Previously, she was the Controller of CV Ingenuity, a medical device company that developed drug-coated balloon platforms that was acquired by Covidien. Jocelyn started her career at Deloitte and Touche, LLP, where she spent time in both the tax and audit departments.

Jocelyn received a B.A. from the University of San Diego.

Prior to Ajax, Aftab was a Partner at Aisling Capital, a life science-dedicated investment fund in New York, where he continues to serve as an Operating Partner. While at Aisling, Aftab was actively involved with all aspects of sourcing, diligence, and managing investments in several private and public medtech, biopharma, and diagnostic companies. His historic board involvement includes companies such as Arcus Biosciences (NYSE:RCUS), Loxo Oncology (acquired by Eli Lilly), Spirox (acquired by Entellus), Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SYRS), and TransEnterix (NYSE:TRXC). Prior to Aisling, Aftab was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where he was a member of the Pharmaceutical, Medical Product, and Private Equity practices. Before that, Aftab was a Chief Resident in Surgery at Duke University Medical Center, where he completed his residency in general surgery. He also completed a two-year post-doctoral research fellowship investigating treatments for heart failure, valve disease, and arrhythmia at Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons. While at Columbia, he served as an organ procurement fellow as part of the cardiothoracic transplantation team of New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Aftab received his M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine, where he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Fellowship recipient, and his B.S. in Biology and A.B. in Economics from Duke University, awarded magna cum laude and graduating Phi Beta Kappa.

Prior to Ajax, Joe served as the SVP of R&D at EPIX Therapeutics and the principal inventor of EPIX’s technology, which was sold to Medtronic in 2019. Prior to EPIX, Joe served as a technology leader at Boston Scientific, US Surgical, and EP Technologies, where he invented, developed, and commercialized numerous diagnostic and therapeutic devices and technologies. Joe is credited with 90 issued U.S. patents covering a wide spectrum of technologies for medical devices, specifically related to steerable catheter technologies and cardiac electrophysiology. Joe is the author of numerous scientific publications related to the diagnosis and treatment of arrythmias and ablation biophysics.

Joe received a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Engineering.

As a cardiac electrophysiologist, she was a partner at Silicon Valley Cardiology, a high-volume private practice with an extensive clinical research program, and has expertise in the management and ablation of complex arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation, supraventricular, and ventricular tachycardias as well as comprehensive cardiac device management including pacemaker, cardioverter-defibrillator, cardiac resynchronization therapy device implantation and both laser and mechanical lead extraction. She has also served as the EP liaison on the Heart Failure Council of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and was a Sequoia Hospital Foundation board member for six years. As an author on numerous peer-reviewed articles, Melissa remains actively involved in preclinical and clinical research, having served in principal investigator and international steering committee roles in multicenter and international clinical trials. She also serves as an advisory board member and/or consultant to several public and private healthcare companies.

Melissa received her M.D. from Duke University, where she stayed for her internship and residency in internal medicine, fellowship in cardiovascular disease, and subspecialty fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology. She is board-certified in cardiology and electrophysiology. She received her A.B. from Princeton University where she graduated summa cum laude from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Prior to Ajax, Doug was the CFO of EPIX Therapeutics, which was acquired by Medtronic in 2019, the CFO of Spirox, which was acquired by Entellus in 2017, and the CFO of CV Ingenuity, which was acquired by Covidien in 2013. Prior to CV Ingenuity, Doug served as CFO and CEO at several high-tech and healthcare services companies. Doug began his professional career as a management consultant at Gemini Consulting.

Doug received an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.A. from UC San Diego.

Prior to Ajax, Shane was an associate at Cooley LLP where he worked on venture capital and growth equity financings with a focus on life sciences companies.

Shane received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he participated in the Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project and graduated magna cum laude. He received his B.S. in Economics from Duke University, where he was a member of both the track and cross-country teams and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Prior to Ajax, Cason received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he served as editor and Business Chair of the Harvard Law Review, participated in the Harvard Innovation Lab venture incubation program, and graduated magna cum laude. Prior to law school, he was an account manager at Oracle, covering data security solutions.

He received his B.A. from Stanford University, where he played defensive back on the football team.

Jeremy is a practicing Interventional Radiologist and former Vice-Chair of Radiology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He is a past chair of the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation and is a fellow of the American College of Radiology and Society of Interventional Radiology. Jeremy’s clinical experience is broad, ranging from image-guided endovascular, trauma, and biliary/GI/GU to oncologic interventions, with particular expertise in thoracic, genitourinary and venous procedures. Throughout his medical career, he has engaged in international clinical and scientific collaborations and remains active in clinical research. Jeremy has led multicenter and international clinical trials/registries, and served as chair of numerous societal or institutional IT/informatics, quality and research committees.

Jeremy received a Bachelor of Science degree with distinction from Duke University in psychology and neuroscience, and his medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine. He completed a masters program in Biological and Medical Informatics at the University of California, San Francisco and is board-certified in radiology and medical informatics. Jeremy completed his Radiology residency and fellowship in Interventional Radiology at UCSF before joining the faculty. He is a recipient of National Science Foundation graduate fellowship, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering T32, Prostate Cancer Foundation, Radiological Society of North America Roentgen, and Fulbright Specialist research awards.

Most recently, Sarah served as the Human Resource Manager of EPIX Therapeutics, which was acquired by Medtronic in 2019. Prior to EPIX Therapeutics, Sarah held roles in Human Resources and Business Management at Spirox, which was acquired by Entellus in 2017. Preceding both EPIX and Spirox, Sarah was an independent Human Resources and Business Management consultant for Pivot Medical, Miramar Labs, The Foundry, ProDuct Health, Ensure Medical, and Oculeve.

Sarah received her Bachelor of Science in Marketing from The University of Phoenix.

Prior to Ajax, Duke co-founded and served as the Chairman and CEO of EPIX Therapeutics, which was acquired by Medtronic in 2019. Prior to EPIX, Duke served as co-founder and CEO of Spirox, which was acquired by Entellus in 2017. Prior to Spirox, he co-founded and served as CEO of CV Ingenuity, which was acquired by Covidien in 2013. Prior to CV Ingenuity, Duke served in a variety of roles at FoxHollow Technologies before being named President. In this role, Duke led the sale of the company to ev3 (now Medtronic) in 2008. Prior to FoxHollow, Duke served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at the private equity firm Alta Partners. Duke began his professional career as the co-founder and President of a 9-unit, ~$20 million per year restaurant company. Duke currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Stanford University Athletic Department and as a Trustee of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association.

Duke received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Stanford University.

A physician, scientist, and engineer by training, Garheng has over two decades of experience investing in innovative companies in all areas of healthcare, and has led over 25 companies to successful exits (IPO and M&A).

Garheng is the Founder and Managing Partner of HealthQuest Capital, a private asset firm that currently provides growth capital to transformative companies that are improving value in the healthcare system. HealthQuest Capital has a longstanding capital partnership with Ajax Health, having first invested in Spirox (led by Duke Rohlen and sold to Entellus), and subsequently in all Ajax-backed companies. Prior to founding HealthQuest, Garheng was a partner at Intersouth Partners and Sofinnova Investments, and has also spent time at GlaxoSmithKline and McKinsey, and as a CEO of two early-stage biotech companies.

Garheng also serves on boards of LabCorp (LH), Alimera Sciences (ALIM), StrongBridge (SBBP), Be The Match, and the Duke University Medical Center. He is an Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow, Kauffman Fellows Mentor, and member of YPO.

Garheng received undergraduate degrees in both Chemical Engineering and Biological Sciences from Stanford, while on an athletic scholarship, and earned MD, PhD and MBA degrees from Duke University.

Prior to Ajax, Casey served as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President at Kedalion Therapeutics. Before that, Casey was an Associate Partner at McKinsey and Company in the firm’s life science practice. Additionally, Casey served in a business development role at Synexis (start-up infection control technology), and in sales roles at Smith & Nephew Orthopedics and Pfizer.

Casey holds a B.A. in Biology / Economics from Brown University where he played defensive end on the football team, and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School.

Prior to Ajax, Luke was an investment banking analyst at DBO Partners (acquired by Piper Sandler), focused on M&A in enterprise software and cybersecurity.

Luke received his B.A. from Dartmouth College, where he was a member of the varsity swim team.

Prior to Ajax, Giselle led the People & Talent operations at Orca Bio, a precision cell therapy company improving patient lives, where she was responsible for all facets of providing a great employee experience. Giselle also held previous leadership roles at BDNA (acquired by Flexera) and Xora (acquired by Click Software). She brings over 13 years of human resources leadership experience in building diverse, high performing organizations in the life science and enterprise software industries.

Giselle earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley.

Prior to Ajax, Will had a twelve-year career as a professor of theology and religion, teaching at the University of Oxford, Whitworth University, and Samford University. He is an award-winning author and teacher who has published seven books, including two with Oxford University Press, and thirty articles and book chapters.

Will received a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, an M.Litt. with distinction from the University of St. Andrews, and a B.A. with distinction from the University of Virginia.

Basile joined Ajax directly from his biomedical engineering program at Dartmouth College, where he earned both his B.A. and B.E. He graduated first in the engineering school, summa cum laude, and received both peer-reviewed publications and a patent for his work as an undergrad.

Prior to Ajax, Caroline was a Senior Analyst at ClearView Healthcare Partners, working as a strategy consultant for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Caroline received her B.A. in Neuroscience from Harvard College.

Prior to Ajax, Greg was an Investment Associate in the Private Equity Group at Goldman Sachs. Greg received his B.A. from Dartmouth where he was a member of both the track & field and cross-country teams.

Prior to Ajax, Calvin served as Senior Finance Manager at Venrock, a venture capital firm, where he managed all aspects of fund accounting and financial reporting. Calvin started his career as an Auditor at PwC specializing in Asset Management.

Calvin received a M.S. in Accounting from San Jose State University and B.S. from UC Merced.

Prior to Ajax, Melody served as the Marketing Director at Silver Linings Technology, where she played a pivotal role in rebranding the company and spearheading various marketing initiatives. Before that, Melody was an Executive Assistant at Aisling Capital.

Melody has a MFA in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School. She is an award-winning theatre writer, creator, and director. She founded the Lower East Side Shakespeare Co. in 2014, dedicated to reimagining Shakespeare and sharing BIPOC stories with audiences.

Prior to Ajax, Erin worked in Arts Administration and Music Business Management at Manhattan School of Music and the Rascoff/Zysblat Organization (RZO). At RZO, she supported the Managing Director while managing relationships with celebrity clients, administering their music licensing, finances, and charitable foundations. From there she transitioned to tech startups, supporting engineering executives at Etsy and the Founder/CTO of Blue Apron. Most recently, she focused on Growth Initiatives at Founders Pledge, a London-based tech/philanthropy non-profit.

Erin holds a B.S. in Music Education – Bassoon, Summa Cum Laude, from the Cook Honors College at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She’s an award-winning off-Broadway director, writer, producer, and voiceover actress.