June 4, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
Greg Cash is an industry veteran with over 30 years of business experience as the chief executive officer of several companies, both public and privately held, as well as the head of global business units of larger companies. Los Angeles-based BioSig Technologies is a medical device company that has developed a proprietary technology platform designed to improve the rapidly growing $3 billion electrophysiology (EP) marketplace.
Prior to joining BioSig, Cash was president and CEO of Argent International, a life sciences consulting firm. He began his career at Medtronic, Inc. , where he served 14 years in increasingly senior sales and marketing positions. Previous positions include president/CEO NeuroTherm Inc.; president/CEO of HeartSine Technologies, Inc.; president of Vascular Therapy and New Businesses for Sorin Group based in Milan, Italy; president/CEO and a director of Vasomedical; corporate VP for Datascope Corporation, and President of its subsidiary, InterVascular, Inc.; president/COO of Eminent Technology Partners and CEO of its subsidiary, Eminent Research Systems.
Cash has lived and worked as an expatriate in London, England, Hong Kong, Paris, France and Milan, Italy, and speaks French, German and Italian. He holds a B.A. in International Marketing and Business Administration from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.
BioSpace chatted with Cash about his background, his current passions and why he’s stayed in the field as long as he has.
1. You started out as an intern at Medtronic and you worked there for over 14 years. How did that experience prepare you for your role at BioSig?
I cut my teeth on cardiac rhythm management and learned early in my career how to read and interpret electrocardiograms (EKGs) as well as how to diagnose and treat various arrhythmias, which is the market BioSig is in. While at Medtronic, I also learned how to roll out complex medical devices and develop new markets, essential skills for launching our PURE EP system.
2. What was your pay rate as an intern?
$9 an hour. It was pretty good pay in those days. The interns we are hiring for the summer at BioSig are doing a little better than that, however.
3. What inspired you to stay at Medtronic through all those years and what advice would you give yourself 20 years ago?
I had a good career at Medtronic; I was learning a lot, got great opportunities at a young age (I became a product manager when I was 24 years old), had the good fortune to have done two expatriate assignments (in London and Hong Kong) and was promoted every couple of years. In regards to advice I would give myself of 20 years ago, it would be things like listening better, a skill it took me a few more years to hone, and that providing constructive feedback needs to be done in a delicate and caring manner.
4. What was the last book you read and would you recommend it?
“Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell. I would recommend it because it does a great job of explaining how certain people make decisions in the blink of an eye, which resonated with me.
5. Because you resonate with “Blink,” can you provide an example of a proud business decision you made in a blink of an eye?
This was not so much a business decision but more of a personal one. I was once asked by the chairman of a company, for which I was interviewing for the CEO job (not my current position at BioSig Technologies) how old I was. Knowing it was totally illegal to ask me that question, I made the snap decision to respond to it, knowing innately that he could easily get that answer as I was an officer of a publicly held company at the time. His response “Thank God! We need a young guy like you to run this company.”
6. What are the main candidates or therapy in your pipeline and why do they excite you?
The PURE EP cardiac electrophysiology recording and information system is the first product in our pipeline. I am excited about it because it is the only system focused on signal quality by removing the non-biologic noise from cardiac recordings. We feel this has the potential to help improve outcomes in cardiac ablation procedures as well as save time. The PURE EP system has allowed me to work with a fabulous team of physician leaders in the cardiac electrophysiogy field from the leading institutions in the country. We recently completed a major preclinical study at the Mayo Clinic, the results of which are pending.
7. What specific date later this year does BioSig intend to seek U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for the PURE EP System?
While I cannot get too specific, it is our goal to submit our 510(k) application by the end of the year.
8. Since the approval process for this type of Class 2 device normally takes about three to six months, can you share any plans BioSig will have during the waiting process?
This will be a very busy period. We will be undertaking activities like transferring the product from development to manufacturing, planning the market release and rollout of the product, defining post market clinical trials, training the distribution network on the system and other launch related tasks.
9. If the product goes to market in the U.S., what growth plans do you see for the company? Any regulatory plans for Europe?
We do plan to go to Europe and will be working on the CE Marking strategy in the near future. We also plan to seek regulatory approval in Japan and other key markets around the world.
For Mayo Clinic: As we are a public company and have not yet disclosed that information, I cannot go into specifics. I can tell you we did not have any negative surprises, though.
10. Best advice for a young person coming into healthcare today?
There are many changes in the healthcare field at present, which scare a lot of people. In my experience I have found that those who embrace change come out ahead, as opposed to those who resist it.
Bonus: Five fun things you never knew about BioSig CEO Greg Cash
1. What’s your hometown and do you get back there often?
Harvard, Illinois. I have very fond memories of Harvard and do not make it back there as often as I would like to, but I especially enjoy attending high school reunions and catching up with my classmates.
2. Do you have a pet? What’s its name?
My son’s dog Buddy is currently residing with me, along with my son, Jamieson.
3. Favorite food for each season?
Spring – Whatever meat first makes its way to my grill
Summer – Ratatouille
Fall - Roast Turkey at Thanksgiving
Winter - Ossobuco alla Milanese
4. All-time favorite movie?
“Casablanca”
5. What’s your favorite part of the day?
Sunset, preferably in the summer and on my deck.
