Leadership Team

Brent Furse has served as a Director and our Chief Executive Officer and President since June 2016. Prior to coming to Vero Biotech, Mr. Furse was a key member of the The Medicines Company leadership team where he joined in 2000 pre-IPO and served as a section 16 Officer. He held various leadership positions including Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Commercial Officer, Vice President and General Manager Interventional Medicine, Vice President Surgery and Perioperative Care, and Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He was responsible for the launch and success of their flagship product Angiomax, and countless successful partnerships and operational excellence.  In addition to his success at The Medicines Company, Brent has held leadership positions with Centers for Disease Control, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Schering Plough Corporation, and serves on the board of Anthera Pharmaceuticals, The Special Olympics and Salus Tele-health.

Mr. Morin joined Vero Biotech as CFO in October of 2017, and has more than 15 years of experience in financial and executive management at emerging growth, life sciences, and global manufacturing companies. Prior to Vero Biotech, Mr. Morin served as the CFO of Brookhaven Medical, Inc., a privately held holding company for medical device companies and medical technologies, and as the CFO of FutureMatrix Interventional, Inc., a privately held manufacturer and producer of high pressure PTA balloon catheters and urology devices. Previously, Mr. Morin served as the Global Controller of EndoChoice Holdings (Acquired by Boston Scientific), a publicly held medical device company focused on the manufacturing and commercialization of platform technologies including devices, diagnostics, infection control and endoscopic imaging for specialists treating a wide range of gastrointestinal diseases. During his tenure at EndoChoice, Mr. Morin oversaw all aspects of the finance, accounting, treasury and tax functions and helped the Company raise over $200 million in debt and equity financing, including over $100 million in its initial public offering. Prior to joining EndoChoice, Mr. Morin served as the Vice President of Finance and Accounting at Case-Mate, Inc., a privately held global leader in the design and manufacture of accessories for mobile devices. During his tenure at Case-Mate, Mr. Morin led the company’s international expansion into 7 countries and distribution of products in over 76 countries worldwide. Mr. Morin began his career at KPMG where he served a number of high growth public and private companies across a wide range of industries. He received an MBA from Emory University, a Masters of Accounting degree from Georgia State University, and a Bachelor’s of Accounting degree from St. Michaels’ College. He is also a licensed CPA in the state of Georgia. 

David Stocker delivers a unique blend of clinical and commercial operations skills and experience within the Healthcare Delivery and Bio Pharmaceutical industry. In his 24 years of healthcare experience he has provided leadership at many levels, serving a diversity of customers and patients within many of the top 200 healthcare organizations in the US. David holds Doctor of Pharmacy and Master’s Degree in Health Administration from the University of Washington, and 2year Advanced Residency at Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound in Seattle Washington. He has held senior level leadership positions in both the provider and commercial side of healthcare, in both a medical and commercial operations capacity. David has been credited with building and leading cross-functional teams that consistently deliver results by aligning innovative solutions with business goals, with substantial improvement to service delivery and business/system performance. David is a results oriented leader with proven success in strategic thinking, problem solving, and co-innovation with customers. His diversity of leadership experience demonstrates an ability to be flexible and adaptable.

Namita is a successful senior-level business leader driving more than two decades of exceptional results focused on sales, business development, and account management across diverse markets including healthcare, finance, and hospitality.  She is strategic and multidisciplinary with an eye for innovation, positioning, and relevance.  She has worked for a wide array of Fortune 500 firms such as American Express, Marriott International, and Eli Lilly and Company.

Namita attended Widener University in Philadelphia obtaining an undergraduate degree in Hospitality Management and Marketing. Following an International feasibility project, she began her career in the Marriott Executive Sales Training Program working in New York and the Washington DC area. Namita then went back to school for Investment education and received her Series 6, 7, 63, 65, and all relevant financial licenses to begin working as a Financial Investment Planner with American Express in Washington DC and then Atlanta.  After starting and working in a successful group practice in Atlanta, she transitioned to the Pharmaceutical Industry and worked in hospitals and institutions for 17 years from New Jersey, to Atlanta, to Orlando for Eli Lilly and Company. After a three-year period with an acute care hospital-based company named The Medicines Company, Namita created her own consulting firm and is currently working as Vice President Strategic Development for Vero Biotech.

Ray Russo is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 30 years of industry experience, including senior positions in global marketing, sales, pricing & reimbursement, and finance.  He most recently held the role of Senior Vice President Global Acute Cardiovascular Care at The Medicines Company, an acute care specialty company.  Prior to joining MDCO, he was the Chief Commercial Officer at Prism Pharmaceuticals, a specialty biotech company where he not only led the preparation for launch of their primary drug, but also crafted and led presentations to Wall Street and industry leaders, resulting in the sale of the company to Baxter International in 2011.  Ray came to Prism from Shionogi Pharma, Inc., where he served as Vice President of Sales/Marketing, and where he successfully executed a number of product launches.  He began his career at Schering-Plough Corp., where he led a number of highly successful global product launches in both the specialty and primary care areas, most recently serving as Global Vice President, Cardiovascular Products.  He has extensive partnering experience with both large pharma (eg; Vytorin/Zetia, Merck, Brilinta/Astra Zenca); as well as emerging biotech companies (eg; Integrilin, Cor Therapeutics).  Ray previously sat on the Duke Fuqua Business School Health Sector Advisory Board and was formerly a board member and chairman of the NJ Epilepsy Foundation/Family Resource Network.  He holds a BA in Economics and an MBA in Accounting from Rutgers University and holds a CPA (inactive) in the state of NJ.

Jason White is Vice President of Research and Development for Vero Biotech, LLC. Over the past 20 years, he has demonstrated leadership in developing and commercializing complex medical technologies for the treatment of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Before Vero Biotech, Jason served as Vice President of Research and Development for CardioMEMS Inc. and Sr. Director of Product Development for St. Jude Medical, Inc. During 15 years with CardioMEMS/St. Jude Medical, Jason led Research and Development for the CardioMEMS HF System, the first commercialized wireless implanted monitor which was clinically proven to improve care for heart failure patients living outside the hospital. Upon commercialization of the CardioMEMS System in June 2014, St. Jude Medical, Inc. acquired the company and he continued to lead development of next generation CardioMEMS systems. Prior to CardioMEMS and St. Jude Medical, Jason led product development teams for next generation angioplasty catheters and stents for Cordis, a Johnson and Johnson company. Jason holds a BSE in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from Duke University, and a MS in Engineering Management from Florida International University.

Justin joined Vero Biotech as Vice President of Marketing and Commercialization in February of 2020, bringing over 20 years of global commercial leadership experience across sales and marketing in the Medical Device industry. Justin’s experiences span both Fortune 500 and start-up companies beginning his career at 3M in their Industrial Markets division. While at Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a Johnson and Johnson company, Justin led commercialization efforts domestically and globally in multiple roles over his 12 years. More recently with EndoChoice, Justin played a leadership role as Senior Director of Marketing during the company’s IPO and its eventual acquisition by Boston Scientific. Justin was retained by Boston Scientific and just prior to joining Vero Biotech led the Therapeutic Imaging & Integration Marketing team, focusing on revolutionizing the customer experience.

Michelle joins Vero-Biotech as VP of Sales for the launch of the Genosyl DS. She is a healthcare and patient-centric business professional with over twenty-two years experience in building positions driven by quality and results. Ms. Nickoli brings a track record of demonstrated consistent achievement of organizational goals, strong sales and performance/quality objectives. Michelle is a Registered Respiratory Therapist and holds a Bachelors Degree in Sales and Marketing. She started her career as an RRT at Bellin Hospital and Aurora HealthCare before moving into the medical device industry at Possis Medical and pharmaceutical industry with The Medicines Company and Melinta Therapeutics. Michelle has built and lead several successful customer facing teams for 10 acute care product launches in various therapeutic areas such as infectious diseases, surgical, emergency medicine and cardiovascular. Her passion for presenting patient focused messages is invaluable in leading and bringing teams to action that result in completion of common goals.