BioUtah Elects New Board Chairmen

BioUtah, the industry association for Utah’s life-science community, has elected Richard J. Linder as chair of its executive board of directors, and George Hamilton as vice chair. Linder succeeds Merit CEO and founder Fred Lampropoulos, BioUtah’s inaugural board chair. Nelson Labs CEO Jeff Nelson served as BioUtah’s first vice chair.

“From our inception, BioUtah has been blessed with tremendous board leadership, which has enabled us to quickly establish ourselves as a fixture of Utah’s life-science landscape,” said Kimball Thomson, president & CEO of BioUtah. “Rich and George are the absolute right people to lead our next stage of influence and impact. It is a tremendous honor to serve Utah’s life-science community with them.”

Linder, chief executive of orthopedics startup CoNextions Medical and co-founder of BioUtah, has a “rich and varied career” that has made him a highly influential leader in Utah’s life-science community, according to the association’s leadership. During five years at Merit Medical, he developed the company’s global compensation and reward systems, corporate training and development programs. As president and CEO of Rubicon Medical, Linder led a successful effort to take the company public, and later brokered a successful sale to Boston Scientific. He also serves on the board of Vital Access, and has served as CEO of Coherex Medical and as president of Remedy Informatics’ heart and vascular division.

“I could not be more excited about the trajectory of BioUtah and the life-science leaders, companies and other organizations we serve,” said Linder. “I am delighted to serve as chairman of this association, which is truly poised to elevate Utah’s status as a leader in the global life-sciences marketplace.”

Hamilton, vice president of business development for Intermountain Healthcare, brings multifaceted expertise to his new role with BioUtah, officials said. From a community entrepreneurial investment arm, he leads a variety of projects designed to benefit Intermountain’s patients and stakeholders, and to drive growth in Utah’s economy life-science community and economy. Before coming to Intermountain, Hamilton worked as a senior management consultant for McKinsey, as the executive director of business development for Cleveland Clinic, and as manager of global business development for GE Healthcare, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategic planning and global alliances.

“BioUtah’s primary purpose is to help our state’s life-science organizations win,” said Hamilton. “There is no question in my mind that Utah entrepreneurs and companies possess tremendous talent and capability. I am excited to work with BioUtah to create an environment and opportunities to maximize and unleash this creative potential.”

BioUtah, the official industry association for Utah’s life science community, was created in 2012 to help organizations in the state succeed in the global marketplace. The organization serves the medical device, biotech/pharma, diagnostics and healthcare industries through networking, education and advocacy.