Ventec Life Systems CEO and leadership

Jim Alwan was named Chief Executive Officer in March of 2021. A veteran of more than 25 years in the healthcare space, Alwan most recently served as SVP & GM for Philips’s hospital respiratory care business. He also served as VP of innovation and business development at Becton Dickinson.

Doug DeVries is the Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Ventec Life Systems, which he formed in 2012 to develop the next generation unified respiratory device for ventilator patients.

Doug has nearly four decades of leadership and a record of successful innovation in mechanical ventilation, starting as a design engineer with Bear Medical Systems. Later he served as Vice President of Engineering for Bird Products Corporation where he led the development of six commercially successful life support ventilators including the Bear Cub and VIP Bird infant ventilators, the Bird 8400ST acute care ventilator, and the Bird TBird--the world’s first portable full-featured ventilator. In 1997 Doug founded Pulmonetic Systems to design the LTV Series of ventilators, which has been a market leader in more than 150 countries.

A cum laude graduate of California Polytechnic University with a degree in mechanical engineering, Doug has also completed the Stanford/AEA mini-MBA program. He is the inventor on 27 patents in the area of medical device design. Doug is a pilot and restores vintage aircraft.

Chris Brooks is the Chief Strategy Officer. He joined the Ventec team in 2016.

Chris is an early adopter with a diverse background of cross-functional roles at early stage political, corporate, and non-profit organizations.

Prior to his current role, Chris served as the Director of Global Corporate Affairs for Hilton where he was responsible for rebuilding, rebranding, and repositioning the private company following Blackstone Group’s $26B leveraged buyout. Across multiple, broad roles including corporate responsibility, financial communications, strategic partnerships, content development, and online engagement, Chris was part of the core team that prepared Hilton for a return to the public markets in the largest ever hospitality IPO. Previously, Chris consulted high-profile individuals such as presidential candidates and multi-national corporations such as GE across a variety of sectors on a range of complex issues from hostile company takeovers to international crises.

Chris graduated summa cum laude from the George Washington University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Communication and Master’s degree in Political Management. If he’s not answering his phone, Chris is likely adventuring outside.

Christopher Kiple is a President and Chief Operating Officer at Ventec Life Systems and Chief Executive Officer at Ventec Life Systems and is based in Bothell, Washington. He has worked as Banker at J.P. Morgan, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Ventec Life Systems, and Associate at SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP. Christopher attended George Mason University and GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY.

Passionate about improving culture, practices, and processes. Leads diverse groups and multiple functions achieving rapid, positive changes in the medical device industry. International experience with in-depth understanding across the commercial and operational functions.

Relentless commitment to excellence and continuous improvement; focused on goal setting and targeting steps to achieve desired results. Develops organizational vision and leads implementations of those strategies. Adept at making practical business decisions and using sound fiscal judgment in uncertain and rapid paced environments.

Part of key leadership teams managing through public offerings, divestitures, and multiple sales and acquisitions.

Leadership style is based on team engagement, dealing in facts, using common sense, and earning trust.

Energetic mentor and coach, skilled in developing top performance and fostering growth.

Competencies:

P&L Responsibilities

Revenue Growth

Cost Optimization

Risk Management

Compliance Management

Governance & Board Relations

Integrated Commercial Operations

Quality

Data Solutions

Mergers & Acquisitions

Regulatory

Integrations

Dr. Suzanne M. Miller is a physician with a penchant for business and technology looking to expand her impact on others. After earning a MD at Harvard Medical School and training in emergency medicine at Stanford University, Suzie has practiced medicine on every continent. Highlights include serving as attending emergency physician and ultrasound director at a level I trauma center near Washington, DC, providing disaster response after the Haitian earthquake, volunteering in Palestinian refugee camps, and caring for adventure racers from the Sahara Desert to Antarctica. After finding success as founder and CEO of MDadmit medical admissions and writing several best-selling books, Suzie merged her interest in medicine, business, and technology by serving as early-stage chief medical officer (CMO) for Eniware, a Noxilizer spin-off company providing portable sterilization solutions for the developing world. Since she began splitting her time between Australia and the US, Suzie continues to work in emergency medicine and serves as CMO for mHealth Digital, which has launched its first app called SunVisor in the US and Australia. Suzie hopes to leverage her unique experiences practicing medicine in developed, under-resourced, and austere environments; running her own successful business; and liaising between engineers, entrepreneurs, physicians, and patients to continue developing health technologies that improve lives.

Doug DeVries is the Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Ventec Life Systems, which he formed in 2012 to develop the next generation unified respiratory device for ventilator patients.

Doug has nearly four decades of leadership and a record of successful innovation in mechanical ventilation, starting as a design engineer with Bear Medical Systems. Later he served as Vice President of Engineering for Bird Products Corporation where he led the development of six commercially successful life support ventilators including the Bear Cub and VIP Bird infant ventilators, the Bird 8400ST acute care ventilator, and the Bird TBird--the world’s first portable full-featured ventilator. In 1997 Doug founded Pulmonetic Systems to design the LTV Series of ventilators, which has been a market leader in more than 150 countries.

A cum laude graduate of California Polytechnic University with a degree in mechanical engineering, Doug has also completed the Stanford/AEA mini-MBA program. He is the inventor on 27 patents in the area of medical device design. Doug is a pilot and restores vintage aircraft.