Clearwater medical device firm CFO quits

CLEARWATER — After a year on the job, Peter Donato is departing Bovie Medical Corp. as its CFO to take an unspecified position with another company in Ohio.

Donato was named CFO of the Clearwater medical device and supply firm in May 2014, after stints with Cyberonics Inc. of Houston and Catasys Inc. of Los Angeles.

Replacing him on an interim basis is Jay Ewers, Bovie's corporate controller. Ewers has more than 30 years of financial executive experience, ranging from early stage to high-profile public companies, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the meantime, Bovie, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BVX, will conduct a search for a permanent CFO.

“We are fortunate to have a senior executive with Jay's experience and a supporting financial team,” Bovie CEO Robert Gershon says in a release.

Donato will remain as a consultant to help in the transition of a new CFO, the company says.

Bovie reported a net loss of $876,000, or 69 cents per share, on revenues of $6.1 million, in the quarter ended March 31. That compared to a $9.6 million, or 55 cents per share, loss the year before, on revenues of $6.5 million.