Tech firm, nearing possible IPO, names new president

TAMPA — SynDaver, a Tampa biotech firm that manufactures lifelike synthetic human and animal bodies for medical and veterinary training, named Bill Wright president.

Wright will handle roles previously managed by SynDaver CEO Dr. Christopher Sakezles, who will now focus on research and development operations under a sister company, SynDaverX, according to a statement. Wright previously served as president of SynDaver Europe, the release adds.

Wright has nearly 30 years of experience working in the medical device, biotech and manufacturing industries both in the U.S. and abroad. He joined SynDaver in July 2015 as senior vice president of operations, where he helped to more than double the production rate for the firm’s wide range of products, the release states.

“I am proud of the work that we have accomplished thus far at SynDaver and am very grateful for the opportunity to lead the company, which is at the forefront of medical technology,” says Wright in the statement. “Everything we do at SynDaver is in the name of progress, improving medicine and increasing understanding. I look forward to making sure those aspects continue to be incorporated into our business.”

Wright’s work experience before SynDaver includes serving in a senior leadership capacity for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md. “I have the utmost confidence in Bill and his ability to lead SynDaver well into the future, in addition to our 2020 IPO,” says Sakezles, founder of SynDaver, in the statement.

SynDaver, with an eye toward the IPO, named area financial executive Terenze Terenzi CFO earlier this year. Terenzi previously assisted companies such as Eckerd Drugs and Checkers Drive-In restaurants with SEC offerings and the IPO process.

Sakezles, in a recent interview with the Business Observer, says company's rapid growth — it’s on track to hit $20 million in revenue this year and projects that to increase to $50 million in 2019 — presents an opportunity to expand into emerging markets like human organ generation, life extension and human ability augmentation.

SynDaver’s synthetic humans, animals and task trainers imitate the anatomy of their living counterparts in detail, including individual muscles, tendons, veins, arteries, nerves and organs, which are made from complex composites including water, fibers and salts that look, feel and behave like real tissue, the company states. These non-toxic, non-latex tissues have been validated for having comparable mechanical, physicochemical, thermal and dielectric properties of the relevant living tissue.