Elizabeth Hofheinz, M.P.H., M.Ed. • Wed, January 21st, 2015
Rick Simmons
Rick Simmons is the new person in charge of presenting the “face” of Benvenue Medical, Inc. The company has recently announced that Simmons has joined the company as vice president of sales and marketing. Simmons will use his 30+ years of experience in medical devices and spine to grow the Luna product line.
Simmons will work with the Luna 360 Interbody Fusion System, a minimally invasive lumbar interbody fusion device for degenerative disc disease (DDD) that received clearance from the FDA in November 2014. 
“Rick brings a unique blend of sales and marketing leadership, combined with a technical and analytic mindset,” said Robert Weigle, Benvenue CEO in the January 7, 2015 news release. “His wealth of spine expertise and his leadership skills will no doubt help us excel as we introduce the Luna 360 System to the U.S. market.”
“Previously, Simmons served as president of g2m MedTech Advisors, a corporate consulting firm specializing in emerging technology platforms with a specialization in spine, surgical sports medicine and orthobiologic devices. There, Simmons led strategic planning, guidance go-to-market and commercialization strategies for both Fortune 100 and early stage venture funded companies. Prior to founding g2m MedTech Advisors, Simmons was vice president and general manager of Advanced Technologies, including leading marketing and sales of TranS1, Inc., from its founding through its IPO. He also held commercial leadership roles at NuVasive and Innovasive Devices. Earlier in his career, Simmons served as director of marketing, managed care and business development at Genzyme Tissue Repair, Inc., and held various U.S. and International sales and marketing management positions with Acufex Microsurgical, Inc. He holds a bachelor of arts in kinesiology from California State University, Northridge.”
Simmons told OTW, “My primary focus is making the Luna 360 Expandable Interbody Fusion System, which was cleared by the FDA in November, available to patients and surgeons. This includes building a presence and awareness for a feature-rich Luna 360 implant that addresses the current limitations of expandable devices used in MIS posterior approaches, including a staged commercialization and ramp up in the second half of the year.”