Medical device company SI-BONE formed GmbH to expand the company's European operations and appointed Eric Schaber general manager of Germany.
Here are five things to know about the move:
1. GmbH will be headquartered in Mannheim, Germany. The company already has headquarters in Gallarate, Italy. Mr. Schaber will lead the German strategy and build a significant German sales team.
2. Prior to joining SI-BONE, Mr. Schaber spent 23 years in international sales and marketing experience in medical device, trauma and orthopedic spine markets. He was vice president of European operations and managing director for DFINE, where he started and led the company's European and international operations for around six years.
3. Mr. Schaber also held sales management positions at Kyphon, including vice president of international commercial operations. At SI-BONE, he'll join Andrea Mercanti, vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa who also spent time at Kyphon.
4. SI-BONE is dedicated to minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusions. Clinical publications show the SI joint is a pain generator in up to 15 percent to 30 percent of low back pain patients.
5. The company's iFuse System received FDA 510(k) clearance in November 2008 and the CE mark for European commercialization was obtained in November 2010.
"We are extremely excited to have Eric join our European team and I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with Eric again to grow our business in Germany," said Ms. Mercanti. "Eric's knowledge of the spine business and his experience developing new markets and delivering cutting edge MIS technologies in Germany and Europe will be a significant addition to our team."