Board of Directors

Herr Ostermeier ist mehrfacher Unternehmensgründer und hat im Jahre 2001 ein Unternehmen gegründet und als Geschäftsführer aufgebaut, welches ein portables Gerät zur optischen präklinischen Detektion von Gehirnblutungen entwickelt hat. Dieses Unternehmen wurde im Jahr 2007 an ein amerikanischen Medizintechnikunternehmen verkauft. Er hat ein weiteres Unternehmen mitgegründet und als Geschäftsführer geleitet, welches ein innovatives Produkt im Bereich Neurochirurgie entwickelte. Vier Jahre nach Unternehmensgründung wurde die Technologie im Jahr 2006 an ein führendes US-amerikanisches neurochirurgisches Unternehmen veräußert. Davor war Herr Ostermeier als Geschäftsführer und Vice-President für die Schaffung, den Aufbau und die Leitung eines deutsch-amerikanischen Biotechnologie-Start-Ups verantwortlich, welches anschließend an ein führendes Feinchemikalien und Laborbedarfhandelsunternehmen verkauft wurde.
Dominick Arena (Chairman of the Board)
Dominick Arena has more than 30 years of experience growing small start-ups and large multi-national corporations and is currently Executive Advisor at Water Street Healthcare Partners, LLC, a major Chicago, US based private equity fund investing in health care companies. Prior to Water Street, Dominick was president of Smiths Medical Critical Care, a leading global provider of medical devices. Previously, he was president and CEO of Medex, Inc. At Medex, Dominick led a successful management buyout of the company and completed a number of strategic acquisitions to build the company into a leading global manufacturer of critical care medical products. Dominick also served as the leader of three medical device manufacturing companies: Hudson Respiratory Care, Inc., Respiratory Care, Inc., and AnaMed International. He also led the healthcare business of the Furon Company. Dominick began his career in the healthcare industry working for Baxter and The Kendall Corporation, where he was promoted to executive-level positions. Dominick received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from LeMoyne College before serving his country in both the United States Army and the Central Intelligence Agency.
Dr. Klaus Stöckemann (Deputy Chairman of the Board)
Dr. Klaus Stöckemann is co-founder and Managing Director of Peppermint Venture Partners GmbH and Managing Director of Peppermint Charité Biomedical Fund.
Prior to the launch of Peppermint Venture Partners, he was a general partner in the international healthcare venture team of 3i plc. During the time at 3i he was responsible for more than12 investments. His track record at 3i included not only IPOs of companies such as Epigenomics, Jerine and Santhere, but also the trade sales of Evotec Neuroscience, Amaxa and Elbion.
Prior to his tenure at 3i, Dr. Stöckemann held leading position in research as well as in usiness development at major pharma corporations such as Schering AG and ASTA Medica.
Dr. Stöckemann’s more than 15-year experience in the venture capital industry makes him an experienced venture capital investor. He has a Ph.D. in biology and pharmacology from the University of Mainz, as well as an MBA from WHU/Kellogg, Northwestern University in the United States
Robert N. Weinreb, M.D.
Robert N. Weinreb, M.D. is the Chairman and Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California, San Diego as well as Director of the Shiley Eye Institute and the Director of the Hamilton Glaucoma Center. He also holds the Morris Gleich MD Chair of Glaucoma and also is appointed as Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering. Dr. Weinreb graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed his residency and fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Weinreb is a clinician, a surgeon and a scientist. He oversees all clinical activities at the Shiley Eye Institute and within the Department of Ophthalmology. As the Director of the Hamilton Glaucoma Center, a state of the art laboratory and clinical research facilities for glaucoma, Dr. Weinreb also oversees a world-renowned team of scientists and staff dedicated to glaucoma. Patients from throughout the world seek his medical and surgical expertise. [+]
Dr. Weinreb’s clinical and research interests are diverse and range from the front of the eye to the back of the eye. They include glaucoma surgery, optic neuropathy and aging of the eye, imaging of the optic disc and retinal nerve fiber layer, mechanisms of optic nerve damage in glaucoma, neuroprotection of glaucoma, and cataract surgery.
Dr. Weinreb has served as President of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (2002-2003), President of the World Glaucoma Association (WGA) (2004-2006), President of the American Glaucoma Society (2007-2009), President of the American Glaucoma Society Foundation (2012-2014), and President of the Pan American Glaucoma Society (2013-2015).
Dr. Weinreb is the recipient of numerous awards including the Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Award in recognition of leadership and contributions in ophthalmology (1997), the Research to Prevent Blindness Physician-Scientist Award (2003), Founder’s Award of the World Glaucoma Association (2009) and Life Achievement Honor Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (2010). He has been cited in every edition of Woodward/White, The Best Doctors in America and is an elected member of the prestigious American Ophthalmological Society. Dr. Weinreb also is the recipient of the Ridley Medal of St. Thomas’ Hospital, London (2006), the Moecyr E. Alvaro Medal of Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Brazil (2009), the Watson Medal of the University of Cambridge, England (2010), the Innovators Award of the American Glaucoma Society (2013), APGS International Award of the Asian Pacific Glaucoma Society and the Gold Medal of the Chinese Academy of Ophthalmology (2016). He is an Honorary Member of the Societe Francaise D’Ophtalmologie and a Life Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (2017).
Dr. Weinreb serves on numerous Editorial Boards including Journal of Glaucoma (Co-Editor), International Glaucoma Review (Chief Editor) and Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. He has trained more than 150 post-doctoral Fellows in Glaucoma, including numerous Chairs and many others who hold distinguished academic positions in the United States and throughout the world. His h-impact factor in January 2019 is 118.
Kfir Azoulay
Kfir Azoulay is Corporate Head of Strategy at Heidelberg Engineering, a technology leader in the field of ophthalmic diagnostic imaging systems and ophthalmic healthcare IT solutions (including PACS, EMR, and Data Analytics). In his current role, he oversees business development as well as the company’s other global strategic initiatives. Prior to Heidelberg Engineering, Mr. Azoulay served for several years as Vice President & General Manager of Lumenis’ global ophthalmology business. Mr. Azoulay currently also serves on the Board of Directors of several companies in the ophthalmology field, including Gauss Infomed (China) and Medisoft Ltd. (UK). Mr. Azoulay holds a Masters’ degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and he also successfully completed the ophthalmology science program (BCSC) at Columbia University in New York. He has lived, worked, and studied in 6 countries.
Nach seinem Studium an der Medizinischen Universität Wien/Österreich erfolgte seine Facharztausbildung zum Augenarzt in der Schweiz in den medizinischen Universitäten Basel, Genf und Lausanne, sowie ein Fellowship am Hamilton Glaucoma Center der University of California San Diego, USA. Neben seiner klinischen und chirurgischen Tätigkeit ist Dr. Mansouri ein international anerkannter Wissenschaftler im Bereich Glaukom und hat dort insbesondere Pionierarbeit im Bereich der 24 Stunden Messung des Augeninnendrucks und circadianer Augeninnendruckschwankungen geleistet. Zudem ist Dr. Mansouri Associate Professor am Department of Ophthalmology der University School of Medicine, Denver/USA und agiert als wissenschaftlicher Berater für namhafte Unternehmen in der Augenheilkunde. Künftige Glaukom Therapie-Richtlinien gestaltet Dr. Mansouri als aktives Mitglied in der European Glaucoma Society und der World Glaucoma Association mit.