Leadership
Meet our leadership team
Our leadership team is passionate about their work and take pride in knowing that the devices they produce save lives every day. Without their commitment, we couldn’t have grown from a small family-owned company to a global leader.
George W. LeMaitre
Chairman & CEO
George W. LeMaitre has served as our Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our Board of Directors since 1992, serving as our Chairman since 2004. Previously, Mr. LeMaitre was an investment banking analyst at Lehman Brothers, an associate at the leveraged buyout firm McCown De Leeuw and a credit analyst for Connecticut National Bank. Mr. LeMaitre received a B.A. in History from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. The Board has concluded that Mr. LeMaitre should serve on our Board due to his extensive knowledge of our business, his role since 1992 as our principal executive officer, and his corporate vision and operational knowledge, which provide his strategic guidance to the Board.
David B. Roberts
President, Board Director
David B. Roberts has served as our President since 2007 and as a member of our Board of Directors since 2001. Mr. Roberts joined us in 1997 as Vice President of Business Development and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in 2000, which position he held until 2007. From 1994 to 1997, Mr. Roberts held several positions at BUCA, Inc., an operator of Buca di Beppo restaurants, most recently serving as Vice President of Development and prior to that as Director of Finance. From 1992 to 1994, Mr. Roberts held several positions at Hancock Venture Partners, most recently serving as an Associate. Mr. Roberts received a B.A. in Business Economics and History from Brown University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Mr. Roberts is a director of Parasole Restaurant Holdings, Inc., owner of several restaurants in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area including, among others, Manny’s Steakhouse. The Board has concluded that Mr. Roberts should serve on our Board due to his extensive knowledge of our business, his responsibility within the organization for strategic transactions, and his thorough understanding of the industry in which we operate and the opportunities and challenges that we face.
Joseph P. Pellegrino Jr.
CFO, Board Director
Joseph P. Pellegrino, Jr. has served as our Chief Financial Officer since 2007 and as a member of our Board of Directors since October 2016. Mr. Pellegrino joined us as our Executive Vice President, Finance, in 2005. From 1997 to 2003, Mr. Pellegrino worked at Zoots, Inc., a consumer services company founded by the founders of Staples, Inc., where most recently he served as Senior Vice President of Operations. Previously, Mr. Pellegrino built and sold a regional mall-based specialty retailing company. Mr. Pellegrino has also served as an investment banking analyst at Lehman Brothers, as part of their mergers and acquisitions group. Mr. Pellegrino is a director of Access Vascular, Inc., a medical device company focused on venous access devices. Mr. Pellegrino received an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. The Board has concluded that Mr. Pellegrino should serve on our Board due to his extensive knowledge of our business, his responsibility within the organization for our finances and his operational and financial experience gained with prior employers.
Kimberly L. Cieslak
VP, Marketing
Kimberly L. Cieslak has served as our Vice President, Marketing since 2003. Ms. Cieslak joined us in 1998 and was promoted to Director of Marketing in 2001. Prior to joining LeMaitre, Ms. Cieslak worked in the insurance division of General Electric. Previously, Ms. Cieslak was employed by the law firm Hudson and Co. in London, England. Ms. Cieslak received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Ryan H. Connelly
SVP, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering
Ryan H. Connelly has served as our SVP, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering since 2023. Mr. Connelly joined us in 2002 and has held the positions of R&D Engineer, Senior R&D Engineer, and Co-General Manager of our Phoenix facility during that time. In 2006, Mr. Connelly was promoted to Director, Research and Development and in 2011 promoted to Vice President, Research & Development. From 2001 to 2002, Mr. Connelly worked as a research and development engineer at Panduit Corporation, a network and electrical solutions provider. Mr. Connelly received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Manufacturing Engineering from Boston University.
Giovanella Deiure
VP, Sales - Southern Europe
Giovannella Deiure has served as our Vice President, Sales - Southern Europe since May 2019. Ms. Deiure joined us in 2009 as our Country Manager, Italy and was promoted to Director, Italy and Iberia in 2014 and Director, Southern Europe in 2018. From 2004 to 2009, she served as Sales and Marketing Manager of Arrow Italy S.p.A. From 2001 to 2004 she worked in the Business Unit of Cardiac Surgery Business of Medtronic Italia S.p.A. in a variety of marketing and sales positions. Previously she was employed by DePuy Italia S.r.L in the marketing department. Ms. Deiure received a degree in Electronic Engineering from Politecnico of Milan University and an M.B.A. from the same institution.
Helen Goulding
VP, Sales - Northern Europe
Helen Goulding has served as our VP, Sales - Northern Europe since 2023. Ms. Goulding joined us in 2006 and has held the positions of UK Sales Representative, UK Sales Manager, Sales Director UK/Benelux and Director, Sales - Northern Europe. Prior to joining LeMaitre, Ms. Goulding worked for Edwards Lifesciences in the Vascular and Endovascular market.
David C. Hissong
General Counsel
David C. Hissong has served as our General Counsel since April 2023. Prior to joining LeMaitre, Mr. Hissong held various positions at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. from 2005 to 2022, including Group General Counsel, Interim VP of Quality/Regulatory and most recently as Deputy General Counsel & Chief Compliance Counsel. From 2003 to 2005 and 2002 to 2003, he served as Assistant General Counsel at Lear Corporation and Textron Fastening Systems, respectively. From 2001 to 2002 and 1997 to 2001, he was an attorney at Butzel Long and Cox, Hodgman and Giarmarco, respectively. Mr. Hissong received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and J.D. from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
Andrew Hodgkinson
SVP, Clinical, Regulatory & Quality Affairs
Andrew Hodgkinson has served as our Senior Vice President, Clinical, Regulatory and Quality Affairs since 2013. Mr. Hodgkinson joined us in 2000 as Production Supervisor and was promoted to Production Manager in 2003, Director, Manufacturing in 2006, Director, Clinical Affairs in 2007, Vice President, Clinical and Regulatory Affairs in 2008 and Vice President, Clinical, Regulatory and Quality Affairs in 2011. Mr. Hodgkinson received a B.A. in Economics from the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire.
Trent G. Kamke
SVP, Operations
Trent G. Kamke has served as our Senior Vice President, Operations since 2005. Mr. Kamke joined us in 1997 as Quality Assurance Manager. From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Kamke served as our Vice President, Operations. Prior to joining us in 1997, Mr. Kamke was employed by Haemonetics Corporation, which designs, manufacturers, and markets automated blood processing equipment. Mr. Kamke received a B.A. in Physics from Colby College and a B.E. from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College.
Chance Kriesel
VP, Sales - Americas
Chance Kriesel has served as our Vice President of Sales, The Americas, since November 2018. Mr. Kriesel joined us in 2003 and has held the positions of Sales Representative, Regional Sales Manager and Director of Sales—West. Prior to joining LeMaitre, Mr. Kriesel was a Captain in the U.S. Army and a UH60 Blackhawk pilot responsible for leading various teams as an operations officer, logistics officer and personnel officer. Following his service in the military, Mr. Kriesel worked at Ethicon Endo-Surgery. Mr. Kriesel has a BS in Environmental Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA in Health Care Management from the University of Phoenix.
Roli Kumar-Choudhury
VP, Quality Affairs
Roli Kumar-Choudhury has served as our Vice President, Quality Affairs since December 2019. Ms. Kumar-Choudhury joined us in 2002 and has held the positions of Quality Engineer, Quality Supervisor, Quality Manager and Director, Quality Assurance. Ms. Kumar-Choudhury received a B.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Connecticut and an M.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts – Isenberg School of Management.
Ina Leininger
Director, Sales - Central Europe
Ina Leininger has served as our Director, Sales - Central Europe since October 2019. Ms. Leininger joined us in 2011 as a Sales Representative and was promoted to Regional Sales Manager, Southern Germany in 2019. Prior to joining LeMaitre, she was a pharmaceutical sales representative. Ms. Leininger has a B.S. in Nutritional Sciences and Home Economics and an M.S. in Nutrition from the University of Giessen, Germany.
Stéphane Maier
SVP, EMEA
Stéphane Maier has served as our Senior Vice President, EMEA since October 2020. Mr. Maier joined us in 2000 and held the position of Manager, European IT, in our French facility. In 2003, he joined our European headquarters in Germany as Manager, International IT. Mr. Maier was promoted to Director, International IT and Administration in 2011, Director, International Operations in 2013 and then Vice President, EMEA Operations in January 2018. From 1999 to 2000, he worked as IT project manager for Total S.A. headquarters in Paris, France. Mr. Maier received a Diploma in Sales and Administration and a technical degree in IT Management from the IPI Colmar, France.
Christopher D. Minnett
Country Manager, Canada
Christopher D. Minnett has served as our Country Manager, Canada since 2018. Mr. Minnett joined LeMaitre in 2013 as a Sales Representative. Prior to joining LeMaitre, Mr. Minnett was a paramedic in Ontario, Canada, held a supervisory role in the distribution and environmental services department at Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital and worked as a Sales Consultant at American Medical Systems, a urological medical device company. Mr. Minnett graduated with a BA in Health Sciences from Brock University and also has an MBA from Charles Sturt University.
Daniel J. Mumford
Director, Human Resources
Daniel J. Mumford has served as our Director, Human Resources since January 2020. Prior to joining LeMaitre, Mr. Mumford worked as Global Franchise HR Leader at Johnson & Johnson DePuy Synthes from 2017 to January 2020. He also founded Staff Designs, an HR software startup, which he ran from 2015 to 2017, and he served as Senior HR Partner at Becton, Dickinson and Company from 2006 to 2015. Mr. Mumford received a B.A. in Political Science from Loyola University Maryland and an M.B.A. from Fordham University.
Jonathan W. Ngau
VP, Information Technology
Jonathan W. Ngau has served as our Vice President, Information Technology since 2003 and previously served as our Director of Information Technology from 2000 to 2003. Since joining us in 1996, Mr. Ngau has implemented and managed all information technology, application development, infrastructure operations, business intelligence, compliance and cybersecurity for all of LeMaitre’s facilities. Mr. Ngau received a B.A.B.S. in Marketing and Information Systems from Boston University.
Jacob Petersen
SVP, APAC
Jacob Petersen has served as our Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific since September 2023. Mr. Petersen joined us in 2018 at which time he established our APAC headquarters in Singapore. Prior to joining LeMaitre, Mr. Petersen was employed in the Surgical Workflow division of Getinge from 2007 to 2018, most recently in the position of Senior Director from 2016 to 2018. Mr. Petersen has 15 years working experience in APAC in the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore. Mr. Petersen received an M.A. in International Business and Modern Languages from University of Southern Denmark.
James Russell
VP, Production & Supply Chain
James Russell has served as our Vice President, Production & Supply Chain since October 2020. Mr. Russell joined us in 2004 and has held the positions of Buyer/Planner and Materials Manager during that time. In 2010, Mr. Russell was promoted to Operations Manager and then Director, Operations in January 2017. From 1999 to 2002 Mr. Russell worked as a Materials Planner for Pacific Scientific a Danaher Corporation and from 2002 to 2004, worked as a Buyer/Planner for CMC Torque Systems, a motion control systems provider. Mr. Russell received a B.S. in Business Administration from Merrimack College.
Kathryn L. Tebbe
Sr. Director, Financial Reporting
Kathryn L. Tebbe has served as our Senior Director, Financial Reporting since 2022. Ms. Tebbe joined us in 2015 as Manager of Financial Reporting, was promoted to Senior Manager of Financial Planning & Analysis in 2017 and to Director of Financial Reporting in 2019. Prior to joining LeMaitre, Ms. Tebbe was an Assurance Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 2012 to 2015. From 2004 to 2012, she was an Audit Manager with Feeley & Driscoll, P.C. Ms. Tebbe received a B.S. in Business Administration with an Accounting concentration from Bryant University and has a Massachusetts Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license.
Xiang Zhang
VP, Regulatory Affairs
Xiang Zhang has served as our Vice President, Regulatory Affairs since 2016. He first joined us as Regulatory Affairs Specialist in 2009 and was promoted to Senior Regulatory Specialist in 2010. From 2011 to 2012, he served as Director of Regulatory Affairs at Smith & Nephew. He rejoined our Company in 2012 as Director of Regulatory and was promoted to Global Director of Regulatory in 2014. Mr. Zhang received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Rutgers University in 2001.