Alphatec Holdings Reshuffles its Management Team

Alphatec Holdings Inc. is reshuffling its management team. 

The company’s Board of Directors has appointed Chairman Leslie H. Cross as Interim CEO, effective Sept. 16. Cross, who previously served as Alphatec’s CEO between 2012 and 2014, succeeds James Corbett, who resigned as president and CEO and as a director, effective Sept. 12. Cross will continue his role as board chairman, but as a result of his dual role, the company most likely will name a lead independent director in the near future.
 
“Over the past few years, Alphatec has made significant progress under Jim’s leadership on its strategic journey to reshape the organization, including the successful sale of our international business to Globus Medical. We have strengthened our product development pipeline and as a result our commercial product portfolio has never been stronger.  Similarly, we made significant progress on streamlining our cost structure through the outsourcing of manufacturing operations and improvements to our supply chain management processes through our partnership with outside suppliers,” Cross said. “With a product suite that is attractive to surgeons, an improved balance sheet and a singular focus on the U.S. market, Alphatec is now well-positioned to undertake the next stage of transformation—improving commercial execution and accelerating revenue growth. The leadership changes we are announcing are designed to fast track this vision to reality. We appreciate Jim’s contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
 
Other Executive Appointments
Chief Operating Officer Michael J. Plunkett has been promoted to president (and COO.) Plunkett has served as the company’s COO since January 2014. He originally joined Alphatec Spine in March 2012 as vice president of operations. 
 
During his time with the Company, Plunkett has helped accelerate growth and improve profitability, as well as develop the company’s product portfolio, streamline supply chain management and partner with external suppliers to outsource Alphatec’s manufacturing operations.
 
The company also hired Craig Hunsaker as executive vice president of people and culture, a newly created position at Alphatec. In this role, Hunsaker will be responsible for all aspects of employee recruitment, development, engagement and corporate culture. Hunsaker’s professional career includes 16 years practicing law at some of the world’s largest technology-focused law firms, advising and defending companies and management with respect to their people decisions, while holding various leadership positions. 

Hunsaker left full-time legal practice in 2009, when he joined NuVasive Inc., a publicly traded spinal implant company, first to serve as vice president of legal affairs, then from late 2009 through March 2014 as senior vice president of global human resources. Since April 2014, he has engaged in consulting in the areas of employment law and human resources, including most recently (since April 2016) as senior advisor, human resources at San Diego, Calif.-based General Atomics. He received a bachelor of science degree in international business and finance from Brigham Young University and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.
 
In addition to Plunkett’s promotion and Hunsaker’s hiring, the company recruited Jeff Rydin to serve as special advisor to the board, commercial. He will advise the board on sales, marketing, and revenue acceleration.  
 
Rydin most recently served as chief sales officer with Ellipse Technologies Inc. before its purchase by NuVasive in February. He was previously at NuVasive for more than seven years, holding various senior sales roles, including president of global sales from October 2011 through March 2013. Prior to joining NuVasive, from January 2004 to December 2005, Rydin was area vice president of Orthobiologics for DePuy Spine, where he was responsible for the DePuy sales team in the Southeastern United States. He also served in various executive and leadership sales roles at Orquest, Inc. (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), Symphonic Devices Inc., General Surgical Innovations Inc. (acquired by Tyco International Ltd.), Baxter Healthcare, US Surgical and Xerox. Rydin received a bachelor of arts degree in social ecology from the University of California at Irvine.
 
“This leadership transition is the next step in connecting surgeons and patients in the U.S. with Alphatec’s new products,” Cross said. “As part of this transition, the board, the executive team and I will be focused on the next phase of the company’s transformation—accelerating U.S. revenue growth and superior performance for Alphatec. I am pleased to expand the breadth and experience of the executive team with the expansion of Mike Plunkett’s role and the addition of Craig Hunsaker. In addition, we are fortunate to engage the counsel of Jeff as we transform our U.S. commercial execution and drive future revenue growth. I look forward to all of their contributions and have tremendous confidence in this leadership team and the dedicated employees we have at Alphatec.”
 
The company also announced that it has received formal notification from the Listing Qualifications Department of The NASDAQ Stock Market, notifying Alphatec that it has regained compliance with Listing Rule 5450(a)(1), the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on The NASDAQ Stock Market, and that the matter is now closed. Alphatec’s common stock will continue to be listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market.

Alphatec Spine Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphatec Holdings, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets spinal fusion technology products and solutions for the treatment of spinal disorders associated with disease and degeneration, congenital deformities and trauma. The company is based in Carlsbad, Calif.