Alphatec Holdings Inc., the parent company of Alphatec Spine Inc., a provider of spinal fusion technologies, announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Terry M. Rich as the company’s CEO, effective Dec. 10. Rich, who has also been appointed to the company’s Board of Directors, will replace Leslie H. Cross, who has served as interim CEO since September.

The company's Board of Directors has also appointed Mortimer Berkowitz III, a current board member, as chairman, effective Dec. 10. He replaces Cross, who will step down as chairman but will remain on the board. As a result of this transition, the board will no longer have a lead independent director. 

Additionally, Alphatec Holdings executives announced new members of the firm's commercial leadership team and equity inducement awards being granted to three new key employees. 

“This leadership transition is the next step in connecting surgeons and patients in the U.S. with Alphatec’s new spinal fusion products. We are excited to bring in Terry Rich as CEO to lead the next phase of the company’s transformation and drive superior performance for Alphatec," Board Chairman Tim Berkowitz said. "Terry’s deep experience in the U.S. spine and orthopedics markets and his demonstrated history as an executive leader make him ideally suited for the CEO position. We are equally excited about the additions of Jon and Amy to the commercial leadership team.  Together, Terry, Jon and Amy were senior executives at Tornier and were instrumental in repositioning Tornier’s U.S. commercial business and positioning the company for a successful merger with Wright Medical in 2015. Their combined experience and leadership will be invaluable as we move to unlock the potential of our product portfolio across the U.S. spine market.”
 
Terry M. Rich Named CEO
With more than 25 years of orthopedic, spine and medical device business experience, Rich has a track record of leading global business units, driving sales execution and commercial turn-arounds.  In addition, Rich has demonstrated experience managing both direct and distributor sales channels. Most recently he served as president, Upper Extremities, at Wright Medical Group N.V. following that company’s merger with Tornier N.V. Prior to that role, Rich was senior vice president, U.S. Commercial Operations, at Tornier and prior to Tornier, he held senior sales leadership positions in the spine industry at Nuvasive Inc. and DePuy Spine. Rich received a bachelor of arts degree in labor relations from Rutgers University.

“I am thrilled with the opportunity to lead Alphatec through this pivotal point in the company’s transformation and aggressively pursue the large U.S. market opportunity we have in front of us," said Rich. "With a portfolio of spinal fusion products, an improved capital structure and a strengthened senior leadership team, we are well-positioned to drive towards future profitability and growth. I look forward to engaging with the Alphatec employees, our surgeon customers, our distributors and sales agents, our suppliers and our shareholders as we embark on this new chapter.”
 
New Sales Leadership Appointed
In conjunction with Rich’s appointment, the company also announced the following additions to its commercial leadership team:

• Jon Allen has accepted a newly created position as executive vice president of Commercial Operations. In this role, Allen will be responsible for all aspects of sales, sales training, national accounts, healthcare economics and value creation.
• Amy Ables, Ph.D., has accepted a newly created position as vice president of Corporate Education & Performance. In this role, Ables will be responsible for all aspects of training and development for surgeons, sales representatives, distributors and employees. Ables will also drive efforts for an integrated process to involve and align Alphatec’s teams to accomplish the company’s strategic goals and objectives.

 
With these appointments, Alphatec is investing in strengthening its sales leadership in order to improve sales execution and drive future revenue growth. 
 
Allen has held numerous sales leadership and sales operations positions in spine and orthopedics over his 27-year career in medical devices, including most recently vice president, Healthcare Economics and Reimbursement, at Wright Medical, where he had oversight responsibilities for corporate accounts, product positioning, and value creation. Prior to joining Wright Medical, Allen held senior executive leadership positions with Tornier starting as vice president, Sales Operations, and serving on Tornier’s executive committee. Additionally, Allen held senior leadership roles within the DePuy franchise where he was responsible for developing pricing and commercial strategy, sales channel management, and subsequently owning a multi-state distributorship for DePuy Spine. In addition, Allen has served as a consultant to orthopedic companies, working with U.S. senators and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in addressing anti-conflict of interest legislation in healthcare.
 
Ables most recently served as vice president U.S. Training and Education at Wright Medical, a position she has held since 2014. From 2007 to 2014, she served a variety of senior leadership roles at Tornier within medical education, clinical education, sales training, and product management. Prior to this, she served as assistant professor for the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Texas at Arlington. Ables has a Ph.D. in biomechanics from Texas Woman’s University and has published several articles, books, and presentations on kinesiology, sports medicine, and medical devices.

“The board offers our sincerest thanks to Les Cross for his dedication and contributions to Alphatec as chairman for the last five-plus years. We appreciate his guidance and leadership and we are very pleased that he will continue to serve on the board,” Berkowitz said.
 
Inducement Awards Granted
As an inducement to joining Alphatec, on Dec. 10, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approved the following inducement awards:
 

• Terry Rich: 200,000 restricted stock units (RSUs) and an option to purchase 200,000 shares of common stock; and
• Jon Allen: 75,000 RSUs and an option to purchase 75,000 shares of common stock; and
• Amy Ables: 25,000 RSUs and an option to purchase 25,000 shares of common stock.

 
The RSUs and stock options were granted pursuant to Alphatec’s 2016 Employment Inducement Award Plan. Collectively, the RSUs and options were granted as inducements material to the new employees entering into employment with Alphatec in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
 
The RSUs will vest in equal installments annually over four years on each of the first four anniversaries of the grant date, assuming in each case the employee remains continuously employed by Alphatec as of such vesting date. In addition, the RSUs will fully vest upon a change in control of Alphatec.
 
Alphatec Spine Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphatec Holdings Inc., designs, develops, 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.