Meet the Team
100+ years of innovation experience
Jim Zalar, Partner
As a Partner with Novamedics, Jim Zalar works with clients to support healthcare organizations looking to evaluate, establish or enhance commercialization programs.
With over 25 years experience at Cleveland Clinic and Big Four consulting firms, Jim has significant experience in hospital operations, partnering and commercialization activities. He grew revenue at the Orthopedic & Rheumatology Institute from $180m to $400m in four years, doubling the physician staff.
As General Manager of the Business Solutions Team (BST) at Cleveland Clinic Innovations, Jim’s team partnered with healthcare, industry and commercial organizations to identify opportunities that had commercial potential. The BST also provided innovation and commercialization consulting services to healthcare organizations and also worked with numerous international companies to review products and solutions to determine US market potential. Jim has served as an advisor and board member for start-ups and entrepreneurs.
jim@novamedics.com, +1-440-463-7217
Ryan Nowicki, Partner
With over 15 years of years of technology commercialization and new product development experience, Ryan works with his Novamedics partners to support healthcare organizations looking to develop new commercialization programs or support existing programs in need. At Cleveland Clinic Innovations, Ryan gained wide knowledge in developing successful commercialization efforts. His has particular expertise in medical devices ranging from minimally invasive surgical tools to drug device combination products.
Ryan also has experience as Director of Product Development for startup Advanced NanoTherapies, Inc. where he oversaw the US IDE submission including testing, documentation, first in human clinical trials and DHF preparation. He was also involved in fundraising, managing expenses, and budgeting, including participation in capital budgeting.
ryan@novamedics.com, +1-440-452-9520
Kev Khayat, Advisor
Kev has 30 years experience in supporting innovation as a strategic lever for business development and growth. While leading process and service innovations in both acute and community healthcare settings, as well as social care and K-12 education, he has divided his time between the US and UK and between leading large scale organizational transformations and supporting start-ups and other entrepreneurial activity.
He tripled the revenue for a psychotherapy service in the UK that was innovative in its wide reach and accessibility to patients, and designed a robust evaluation process for school leaders to assess ed-tech opportunities in the classroom. He has extensive business planning and advisory experience for health care start-ups and has supported clinicians from a wide variety of medical disciplines to develop their innovations. He has served as mentor at local and national level for the NSF's I-Corps innovations program.
kev@novamedics.com, +44-7799-668489
Kaleigh Gallagher, Advisor
Kaleigh is an experienced tech founder, corporate innovations and ventures operator, and as a consultant to startups, venture funds and innovation organizations globally. Kaleigh is passionate about helping entrepreneurs and has brought over a dozen technologies to market through her work at Cleveland Clinic Innovations, as co-founder of Flutter Social, and as an innovations and ventures consultant.
She has experience leading teams responsible for helping tech founders accelerate their growth and secure their first round of VC funding, and has a track record in developing strategy to attract and support entrepreneurs in building venture-backed companies. In particular she understands how important strategic partnerships are in creating a strong startup ecosystem, so tech founders have access to the services, capital and connections they need to bring their innovations to market.
kaleigh@novamedics.com, +1-440-463-6302
Tom Sudow, Advisor
Tom brings over 30 years in the high-tech and biosciences industries, including 14 years at Cleveland Clinic Innovations. Tom was a founder of the Beachwood Business Development Center which had transactions totaling over $1B. As the Director of Business Development for the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, a product development consortium led by Cleveland Clinic, he helped identify, invest, and nurture 60 companies and those companies raised an additional $1.5B. Thirty of the 60 companies’ products are in market today.
Tom served as an Advisor to eHealth Venture a fund dedicated to digital health and the operators of a Technology Incubator in Israel; as a member of the Akron BioInnovation Fund due diligence committee; and, as an advisor and provided due diligence to funds and companies across the globe. Tom is the Director of the Burton J. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Ashland University, where he has helped launch a number of new businesses. He serves as the Medical Director for Merchavia, a public traded company, as a Venture Partner for Maor Ventures, and is a Board Member of Veinway a startup company in the cardiovascular space.
tom@novamedics.com, +1-216-389-4030
Jon Heavey, Advisor
Jon is a practicing ER physician who combines investment and commercialization activities with expertise in high acuity, tertiary care, having served as a Battalion Surgeon and Major in the US Army 101st Airborne in Iraq, which earned him a Bronze Star for mass casualty trauma treatment.
Following a clinical role at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he was responsible for staff, residents, and paramedics providing critical care to wounded personnel, Jon spent 10 years at Cleveland Clinic as both an ER physician and a member of the ventures group in Innovations, translating faculty research and IP to commercial markets. He also supported Cleveland Clinic's International Operations by coordinating the emergency medical response team, including 24/7 aeromedical ICU support and critical care transport.
Jon's insights as a trauma physician in extreme environments coupled with his leadership in numerous investments and start-ups gives him a unique perspective on the value of translating theory to practice.