OUR TEAM
LUDOVIC LABAT
CEO
LUDOVIC LABAT
CEO
As a business leader, Ludovic has over 20 years’ experience in the medical device and technology industry in Europe, the USA and Asia Pacific with a range of global companies including Fortive, Danaher, Siemens, Tektronix and Invetech. He has a record of proven success in bringing innovations to market to generate profitable growth in global hi-tech and medical devices markets – in roles ranging from product ideation to go-to-market strategy.
Ludovic and his family share a passion for the ocean and sailing. He enjoys dinghy racing, on his own or with his wife – they competed together in the 2015 Tasar World Championships.
ULI GOMMEL
CTO
ULI GOMMEL
CTO
Uli brings over 17 years of experience in class II and III medical device development. His background includes global technical leadership at Siemens and Advanced Bionics across Europe, Asia and the US. His expertise covers the full product lifecycle, including design and development, regulatory clearance, launch and ongoing support of products on the market.
CHRIS VAILLANCOURT
GLOBAL VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
CHRIS VAILLANCOURT
GLOBAL VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Chris brings over 20 years of experience in the medical device market with a focus on active implants. His background includes global business development at Morgan Advanced Materials, addressing markets in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia/Australia. Chris has established a reputation for forging strategic partnerships, driving growth, and leading transformative projects that enhance patient outcomes and industry standards.
While not working on growing the business, Chris and his family enjoy hiking, listening to vinyl, and playing strategic board games.
PAULA HURLEY
FINANCE MANAGER
PAULA HURLEY
FINANCE MANAGER
An experienced financial professional with 20+ years in commercial finance, specialising in forecasting, budgeting, compliance, and project support. Paula has a proven track record of achieving results in diverse roles, excelling in teamwork and individual tasks. A highly organised, multitasking expert with excellent communication skills, Paula collaborates effectively with stakeholders, including operational teams, executives, board members, auditors, and advisors.
Outside of work, Paula enjoys spending time with her 7-year-old.
THOMAS CRUGNALE
ENGINEERING MANAGER
THOMAS CRUGNALE
ENGINEERING MANAGER
Tom is an experienced mechanical engineer with 12 years of dedicated service in the medical device industry, in areas of in-vitro diagnostics, high-speed centrifuges, and medical device consumables.
Outside of work, Tom enjoys horology (clockmaking).
GARETH CLAY
SYSTEMS ENGINEER
GARETH CLAY
SYSTEMS ENGINEER
Gareth has over 8 years’ experience in medical device product development, including class II respiratory medical devices for Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and class III implantable devices with Neo-Bionica. Gareth leverages his extensive cross-disciplinary knowledge in electronics & systems across the product life-cycle to rapidly bring devices to market, having managed and lead the technical design on a broad range of medical device projects.
Outside of work, you’ll find Gareth watching or playing sport (you name it, he’s played it), or at a gig enjoying some live music.
ADITYA TARIGOPPULA
SENIOR SYSTEMS ENGINEER
ADITYA TARIGOPPULA
SENIOR SYSTEMS ENGINEER
Adi has over 13 years of specialized experience, excelling in neuromodulation and neuromonitoring. His expertise spans directing pre-clinical studies, product refinement, human and animal experiments, system design, testing, and data analysis. Additionally, he possesses deep skills in electrophysiology, animal surgery, and the development/testing of Class III medical devices such as endovascular and cochlear implants. Adi’s contributions are evident through numerous publications in esteemed journals and multiple patents.
Outside of work, Adi enjoys sci-fi (in all formats) and planes.
LAUREN O’CONNOR
PROJECT DIRECTOR
LAUREN O’CONNOR
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Lauren has over 15 years of consulting experience in medical product development, serving clients across the globe. Her forte lies in navigating projects flawlessly from conception to product launch. With a foundation in Mechatronics Engineering and Computer Science, Lauren excels in bridging the divide between product objectives and intricate technical implementation, ensuring seamless alignment between vision and execution.
When she’s not focused on developing lifesaving products, Lauren channels her creativity and problem-solving skills into a multitude of craft projects in a wide variety of materials.
KRISTIN DUX
SENIOR MECHANICAL ENGINEER
KRISTIN DUX
SENIOR MECHANICAL ENGINEER
Kristin has more than 6 years’ experience in the Medical Device and Pharmaceutical industry with 5 years spent at Cochlear in Research and Development of Class III implants. Kristin has ample experience in implant design to implementation and optimisation of manufacturing processes. Additionally, Kristin has a high degree of attention to detail and focus on quality to ensure excellent outcomes across projects.
In her spare time, Kristin enjoys musical pursuits and nature walks.
GIORGIA PILLARI
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT / OFFICE CO-ORDINATOR
GIORGIA PILLARI
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT / OFFICE CO-ORDINATOR
With degrees in Biomedical Science and Biotechnology and five years of dedicated experience in administration within the healthcare sector, Giorgia brings a unique blend of organizational skills, attention to detail, and a passion for supporting medical R&D. Giorgia works dynamically across the team to provide administrative support, data analysis, creating organisational structures and systems, quality management, and facilitating essential connections between team members and clients.
Outside of the office, Giorgia’s hobbies include powerlifting, reading, and hiking.
NARA LIU
GRADUATE INTERN
NARA LIU
GRADUATE INTERN
Nara recently completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering, specializing in endovascular neurostimulation and the analysis of biophysiological signals. Her experience includes conducting animal surgeries and applying computational modelling to better understand physiological systems. She brings a robust background in both experimental and computational approaches to biomedical challenges.
Outside of her professional work, Nara enjoys keeping indoor tropical plants and painting, combining her artistic and scientific passions.
LEXIE SARSTEDT
GRADUATE INTERN
LEXIE SARSTEDT
GRADUATE INTERN
Lexie is a Master of Electrical Engineering student at the University of Melbourne. Her technical education provides her with the perfect tools to effectively assist the team in designing and developing innovative medical devices. She is a detail-oriented professional who approaches her work with passion.
Outside of work and studies, Lexie enjoys playing tennis and netball.
OUR PURPOSE
Neo-Bionica enables clients – including businesses, researchers and clinicians – to turn their ideas into medical technologies that improve people’s lives.
We specialise in the product realisation of bioelectronic medical devices for use in targeted therapies and diagnostics.
Through our bioengineering expertise, fabrication skills and regulatory know-how, we develop implantable and wearable electronics and electrodes for neuromonitoring and neuromodulation devices.
OUR STORY
Neo-Bionica was conceived to fill a gap in medical device prototype manufacturing capability. We have the expertise to design robust implantable electrodes, the facilities to manufacture them, and the clinical connections to test them – all in one place.
We can also link local and international clients with Australian R&D incentive programs to help them develop life-changing medical technologies.
Our designers, engineers and regulatory experts have decades of experience in taking technology from early ideation through to pre-clinical and first-in-human studies. Devices based on their work include the cochlear implant, the bionic eye, and the Epi-Minder device.
Neo-Bionica is a joint initiative of the Bionics Institute and the University of Melbourne. Our purpose-built facility is located on the St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne campus in close proximity to leading clinicians.
OUR BOARD
LUSIA GUTHRIE
CHAIR
LUSIA GUTHRIE
CHAIR
Lusia is a medtech entrepreneur with over 35 years in the pharmaceutical and bioscience industries. She has extensive experience in forming companies, raising capital, developing products and bringing them to market. Lusia founded LBT Innovations to bring advanced technologies to the medical industry – and listed the company on the Australian stock exchange. She also led the company’s development of an automated plate assessment system for microbiologists, which was the first artificial intelligence diagnostic medical device to achieve US FDA class II approval.
When she’s not skimming journals, Lusia has a stack of books to read. She also has a keen interest in collecting and tasting whiskies, and is writing the history of her Polish family’s escape from Europe after World War 2.
ROBERT KLUPACS
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ROBERT KLUPACS
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
With more than 30 years of international corporate experience in technology development, Robert has an extensive network in the global medtech sector. Currently the CEO of the Bionics Institute, Robert was a founder of Epi-Minder and a driving force behind the launch of Neo-Bionica. He also helped Bionic Vision Technologies raise US$18 million to fund clinical studies of the bionic eye. A registered patent attorney, Robert has deep knowledge of intellectual property and research commercialisation. He has also worked with international companies to set up special-purpose entities in Australia to take advantage of the local regulatory landscape.
In his spare time, Robert is chair of BioAutism, a charity supporting autism research. He started running to take part in fundraising events, and has now completed five half-marathons. He’s also a cyclist and a triathlete.
HEATHER ST JOHN
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
HEATHER ST JOHN
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
A technology commercialisation expert with a track record of securing large-scale grant funding, Heather has a deep understanding of medical innovation and the global medical device market. In addition to founding the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering to tackle significant unmet clinical needs, Heather created a seed fund to establish a pipeline of medtech products. She also has first-hand experience commercialising a novel biomaterial that has been used in millions of life-sustaining devices, including establishing ISO 13485 quality management systems and supporting progression through US FDA approvals. She is now Director of Research Enterprise and Development at the University of Melbourne.
When not working, Heather likes spending time in wild places – by a creek in the bush, in among the native plants in her garden, and at live music venues.
HAMISH GEORGE
COMPANY SECRETARY
HAMISH GEORGE
COMPANY SECRETARY
Hamish is a Chartered Accountant and has extensive experience in providing financial advice, company secretarial and CFO services to life science businesses ranging from ASX listed entities to Not-for-Profit organisations.
STEPHANE CHATONSKY
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
STEPHANE CHATONSKY
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Stephane Chatonsky, MBA, GAICD is a highly experienced non-executive director and board chair, with deep expertise in finance and strategy within the technology and healthcare space. With over 25 years of international experience across Australia, Asia and Europe, he has worked in investment banking with Lazard Freres and Macquarie Bank, strategy consulting at McKinsey, and in venture capital and private equity funds.
Stephane currently serves as a non-executive director at Cerulea Clinical Trials; Genetic Signatures (ASX: GSS); Drop Bio Health, and Brainmates. He also serves as Chair at The CEO Institute, Honorary Fellow at Macquarie University, Adjunct Professor at the University of NSW, an expert-in-residence at Cicada Innovations and as an Expert Witness to the Federal Court of Australia.
COLIN WHITE
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
COLIN WHITE
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dr Colin White is a recognised business leader of technology-based businesses and has deep experience at driving high-performance organisations. Colin was Senior Vice President at Leica Biosystems, responsible for the company’s global advanced diagnostics business, overseeing manufacturing, supply chain, R&D, product management, and customer support functions, as well as over 800 associates.
Colin has served as the Managing Director at Invetech, a leader in providing contract design, development and manufacturing services for diagnostic products and cell therapy solutions. Additionally, Colin is a non-executive director at the Australian National Fabrication Facility.