About Therative

Management Team

Sandy Lawrence, CEO
Peter "Scotch" Scocimara, COO
Robert Marandino, CMO
Luiz B. Da Silva, Ph.D., CTO

Board Members
Sandy Lawrence, CEO
Robert Chandra, Managing Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners
George Choi, President & CEO, Pavad Medical
Barry Gilbert
Charles Moldow, General Partner, Foundation Capital
Mark Foley, Partner, RWI Ventures
Dr. Wally Buch, MD, Band of Angels

 

Management Team

Sandy Lawrence, CEO

Sandy Lawrence has had a long and successful career in marketing, sales, new products and business development in four Fortune 500 companies.

Sandy joins us most recently from iRobot Corporation, where she was President of the Home Robot Division, a rapidly growing global company in the home help space. She was responsible for all general management functions including marketing, sales, international expansion, R&D, manufacturing and finance.

Prior to joining iRobot, Sandy held various positions at Johnson and Johnson including VP of Growth and Innovation for the Consumer Group of Companies, and VP of Sales and Marketing at the Spectacle Lens Group of Johnson and Johnson Vision Care.

Prior to joining J&J, Sandy held senior positions in marketing and new product development at both Polaroid and Gillette, where she worked in such diverse categories as photography, digital printing, kids and teen marketing, health and beauty aids, and the spa business.

Sandy has twice been named an Ad Age 100 Marketer of the year, and her products, advertising campaigns and marketing programs have won numerous industry awards. Sandy started her career as a sales executive at Xerox.

In her non business hours, Sandy is a mother of three children, member of the Boston Women’s Club, is active in her church and has been a 3-term elected town meeting member.

Sandy has spoken at numerous marketing, leadership and women’s forums.

She holds a BS degree from the University of Maine, and an MBA from Northeastern University.

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Peter "Scotch" Scocimara, COO

Scotch is the COO and a founder of Therative. Prior to founding Therative, Scotch was the VP of Sales and Marketing for LiveOps, the leader in telemarketing services for TV marketing and infomercial programs. At LiveOps, Scotch grew revenue by 64% in 2004 and put the company on track for 67% growth in 2005.

From 2002 to 2004, Scotch was the VP of Customer Success at WebEx, the largest service as software provider. As a senior executive of the company, Scotch led the customer management and technical support teams; network and server operations and sales and marketing for the Corporate Business Unit. Scotch managed the growth in operations as the company grew from $81 million in revenue in 2001 to $189 million in 2003, and from $27 million in operating losses to $43 million in operating profit. Scotch was one of the senior executives who led the transition from software focused startup to service focused enterprise.

Prior to WebEx, Scotch was an EVP of Excite@Home where he built and managed the international operations of the combined entity and the start-up of three joint venture companies on three continents. Before joining @Home, Scotch developed and negotiated several joint ventures in Europe for Cummins Engine Company, a Fortune 200 manufacturer, and was an associate with the merchant banking group of Chase where he structured and executed leveraged transactions and private equity investments. A native of Switzerland, Scotch earned a bachelor's degree from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard University.

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Robert Marandino, CMO

With over twenty years experience building and growing personal health brands, Marandino oversees Therative’s marketing, advertising and PR efforts as Chief Marketing Officer. He is also managing the company’s growing online retail partners.

Previously, Marandino served as chief marketing officer for TRIMSPA and most recently fig., where he managed a variety of projects ranging from branding and positioning efforts to developing and implementing PR and advertising campaigns. Prior to these positions, Marandino served as Chief Marketing Officer for GoodTimes Entertainment, where he ran the $150 million direct response division and worked on health and fitness product and video offerings. Before joining GoodTimes, he served as Vice President of international marketing at Weider International

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Luiz B. Da Silva, Ph.D., CTO

Dr. Da Silva is one of the co-founders of Therative and serves as the Chief Technology Officer. He has been involved in medical device research and development in industry, university and national laboratories for over 8 years. Since leaving Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in 2001, Dr. Da Silva has founded and served as CTO of DermaHealth Systems a plastic surgery device company, and ImagiNail Corporation a consumer product company. In addition, from 2001 to 2003, Dr. Da Silva served as the CTO and consultant of BioLuminate, Inc. a medical device company developing a cancer diagnostic system. While at LLNL, from 1998 to 2001, Dr. Da Silva served as the associate program leader for the medical technology program. Dr. Da Silva has worked as a consultant to several medical companies including Johnson & Johnson, Guidant, Boston Scientific, and Cyclotec Medical.

Dr. Da Silva received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of British Columbia in 1988. Dr. Da Silva is internationally recognized for his research and is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America. He is currently on the scientific advisory board of the University of California, Davis National Science Foundation Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology. He has over 200 publications and 40 patents, and his research has earned him awards from the American Physical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), R&D 100 and the Department of Energy.

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Board Members

Sandy Lawrence, CEO

Rob Chandra, Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners

Rob Chandra is a Partner in Bessemer's Menlo Park office. Since entering the venture capital industry in 1996, Rob has been involved with 21 early-stage investments that have gone public or been acquired by public companies. Rob is the founding partner of the firm's investment practice in India and China where he recruited an experienced local team, established the offices, and developed the investment strategy. He currently spends most of his time managing the firm's India investment practice. Over the last three years, Rob has led 19 investments in India including Anant Raj Industries, Motilal Oswal (IPO), New Vernon Capital, OnMobile (IPO), Sarovar Hotels, and Shriram EPC (IPO).

Over his career, Rob has invested in and helped build companies in a variety of industries. His semiconductor investments include Envoy (acquired by TI), LightLogic (acquired by Intel), Mellanox (IPO), Mobilian (acquired by Intel), and Morphics (acquired by Infineon). His active semiconductor investments are Avnera, Berkeley Design, Kovio, PA Semi, Summit Microelectronics, and Tilera. His communications industry investments include Altiga (acquired by Cisco), Catena (acquired by Ciena), NBX (acquired by 3Com), and Wavesmith Networks (acquired by Ciena). Previously, he invested in internet start-ups such as BuyerZone.com (acquired by Reed Elsevier), Direct Hit (acquired by Ask Jeeves), SmarterKids.com (IPO), MotherNature.com (IPO) and Centra (IPO). He has been involved with health care services investments such as American Hearing Centers (acquired by HearUSA) and IPC – The Hospitalists Company, which went public in January 2008. Rob led Bessemer's first clean tech investments in Miasole and Exclara.

Prior to joining Bessemer, Rob was a general partner with Commonwealth Capital Ventures. Before he became a venture capitalist, Rob worked in consulting, most recently as an engagement manager with McKinsey & Company and previously at Accenture's offices in both the U.S. and London. Rob began his career with IBM. Rob holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from University of California at Berkeley. In his personal time, Rob serves on the board of directors of infoUSA, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and the Palo Alto Little League.

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George Choi, President & CEO, Pavad Medical

George is the President & CEO of Pavad Medical, Inc., a medical device startup company developing therapeutic technologies within the field of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, since 2005. In addition to Pavad, he has been active in starting up other medical device companies based on novel technologies. His name can be found on several patents associated with these technologies in the U.S. and abroad, and he serves on the board of several of these companies.

Prior to Pavad, George was a Managing Member at MedVenture Associates, where he focused on raising capital and investing primarily in the life sciences sector, with an emphasis on early stage medical devices. Prior to joining MedVenture Associates, George was a corporate securities attorney with Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, a Palo Alto law firm specializing in representation of start-up companies, working with private and public corporations in the biomedical and medical devices industry.

George received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science with a minor emphasis on Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and his J.D. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.

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Barry Gilbert

Barry Gilbert has become one of retail's most seasoned and versatile leaders. Gilbert was former CEO of the premier, multi-channel retailer of outdoor products, Smith & Hawken. Prior to Smith & Hawken, Gilbert served as Chairman and CEO of luxury goods retailer, Miadora, an internet venture backed by Sequoia Capital.

Previously, Gilbert served as COO and Vice Chairman of The Sharper Image. He presided over the emergence of the company's internet business, operations and merchandising. From 1996-1999, Sharper Image stock grew four-fold. In 1990, Gilbert led the rollout of retail entertainment stores for Warner Bros. Studio Stores (WBSS). As head of WBSS International, he brought Warner Bros. Stores to markets as diverse as Japan, Australia and the Middle East.

Early on, Gilbert held merchandising and operational positions for both May and Federated Department Stores. He earned a B.A. and MBA from the University of California at Berkeley and today serves as a Director for Reading Revolution, Inc., Informative, Inc. and The Santa Clara University Retail Management Institute.

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Charles Moldow, General Partner, Foundation Capital

Charles joined Foundation Capital on the heels of successfully building two companies from early start-up through greater than $100 million in sales. Charles' experience spans general management, sales, marketing, product management and business development at TellMe Networks, @Home Network (where he was a member of the founding team) and Matchlogic, an interactive advertising company.

Charles' entrepreneurial penchant dates back to 1989 when he co-founded two businesses. The first, OnTime Guide, established itself as the leading source of travel information for business executives, replacing the OAG Pocket Flight Guide as the must have resource for frequent business travelers. The second, PrimeTime Partners, attempted to establish a new category of self liquidating promotions on behalf of advertisers and direct marketers. Prior to the start-up ventures, Charles spent three years in the Mergers and Acquisitions practice at Merrill Lynch.

Charles holds a BS degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and received his MBA from Harvard University.

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Mark Foley, Partner, RWI Ventures

Since joining RWI Ventures, Mark has led RWI's investments in Chakshu, BaroSense and Therative, where he serves on the Board of all three companies. Prior to RWI Ventures, he spent 17 years in senior operating roles at both large and small start-up medical device companies, most recently founding and serving as CEO of cardiac device maker, Ventrica, which was acquired by Medtronic in 2004. Before Ventrica, Mark worked for leading device companies Perclose (acquired by Abbott), Guidant, DVI (acquired by Eli Lilly) and US Surgical Corporation (acquired by Tyco).

Because of the breadth of his operating experience, Mark has an intimate understanding of all aspects of what it takes to make a start-up company successful, as well as an extensive rolodex and strong personal relationships with many key influencers in the Bay Area and medical field. Mark received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.

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Dr. Wally Buch, MD, Band of Angels

Dr. Wally Buch, MD, has been an angel investor in many successful startup companies, including Neoforma (NEOF). He received his MD from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and completed his internship and residency in General and Cardiovascular Surgery at Stanford University Hospital. He had a successful private practice in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at both Stanford University Hospital in Palo Alto and Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City for more than 25 years. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Currently Wally is a Venture Partner at MedVentures, and a Director of 3 early stage companies, including Therative.

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