Dave Rosa | CEO, NeuroOne | Advancing Electrode Technology for Neurological Disorders & Passion for Helping Others

Dave Rosa shares how a lifelong drive to help others and his own health challenges led him into 32 years across orthopedics, cardiovascular, and neuro. Dave walks through his path from early marketing roles to becoming a CEO, and explains the innovation behind NeuroOne’s electrode platform designed to combine diagnosis and treatment in a single procedure—starting with epilepsy, expanding to trigeminal neuralgia, and now targeting lower back pain. He also discusses early work using the same technology for precise drug delivery to the brain, including a program focused on glioblastoma. Dave closes with leadership lessons on vision, culture, learning from mistakes, and giving back. 

 

Guest links: https://nmtc1.com/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/n1mtc/

Charity supported: Opportunity International

Interested in being a guest on the show or have feedback to share? Email us at theleadingdifference@velentium.com. 

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Host & Editor: Lindsey Dinneen
Producer: Velentium Medical

 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Episode 086 - Dave Rosa

[00:00:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Hi, I'm Lindsey and I'm talking with MedTech industry leaders on how they change lives for a better world.

[00:00:09] Diane Bouis: The inventions and technologies are fascinating and so are the people who work with them.

[00:00:15] Frank Jaskulke: There was a period of time where I realized, fundamentally, my job was to go hang out with really smart people that are saving lives and then do work that would help them save more lives.

[00:00:28] Diane Bouis: I got into the business to save lives and it is incredibly motivating to work with people who are in that same business, saving or improving lives.

[00:00:38] Duane Mancini: What better industry than where I get to wake up every day and just save people's lives.

[00:00:42] Lindsey Dinneen: These are extraordinary people doing extraordinary work, and this is The Leading Difference.

Hello, and welcome back to another episode of The Leading Difference podcast. I'm your host, Lindsey, and today I'm delighted to welcome as my guest, Dave Rosa. Dave is an entrepreneur with three decades of experience in the medical device industry, spanning a variety of technologies and products. In addition to CEO roles with early-stage medical device companies, Mr. Rosa's background also includes senior roles with C.R. Bard Inc., Boston Scientific Inc., and St. Jude Medical, where his responsibilities included marketing, product development, and business development. He has been named as an inventor on multiple medical device patents, serves on seven corporate boards, and has raised 200 million in the capital markets.

Well, Dave, thank you so much for being here today. I am absolutely delighted to have you on the show.

[00:01:33] Dave Rosa: Well, thanks for having me.

[00:01:34] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, of course. I would love, if you wouldn't mind, by starting out and just telling us a little bit about yourself, your background, and what led you to medtech?

[00:01:45] Dave Rosa: Yeah. So, born and raised in a small town called Richport, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia. And really was in love with the medtech industry from the time I was much younger. So I, I have been in medtech now, it's going on 32 years and that's everything from large medical device companies to, to startup companies. I've been in so many different areas of medtech. I've been in orthopedics, cardiovascular, and I mean everything involving the heart, I've been in it in some way, shape, or form, a-a-as well as neuro, which is what I'm in now.

And, and I think, you know, why did I get into medtech? I think this all goes back to when I was a little kid. You know, I, I was the little kid that was walking street people to my house and bringing them into my home for my mom to make a meal. I don't know that she always appreciated that me doing that, but, but there, there were more than enough times where she sat me down and I was maybe only four or five years old, and she's like, "Honey I, I, I know you wanna help people, but you can't bring everyone home." And I was like, "Oh, oh, you know, okay, Mom." Of course, until the next time. But, you know, I think it started at an early age and, and really has carried through you know, the rest of my career

[00:03:07] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah, okay. So you've always been interested in helping people, and you've had a really nice variety of experiences within medtech. But tell us about your path from that early just interest and care in, in people and their wellbeing, to perhaps your educational journey and maybe, like, the first little bit of your career that led you to where you are now.

[00:03:32] Dave Rosa: Yeah. So, in high school I was involved in sports and, and even prior to high school, and I had so many physical issues. So I had initially a shoulder problem that was I'll, I'll say pretty complicated, at least back in those times. And what I found is by the time I got to college, and, you know, I'm still trying to figure out what I wanna do with with my life and what career I wanna take. I, I was actually in chemical engineering, but came, came to the conclusion that I hated chemistry, which, which didn't help things out. And, and I really knew, you know, my, my passion was on the medical side, and a lot of it, you know, was driven because of my own issues, my own shoulder issues, because it really put a damper on, you know, any, any potential I had at especially playing baseball.

So, so, i- in college, I went to Drexel University, there really wasn't a course for biomedical, undergraduate biomedical engineering that was, like, a graduate program. And, you know, I, I decided that I would take courses in electrical engineering and a program called commerce and engineering, which kinda merges both the business and engineering side of the equation.

So, I, I actually started out not in medical. I was in electrical engineering, and I was probably one of the worst electrical engineers working at Westinghouse at the time. And I remember one of the managers saying to me, he's like, "You know, all, all the other engineers and marketing people really like working with you. Why is that?" And I said, "I, I really don't know other than, you know, I've always been a passionate person about whatever I'm doing."

So, you know, so at that point, I started thinking that engineering was not the path for me, that you know, that I was really more, much more passionate about medical because it was impacting my life with my shoulder. And then by that time, you know, my knees and everything else started to go as well. But I graduated with a degree in commerce and engineering, and then after working a few years in electrical engineering for Westinghouse Electric I just started knocking on doors because I, I really-- my passion was, you know, helping others, and I wanted to be involved in an area that might help me being orthopedics. So that, that's kinda how I got my first job, knocking on doors, and Stryker Instruments decided they would take a chance on me, and that, that was kind of the beginning.

[00:06:12] Lindsey Dinneen: Very nice. And so when you found medical device, was it this really exciting moment of realizing that it could marry your interests in engineering and your desire to help people? Was that like just this cool moment of going, "Oh, wow, like I, I can do both"?

[00:06:31] Dave Rosa: Yeah. I, I, you know, I remember actually praying about this, like, "What am I supposed to do?" Like, you know, and, and "How do I go about this?" And I don't know, you know, it, it, it brought back some memories you know, of when my father was you know, was at the end of his life, and he was this stern Italian man. Never, you know, never-- there, there was no discussion about feelings or anything like that. It was like, "You do what I tell you to do. You, you talk when I tell you to talk. Otherwise, you know, you say nothing."

So my, my dad's literally on his deathbed, and he says to me, "You know, I, I really wanna thank you, son, for taking care of your mother and I all these years with, you know, medical decisions." And he said, "You know, you, you always were helping people from the time you were a little boy." And it actually stunned me that my dad, who never appeared to be paying attention to anything regarding me, was like, "Hey, you know, you, you know, you really cared about helping people, not just us, but, you know, this, this goes back to the beginning for you."

So it, it was also more of a reinforcement of like, "Yeah, I've, I've really gotta be in medtech, and I'm gonna start with, you know, how I can help my own issues and/or, you know, family's members' issues that they may have."

[00:07:52] Lindsey Dinneen: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I think sometimes we don't realize the impact that we're making at the time and being able to just do what we feel is right and, and what we know helps others can actually make an impact, and then hopefully we get those opportunities like you got with, with your father to s- realize eventually, "Oh, okay, yeah, I, I am, I am on the right path doing, doing the right thing at this time." So yeah, it's great to have those moments of reinforcement, but.

[00:08:26] Dave Rosa: And if you fast-forward, you know, to something again, just more reinforcement, although it's much later in my career and I've had other moments like this, but this was just last month. I was at, at a memorial service for one of the physicians that used our product to treat a, a young lady, she was 17 years old at the time for epilepsy. And so the doctor that performed a procedure on her had a tragic accident, passed away, and we were all at this memorial service for him.

And the father along with the mother and, and this young lady who's now in college, they came up to me you know, we were, you know, just chatting about how unfortunate the situation is. And when I got ready to, you know, go back to the service he said to me "Sir, I, I just wanna thank you for giving my baby girl her life back." And I mean, those kinds of things, when, when people say those things to you, and like I said, it's happened more than once, and, and it's because of something, you know, that you've you know, committed the, the company to accomplishing, and then you see results like this, there's nothing more rewarding than that.

[00:09:39] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, of course. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. So, all right, so in fast-forwarding a little bit you, you started in medtech with Stryker, and then what gave you-- and, and there's probably maybe some things in between-- but what gave you the the idea for what you're doing now? And can you just take us along that journey from starting out in medical device to where you are now, including that just pathway to even, to even higher roles in leadership and that learning curve as well?

[00:10:12] Dave Rosa: Yeah, that's-- boy, that's a long story when you've been in it for 30-some years. You know, I, I started out in marketing. I always liked the interaction between customers, meaning, you know, physicians, patients, when, you know, we had the opportunity to, you know, to speak to the patient. And then, you know, I, I I would like to think that maybe some of my decision-making and, and some of my ideas, you know, led to success in some of these companies. And you know, I think upper management you know, wa-was able to identify that I might have some of the, the qualities that they were looking for really in the next generation of leaders.

And this goes back to you know, my, my first job in the cardiovascular industry. Gosh, this was in 1995, so, about 30 years ago with Boston Scientific. And I was able to go from a Product Manager to a Director of Marketing. And I was there for a total of about four years, and I, I really enjoyed the strategic part of the job, and I, I wanted to be more involved in that. And I got an opportunity to go to a startup to run sales and marketing also in the cardiovascular space.

And that was a, a great experience because, you know, in smaller companies, and this, by the way, was my first opportunity in a smaller company, you know, you, you have to wear a lot of hats. And I liked, I always liked to be more hands-on and still am, to be honest, and, you know, th-this gave me an opportunity to really you know, get involved in more than just what the job detail or the job description called for.

And, you know, the-these things all, sometimes, you know, require some luck but definitely, you know, the right timing. And an opportunity in the startup company that I left Boston Scientific for became available at the CEO level, and the the investors-- the company was funded by venture capitalists-- met with me and said, "You know, we, we think you can take the company to the next level."

And I think that was back in 2003, and pretty much been a CEO ever since then. But I, you know, I think a lot of the success comes from and confidence from, you know, the, the hiring companies. I, I think what people notice about me is my passion, my, my commitment, and, and probably the fact that you know, I, I think one of the things I'm strong with is developing a, a, a vision. I mean, that's, that's something that I think is really critical with leaders is that you, you've gotta develop a vision for the company, a strategy for the company so that others can understand what the goals are.

So that, that's kinda my path. It's, you know, it's, it's I would say every four to five years I've had an opportunity to either start a company or run a company. And then NeuroOne, which is, you know, my current company, I was actually retired when I was approached by a few individuals who had this idea. And what started out as me just, you know, helping them turned into "Gosh, we would love you to run the company." And I really thought there was an opportunity there, you know, to help people who suffered from these neurological disorders, primarily brain-related disorders. But, you know, that, that vision has kind of expanded beyond just the brain into other areas of the body.

[00:13:56] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow. Yeah. Okay, yeah. I appreciate you sharing more about your journey. I love the fact that you're both an engineer and you have this creative side with marketing, and you're able to marry all that together. That's, that's really cool, and gives you such a unique perspective on, you know, I would say product development and then commercialization. But okay, so let's talk about your company now, and what are you excited about? What are some of the innovations coming out of it? You mentioned that it sort of s- it started in one place and one focus, and now we get to see it expanding. And so I'd just love to hear all about your company as well.

[00:14:33] Dave Rosa: Sure. So, we started out with the intention to develop this electrode technology, and initially it was primarily to be used for brain-related procedures for patients, initially at least, that were suffering with epilepsy. And this, this technology, the, the idea was "Let's combine functions with this" in that it, it, it would have the ability to perform a diagnostic function. And for these patients, the diagnostic function was finding the area in the brain that was triggering these issues. And then once you were able to accomplish that, then using the same device, destroy that brain tissue that was causing the problem in an effort to eliminate the seizures that patients were having.

So that, that's kind of where we started. We, we are selling that technology. We have a distribution partner, Zimmer Biomet, that is our exclusive distributor for that technology, and we've had great success in treating patients. You know, the story that I told about the father you know, who thanked me for getting his daughter's life back, that's what that technology is used for. And the-- really what patients had to face before this technology was available is they would have to have a very invasive surgery just for the diagnostic part of the procedure.

So the part where you're just trying to identify the problem area, that was one surgery. And we're, we're talking about, you know, drills that are drilling holes, you know, through the skull with these devices being placed in the brain. And then once that part was done, the patients would go home, and they would be scheduled for a follow-up procedure where they would have to come back again, have an invasive procedure in-into the brain, and then that, that second procedure would be the one where they would eliminate or destroy the problematic brain tissue.

So if you're a patient, two invasive surgeries, two hospitalizations, two separate devices, and we said, "Why can't you do it with one?" And, and that's, that's where we are. We then more or less leveraged that technology to treat a a condition called trigeminal neuralgia, which is this excruciating facial pain that patients will experience. And it, there-- it's very well known to carry a a high rate of suicide because of how painful this condition is. But we were able to leverage the same system and provide the neurosurgeon you know, with, with a very unique tool to treat that condition.

We also-- what I'm also excited about is these-- the, the same platform we're using now to develop technology to treat lower back pain. There's different types of lower back pain. We, we happen to be focusing on two. One that involves issues with the basivertebral nerve, which is a l- a nerve in the lower spine. And then the more common back pain where you have pain that's traveling down the leg, that's sciatic nerve pain. So we've been able to use the same electrode to to develop technologies, unique technologies that would be able to treat that condition.

And then finally, drug delivery. These electrodes have a hollow center and we've been able to demonstrate in animals so far that not only can you use it for diagnostics and stimulating through, but you can also deliver therapeutic agents directly into the brain, specifically where you would like to deliver them. And we, we've initiated a program to try to improve really the care for patients that suffer from glioblastomas, which are those brain tumors that carry high rates of mortality.

[00:18:45] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow. Wow. Well, there is an incredible amount of innovation coming out of the company, and I'm so excited to follow along and just see all of the difference that you're gonna make in patients' lives. So gosh, first of all, thank you for what you're doing. I, I'm curious, you know, you, you've had such a great career and so many different opportunities to grow into more and more leadership roles. And I, I'm wondering, first of all, what your own leadership philosophy is, sort of as a whole, and then maybe some examples of both good and not as ideal leadership that helped to shape it.

[00:19:28] Dave Rosa: Yeah. So, I mean, for me, you know, the, the people that I've always looked at that I think are great leaders are, are those people that can communicate a vision and, and really instill a passion to inspire others in the company to have the same sort of passion to achieve this, this overall vision or this overall strategy. And, you know, I, you know, I-- there, there have been clearly people that I've worked for in my life that I've said, "Gosh you know, they, they really were inspirational to me to be better," not just I would say as a leader, but just more effective overall.

And, you know, I, I, you know, I, I-- when I look at my own areas that when I think about leadership and what I can do to, to be more effective, you know, I some of the areas that I've personally looked at i- are things that can make the company more efficient. And artificial intelligence is probably the one that gets, you know, the most attention today. And, and I'm looking to using it, and took a course in this actually to, to really become more efficient and help the company be more efficient in, in developing these technologies and getting them to market as, as quickly as possible.

And, and I think, you know, for myself, I'm, I'm very fortunate to be surrounded by a board of directors that I look at that I think have excellent leadership qualities, and it's, it's really, you know, meeting with them on a... and, and just talking to them on a fairly regular basis, picking their mind to see how they would handle things because, you know, I'm, I'm really the, the product of stealing ideas from other people that, that I think you know, have worked well and led to the success of companies and people that they've led.

So it's, it's not necessarily taking a course on leadership, but it's surrounding yourself with people that have been successful in leading groups and, you know, getting ideas from them on how to be more efficient, whether it's, you know, taking classes you know, in, in things like AI or, or just, you know, learning from their own success as to how to inspire people to, you know, to really finish the goal for whatever that goal is.

[00:21:58] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah, and speaking of inspiring people, how do you as a leader intentionally help shape the company culture that you feel is best for, for people to thrive in?

[00:22:13] Dave Rosa: Yeah. So I've, I've always been of the mindset that companies that perform the best utilize ideas that others on the team have. So there, there are, I, I'll give you a great example. I-I find that people that come from big companies have more of a mindset of execution, meaning, "So whatever the boss tells me to do, I do and I'm, I'm not gonna challenge them." So it's, it's one more of, "I, I find out what I need to do and, and and I execute that."

You know, in, in our company, one of the things I try to foster is that it's okay to have a, a different opinion. We're all here, you know, trying to be successful, and none of us have all the answers. Now, there's gonna be times when we as a, a team just can't agree, and when those times occur, then, you know, the, the CEO is going to have to make the final decision because that's in my mind, that's, that's really one of the roles of the CEO.

But I can tell you, in our company and in other companies I've been in, a lot of the, the great ideas on what to do, you know, have really come from others. They haven't, they haven't come from me. I'm-- I may be setting the overall vision, but sometimes, you know, you, you take a small detour because someone in the group who wasn't afraid to speak up, you know, has an idea or a thought that you know, makes the, the outcome more successful, whether it's shortening the time or coming up with a different idea, a different concept. I constantly try to hi- hire people that have skill sets that I don't have.

So for example, I recently, within the last two months hired a guy that had great experience in the pharma space and really how to navigate that space and understands the, the therapies that are out there. And in a very short period of time you know, I realized, "Gosh, this guy, you know, knows so much more than I know and I'm gonna learn a lot from him." So I think it's, it's, it's really empowering the people that you hire, you know, to express what their thoughts and their ideas are because I don't care what CEO you're talking about, none of us, you know, have all the answers.

[00:24:33] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes. And recognizing that is, is definitely, I think, key. I think a lot of the leaders that I've been talking to recently talk about exactly what you've mentioned. It's, it's recognizing that y- you know, you, you, you do have your blind spots or your just, your areas of weaknesses, and that's okay 'cause we all do, right? But as long as you're willing to say, you know, "Okay, this might not be my area, but I trust the person whose area I know it is," then, then that's just such a great way to, to handle that and empower the next generation of leaders. So yeah, I love that that's your approach.

[00:25:10] Dave Rosa: I also, you know, I, one other area that I think is also critical, and it goes back to what I said about individuals that I've met in larger companies, and I experienced this when I was in a larger company as well. You know, the focus becomes not making a mistake. And and, and it's because you know, the, these employees don't wanna make a mistake that's going to cost them their career in that company.

So the safest thing to do is to do what your supervisor tells you to do, as opposed to take a chance and, you know, offer a different idea or a different concept. It's seen as risky and it's because there's this fear of making a mistake. I think it's smaller companies, especially in companies that I've run, you know, my, my philosophy is it's okay to make a mistake, but let's not make the same mistake more than once. I mean, they're, they're there to learn from.

So let, let's, let's be smarter the, the second time, you know, because of that experience. But if people are afraid to make mistakes, you'll, you know, you're, you're never gonna get different ideas or different concepts you know, out, out, out amongst the group because of the fear of making a mistake.

[00:26:26] Lindsey Dinneen: Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah, absolutely. Providing that, that opportunity and I, I know it's a bit of a cliche, but the, the idea of a safe environment at least to present those ideas and potentially counter opinions, and that's where creativity thrives is when you can iterate and bounce ideas off each other and, and come up with something that's, you know, you couldn't have done by yourself. Yeah, I love that approach.

[00:26:50] Dave Rosa: Yeah.

[00:26:51] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, so okay. This is, this is marvelous. I really appreciate all of this so far. But I'm gonna pivot the conversation a little bit just for fun. So imagine that you were to be offered a million dollars to teach a master class on anything you want. It could be within your industry, but it doesn't have to be. What would you choose to teach?

[00:27:13] Dave Rosa: Yeah, this this doesn't fall under maybe necessarily, you know, a a class that you would see in a, a normal curriculum. But, you know, I-- it's, it's something that I've tried to talk to my own children about, and that's teaching them about being thankful for what they have and also, you know, giving back to others that are less fortunate.

I-- you know, there's a saying that, that "comparison i- is the thief of joy." You know, the-- I, I think the human race in itself just has a way of always dwelling on, like, what we don't have as opposed to being, you know, thankful to God for all that we do have. And I, and I, I, you know, I, I really think that o- one of the things that I've tried to instill in, in, you know, my, my children, and now they're all grown, is you gotta be grateful for what, what you have, but you gotta find ways to find common ground with people and, and be sure to give back to others that, you know, haven't been as fortunate as you.

I, I think that's, you know, what this world should be more focused on than, you know, all, all you hear about today is what we don't agree with and why this side or that political party, you know, is ruining the world. I think if we all focused a lot more of our energy on helping others you know, the, the world would be and this'll sound cliché, a much better place to live in. So if I could teach a course on instilling thankfulness and and the importance of helping others, that's what I would do

[00:28:49] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. No, that I couldn't agree more. Gratitude and giving back are, are key and, and the world needs more of it, so I love that idea of a masterclass for sure. And how do you wish to be remembered after you leave this world?

[00:29:06] Dave Rosa: Yeah, it's-- it kind of goes back to, you know, what my dad said to me, and that was you know, as, as a, a youngster and, and that is, you know, my, my passion and interest to really help others. Yeah, that sums it up the best.

[00:29:23] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Okay, and final question: What is one thing that makes you smile every time you see or think about it?

[00:29:33] Dave Rosa: I, I would say you know, there, there are people that will doubt you and put you down in your career and tell you why, you know, you'll never do this or you'll never do that. And I can honestly say I never thought, you know, I would ever stand in Nasdaq, you know, on Wall Street and take a company public.

And, you know, the, the one thing I, I do kind of cherish is I've been able to do this twice, but the first time I remember standing on the stage before the activity started at Nasdaq and one of the people in the company said to me, they said like, "You know, you just had this smile, you know, on your face. You know, it looked like you were thinking of something."

And I said, "Yeah, you know, I, I was thinking about all those times that people told me that, you know, I, you know, I would never be successful in my career," and you can define success in different ways, but it, it kind of made me feel good. It was the first time I think I really felt, you know, proud of myself that, "Wow, you know, I'm, I'm one of a very small percentage of people that have been fortunate enough to, to actually you know, take a company public." So, it always makes me smile.

[00:30:52] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Great answer, and that, that's a really cool moment to reflect back on. Well, Dave, this has been a great conversation. I so appreciate your willingness to, to talk with me today, but also to share about the, the incredible work that your company is doing and your heart for helping people from the very beginning of your childhood, and obviously a huge passion of yours throughout your life.

And we are so honored to be making a donation on your behalf as a thank you for your time today to Opportunity International, which works to end global poverty by creating and sustaining jobs while also providing small business loans, savings, insurance, and training to more than 14 million people in the developing world. So thank you so much for choosing that organization to support, and thank you for everything that you're doing to change lives for a better world.

[00:31:47] Dave Rosa: Well, thanks for having me on the show as well.

[00:31:49] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course.

[00:31:51] Dan Purvis: The Leading Difference is brought to you by Velentium Medical. Velentium Medical is a full service CDMO, serving medtech clients worldwide to securely design, manufacture, and test class two and class three medical devices. Velentium Medical's four units include research and development-- pairing electronic and mechanical design, embedded firmware, mobile app development, and cloud systems with the human factor studies and systems engineering necessary to streamline medical device regulatory approval; contract manufacturing-- building medical products at the prototype, clinical, and commercial levels in the US, as well as in low cost regions in 1345 certified and FDA registered Class VII clean rooms; cybersecurity-- generating the 12 cybersecurity design artifacts required for FDA submission; and automated test systems, assuring that every device produced is exactly the same as the device that was approved. Visit VelentiumMedical.com to explore how we can work together to change lives for a better world.