50+ FDA Approvals | $5B New Product Revenue | 150+ Years Experience | 25+ Manufacturing Transfers | 75+ Design Tests | 50+ Product Launches | 20+ Preclinical Trials | 15+ Reimbursement Codes |
50+ FDA Approvals | $5B New Product Revenue | 150+ Years Experience | 25+ Manufacturing Transfers | 75+ Design Tests | 50+ Product Launches | 20+ Preclinical Trials | 15+ Reimbursement Codes |
About RQR Advisors
RQR Advisors is a global medical technology advisement firm with a specialized focus on U.S. market adoption. Our collective of senior MedTech executives and subject matter experts has decades of leadership experience at multinational strategics, where we executed tuck-in acquisitions, drove portfolio pull-through, and led transformative M&A that reshaped categories.
We specialize in the evaluation and achievement of commercial viability for early-stage healthcare innovations. Using our proprietary Commercial Quotient® and Commercial Viability Map® frameworks, we guide founders, investors, and government partners in making milestone-based investment decisions.
By combining global perspective with U.S. commercialization expertise, we help innovators accelerate progress, increase the probability of success, and ultimately achieve defined exits through acquisition or strategic investment.
Who We Are & What We Do
We are a team of experienced MedTech leaders who know how strategics think and decide. Our backgrounds span R&D, regulatory, clinical, quality, health economics, manufacturing, marketing, finance, and corporate development. Collectively, we have:
Led product development and commercialization efforts across major global healthcare markets.
Built and executed acquisition strategies that filled portfolio gaps and drove adoption.
Served as decision-makers on transformative M&A transactions.
Advised early-stage companies and investors on how to align milestones with commercial viability.
Working cross-functionally, we apply industry-recognized processes to unlock value at each stage of product development—ensuring that both product viability and market viability are considered from the start.
Our Focus: USA Commercial Viability
The ultimate measure of success for most early-stage med tech is adoption in the U.S. market. This is where acquirers decide, capital flows, and value is realized.
RQR Advisors decreases the time to—and increases the probability of—U.S. commercialization, most often through incremental investment or acquisition by a strategic acquirer. We do this by:
Accelerating execution of critical workstreams and milestones.
Reducing risks across regulatory, clinical, and market adoption pathways.
Aligning development choices with the expectations of U.S. strategics.
By focusing on the intersection of product viability and market viability in the U.S. healthcare system, we help innovators position their technologies for the outcomes that matter most: strategic investment, acquisition, and adoption into clinical practice.
RQR Advisors Leadership
James Sargent
MANAGING DIRECTOR
James Sargent
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Jim is an experienced global healthcare executive, consultant, and trusted advisor to an extensive network of entrepreneurs, government leaders, physicians, and investors.
He has led numerous sales, commercialization, and cross-functional leadership teams within Boston Scientific over a 20+ year career, including residing in South Korea for several years, with responsibilities for much of Asia Pacific.
He has led workshops for, and partnered with, research institutions and government leaders throughout Northern Europe and Asia during his extensive post-Boston Scientific consulting career.
Michael Phalen
BOARD CHAIRMAN
Michael Phalen
BOARD CHAIRMAN
Mike, who has an extensive C-Suite network throughout the healthcare and med-tech industries, is the retired EVP and Executive Committee member for Boston Scientific, where he was Group President for a $4B+ business group.
At BSC, Mike successfully managed over $2B in M&A transactions and integrations, including numerous early-stage assets that are now an integral part of Boston Scientific's portfolio.
He was the executive leader for the acquisitions of American Medical Systems urology portfolio, Asthmatx, Inc., Intellect Medical, Xlumena Inc., and Endochoice.
Mike has served on numerous industry boards, including MassMEDIC (board chair) and the Advanced Medical Technology Association.
Mark Wallwork
COMMERCIAL/ASIA PACIFIC
Mark Wallwork
COMMERCIAL/ASIA PACIFIC
Mark, who is based in Australia, has 20+ years of executive and operational experience evaluating emerging technologies for their potential commercialization in high-growth regions.
He has led multi-national healthcare and med-tech business through transformation and acquisition, including serving as the President of AP at Hillrom, the VP, Asia for CR Bard, and VP, Asia for Boston Scientific.
He was part of post-integration teams at Boston Scientific for over $2B+ of M&A transactions and held similar roles at CR Bard, with its acquisition by Becton Dickenson (BD) for ~$24B, and at Hillrom, where he was involved in various transactions including its acquisition by Baxter.
Pete Vorbrich
FINANCE & INVESTOR ENGAGEMENT
Pete Vorbrich
FINANCE & INVESTOR ENGAGEMENT
Pete has extensive finance, investment, and investor relations experience, having worked for 20+ years at CarVal Investors, where he served in numerous leadership roles, including CFO, Senior Managing Director, and member of the Investment Committee.
At CarVal, Pete successfully managed numerous offshore teams across Europe and Asia.
He helped grow CarVal Investors from an investment start-up for Cargill into a $14B private investment firm that has invested over $100B in more than 5,000 transactions in 80 countries.
Before CarVal, Pete was a banking/finance lawyer at Faegre in Minneapolis.
Jim Joslin
LEGAL, OPERATIONS & STRATEGY
Jim Joslin
LEGAL, OPERATIONS & STRATEGY
Jim is a legal and strategy expert with extensive experience with start-ups, private capital raises, life-sciences, intellectual property, venture capital, and cross-border transactions.
He was previously a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago, where he successfully counseled clients on medical devices, strategy, risk, intellectual property, and litigation.
Following his 13 years at Kirkland & Ellis, Jim served in various executive legal leadership roles at Honeywell International, including worldwide legal responsibility for a $2B business unit and leading global disputes and resolutions for a $17B business group.
Rob Luton
STRATEGY
Rob Luton
STRATEGY
Rob has 35+ years of experience as a financial services executive spanning multiple consumer and commercial businesses at GE and Mastercard, among others.
At Mastercard, he served in various global roles overseeing the development of product and market strategy, bespoke commercial partnerships and acquisition/investment targets.
While at GE Capital, Rob had various strategy, marketing and acquisition leadership roles.
Rob is currently an independent advisor to early-stage companies and their investors regarding strategy and growth.
RQR Advisors
Commercial Viability Council
The Commercial Viability Council™ (CVC) is RQR’s integrated, cross-functional team of senior executives and subject matter experts that provides comprehensive advisement services through the creation of product development and market access plans driven by marketing, designed by regulatory, and supported by clinicals.. Collectively, they bring decades of experience in regulatory, clinical, manufacturing, marketing, health economics, and corporate development from inside the world’s largest MedTech corporations.
In the Academy
The Council acts as an educational lens—replicating the debates and boardroom dynamics of strategics. They guide participants through case-based simulations, showing firsthand how acquisitions are evaluated.In Assessments and Partnerships
The Council serves as an embedded expert team—providing rigorous analysis, hands-on advisement and integrated decision-making support, ensuring every step is grounded in commercial viability.
Laurie Lewandowski
REGULATORY & QUALITY
Laurie Lewandowski
REGULATORY & QUALITY
Laurie has over 25 years of experience in regulatory affairs and quality assurance with global companies, including Guidant, Medtronic, and Wright Medical and with numerous start-ups, including r4 Vascular, Radux, APT-Medical, Pillar and Palatall.
She has significant expertise managing design, development, manufacturing, and quality systems.
Kevin Sweeney
R & D, MANUFACTURING
Kevin Sweeney
R & D, MANUFACTURING
Kevin has 35+ years of experience leading engineering, manufacturing, and commercialization teams at Boston Scientific and then for start-ups at Resolution Medical, a contract development and manufacturing firm.
He is currently leading the development of multiple medical devices from concept stage through product launch in all regulatory classes.
Kevin Henseler
CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
Kevin Henseler
CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
Kevin is a private practice radiologist, specializing in interventional radiology in Minnesota.
As a board member for one of the largest private radiology groups in the USA, Kevin brings a fundamental understanding of healthcare business as it pertains to clinicians and physicians.
He has served as the CMO for several startup companies.
Jay Stracke
HEALTH ECONOMICS
Jay Stracke
HEALTH ECONOMICS
Jay is a healthcare financing specialist with expertise in establishing new and improved reimbursement policies, generating clinical and economic evidence, and executing payer relations strategies for innovative medical devices.
He has held senior leadership positions with Smiths Medical, Zimmer, and Boston Scientific, among others.
London Krueger
MARKETING & COMMERCIAL STRATEGY
London Krueger
MARKETING & COMMERCIAL STRATEGY
London is a marketing expert with a long career in medical devices.
She has worked in the orthopedic spine, cardiology, oncology, and diabetes markets and consulted on numerous marketing projects in the healthcare industry, including portfolio strategy, new product launch, evaluation, market development and tactical implementation.
Jay Millerhagen
CLINICALS & MEDICAL AFFAIRS
Jay Millerhagen
CLINICALS & MEDICAL AFFAIRS
Jay has over 35 years of experience bringing therapeutic and diagnostic medical products from inception to market in executive leadership roles with St.
Jude Medical and Boston Scientific.
He has also advised several start-ups, including Respicardia and Biosig Technologies.
Jay advises companies on the best strategies for marketing compelling clinical data.
Guang Zhang
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Guang Zhang
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Guang is a seasoned project manager with 20+ years in the medical device industry, including roles in R&D, engineering, manufacturing, and business development.
He has worked with both start-ups and Fortune 100 firms like Boston Scientific.
His expertise includes R&D, operations, distribution, and integrating quality systems during M&A activities.