BIOLASE Creates Global Commercialization Team
Names Veteran Executives to Lead Sales, Marketing
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BIOLASE, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIOL), the world’s leading manufacturer and distributor of dental lasers, today announced that as part of its ongoing transformation it has created a new Global Commercialization Team and has hired two seasoned executives to lead its worldwide sales and marketing organizations. Clark Barousse has been named Senior Vice President for Worldwide Sales and Account Management, and Orlando P. Rodrigues has been named Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
“The transformation of Biolase that is underway requires the entire organization to build a single-minded competency focused on dental and medical practitioners and their patients in order to deliver a best-in-class experience,” said Jeffrey M. Nugent, Board Member and Acting Chief Executive Officer. “I'm confident that these changes, and our new Global Commercialization Team, will help drive our growth and turnaround strategy.
Mr. Barousse was most recently President of Hybridge, a network of dental practices that works with clinicians to improve their practices, where he helped drive revenue growth at dental centers. From 2008 through 2012, he served as the Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for Biohorizons, and more than doubled sales from $45 million in 2008 to $100 million in 2012, while reversing an $8 million loss into a $20 million operating profit over the same time frame.
Prior to Biohorizons, Mr. Barousse was Vice President of Global Marketing, Professional Affairs and Business Development for Smith & Nephew Orthopedics from 2006-2008. From 2002 through 2005 he worked in the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, Ethicon, Inc., where he was sequentially the Group Director, Global Marketing and Director of Marketing for Biosurgical Discovery, where he instituted a voice of the customer (VOC) initiative, and later Vice President of Biosurgical Research and Development.
In his new role, Mr. Barousse will be responsible for Biolase’s customer acquisition and customer retention through stronger account management and customer care.
“I believe my background and the Biolase product offering are an exceptional fit,” said Mr. Barousse. “I’ll be drawing on my dental practice growth experience, as well as my experiences in sales, marketing and R&D roles at Biohorizons, Smith & Nephew Orthopedics, Ethicon and Genzyme as I lead the Biolase sales team.”
Mr. Rodrigues, was Vice President of Marketing for I-Flow Corporation from 2002-2010, during which time revenues grew six fold. He created brand awareness and marketing campaigns that motivated surgeons and anesthesiologists to adopt I-Flow's ON-Q post-surgical pain relief product as the standard of care. By the time I-Flow was acquired by Kimberly Clark in November 2009 for $325 million, it had a sales force of approximately 300 individuals in 170 sales territories.
Previously, Mr. Rodrigues was Vice President of Marketing for Laser Diagnostic Technologies, Inc., a laser medical device company serving ophthalmologists and optometrists.
"I'm excited to return to Biolase, a company where dental and medical market opportunities coexist," said Mr. Rodrigues. "Biolase has market leading dental products and clinically significant technologies with practice-enhancing benefits that have been under-marketed to date. We will work hard to ensure that our customers, prospective customers, and patients understand the benefits and value that Waterlase® and other Biolase products uniquely provide them.”
About BIOLASE, Inc.
BIOLASE, Inc. is a biomedical device company that develops, manufactures, and markets innovative lasers in dentistry and medicine and also markets and distributes high-end 2D and 3D digital imaging equipment, CAD/CAM intraoral scanners, and in-office milling machines and 3D printers. BIOLASE’s products are focused on technologies that advance the practice of dentistry and medicine and offer benefits and value to healthcare professionals and their patients. The Company's proprietary laser products incorporate approximately 300 patented and patent-pending technologies designed to provide biologically clinically superior performance with less pain and faster recovery times. Its innovative products provide cutting-edge technology at competitive prices to deliver the best results for dentists and patients. BIOLASE's principal products are revolutionary dental laser systems that perform a broad range of dental procedures, including cosmetic and complex surgical applications, and a full line of dental imaging equipment. BIOLASE has sold more than 26,000 laser systems. Laser products under development address the Company’s core dental market and other adjacent medical and consumer markets.
For updates and information on WaterLase and laser dentistry, find BIOLASE online at www.biolase.com, Facebook at www.facebook.com/biolase, Twitter at www.twitter.com/biolaseinc, Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/biolase, LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/biolase, Google+ at www.google.com/+BIOLASEIrvine, Instagram at www.instagram.com/biolaseinc, and YouTube at www.youtube.com/biolasevideos.
BIOLASE® and WaterLase® are registered trademarks of BIOLASE, Inc.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Statements contained in this press release that refer to BIOLASE's estimated or anticipated future results or other non-historical facts are forward-looking statements, as are any statements in this press release concerning prospects related to BIOLASE's strategic initiatives and anticipated financial performance. Forward-looking statements can also be identified through the use of words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” and variations of these words or similar expressions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect BIOLASE's current perspective of existing trends and information and speak only as of the date of this release. Actual results may differ materially from BIOLASE’s current expectations depending upon a number of factors affecting BIOLASE’s business. These factors include, among others, adverse changes in general economic and market conditions, competitive factors including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions, uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and market changes, risks associated with managing the growth of the business, and those other risks and uncertainties that may be detailed, from time-to-time, in BIOLASE's reports filed with the SEC. BIOLASE does not undertake any responsibility to revise or update any forward-looking statements contained herein.
Allen & Caron
Rene Caron, 949-474-4300
rene@allencaron.com
Source: BIOLASE, Inc.
Released August 25, 2014
