BIOLASE Names James D. Surek Vice President Sales, Americas

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Veteran Medical Device Sales Executive Has Built, Managed Top-Performing Teams in Competitive Environments

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BIOLASE, Inc., (NASDAQ: BIOL) the global leader in dental lasers, today announced it has appointed veteran sales executive James (Jim) D. Surek as its Vice President of Sales for the Americas, effective March 13, 2017. He will report to BIOLASE President and CEO Harold C. Flynn, Jr.

Mr. Surek, 49, brings with him more than 24 years of experience in medical device sales and sales leadership in start-up, turnaround and high-growth environments.

Most recently, Mr. Surek served as the Vice President of Sales for Entellus Medical, Inc., a venture-backed startup. Since joining the company in 2010, he built a 150-person top-performing sales organization, went head-to-head against market leaders Johnson and Johnson and Medtronic, built a 65% market share in the office procedure market, and elevated sales growth, leading to a successful IPO in 2015.

“Jim has deep experience in medical device sales leadership,” said Flynn. “He has built strong teams and has rapidly grown revenue in challenging markets and against formidable competitors. At this very exciting time at BIOLASE, with the recent launch of two new game-changing laser products, it is important to have a veteran medical device executive like Jim overseeing our most important market. We expect his contributions to our results in the Americas to have a significant positive impact on the achievement of our near and long term corporate objectives. We are pleased to welcome him to the BIOLASE leadership team.”

In 2003, Mr. Surek was recruited to join Advanced Bionics as Vice President of Sales for their Neuromodulation/Pain Management Division. In this role, he not only built a 285-member sales organization, but also unseated competitors like Medtronic and ANS, growing sales from zero to $198 million and market share from zero to 31%. His efforts were pivotal in positioning Advanced Bionics for successful sale to Boston Scientific. When the Advanced Bionics Cochlear Implant Division was spun off from the company, Mr. Surek was asked to serve as Vice President of Sales. In that capacity, he was charged with rapidly advancing the sales culture and training by developing a solid sales and messaging process that helped drive revenue and led to the acquisition of Advanced Bionics by Sonova Medical.

Prior to Advanced Bionics, Mr. Surek held positions of increasing responsibility at Medtronic/Sofamor Danek Group from 1994 to 2003, including Vice President, Sales and Development; Group Director, Sales, Great Lakes Region; and District Area Sales Manager. Mr. Surek began his career in sales as a sales representative and, after turning one of the most challenging areas for Sofamor Danek into one of the most successful areas, he became the first direct district sales manager for the company.

Mr. Surek holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Loyola University in Chicago and a Master of International Management degree from the American Graduate School of International Management, Thunderbird Campus.

About BIOLASE, Inc.

BIOLASE, Inc. is a medical device company that develops, manufactures, markets, and sells laser systems in dentistry and medicine and also markets, sells, and distributes dental imaging equipment, including digital x-rays and CAD/CAM scanners. BIOLASE’s products are focused on technologies that advance the practice of dentistry to both dentists and their patients. BIOLASE's proprietary laser products incorporate approximately 230 patented and 85 patent-pending technologies designed to provide biologically clinically superior performance with less pain and faster recovery times. BIOLASE’s 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 approximately 33,600 laser systems to date in over 90 countries around the world. Laser products under development address BIOLASE’s core dental market and other adjacent medical and consumer markets.

For updates and information on Waterlase® iPlus™ and laser dentistry, find BIOLASE online at www.biolase.com, Facebook at www.facebook.com/biolase, Twitter at www.twitter.com/biolaseinc, LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/biolase, 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 expectations regarding existing trends, and its strategic initiatives, 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.

BIOLASE
Harold C. Flynn, Jr.
President, CEO
949-226-8100
hflynn@biolase.com
or
DresnerAllenCaron
Michael Mason (Investors)
212-691-8087
mmason@dresnerallencaron.com
or
Rene Caron (Investors)
rcaron@dresnerallencaron.com
or
Len Hall (Media)
949-474-4300
lhall@dresnerallencaron.com

Source: BIOLASE, Inc.

Released March 13, 2017