Management Team

Jeff Robertson serves as president of Secant Group, SanaVita Medical, and Charter Medical. He joined Secant Group as a vice president in August 2011, during which time he managed the strategic oversight of business development, marketing, client accounts, product development, and operations.

Previously, Jeff worked at ARmark Authentication Technologies, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adhesives Research, Inc. Robertson co-developed ARmark Authentication Technologies in 2005 and served as director and general manager. Previously, Jeff held positions at Adhesives Research as Northeast regional manager, business development manager, and general manager of a global business unit. He began his career in pharmaceutical sales at Bock Pharmaceuticals and Bristol Meyers Squibb.

Jeff has a bachelor's degree in bio-behavioral science from Colby College and a master's degree in business administration from Kennedy-Western University.

Carlos Valdes is vice president, quality and technical services, and is responsible for Secant Group's facilities engineering, maintenance, and IT services. Prior to his current position, Carlos served as vice president, engineering, and previously, director, manufacturing engineering.

Before his tenure at Secant Group, Carlos served as director of operations at the Healthy Beverage Company, LLC and director of engineering at Safeguard Business Systems. Previously, he worked at Gemplus Corporation as a process project engineer and later as an engineering manager. Carlos began his professional career at Armstrong World Industries as a project engineer and worked up the ranks to manufacturing team manager.

Carlos has a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Bucknell University and a master's in technology management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Mary Ann Hegedus is senior global director, sales and commercial strategy. She is responsible for creating and directing commercial initiatives that support and strengthen business partnerships with customers and contribute to the overall growth of the Secant Group businesses.
 
Prior to joining Secant Group, Mary Ann was director, global accounts for Colorcon, Inc, where she played a key role in the development of the strategic direction of the global account program. Mary Ann has built strategic alliances with C-suite and senior executives that resulted in sustainable business relationships, and created innovative partnerships to achieve win-win results. During her tenure, Mary Ann held various account management and business development positions, driving growth and profitability. Over her career, Mary Ann has held a number of senior sales and business development positions supporting the pharmaceutical, medical, and biotech industries.

Mary Ann has a bachelor of science degree in biology from Bucknell University, and pursued graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Kyle Wills is senior global director, technology and innovation, for Secant Group. He is responsible for driving cross-functional product development and innovation for textile components and applied biomaterials. 

Prior to joining Secant Group, Kyle worked at DSM Biomedical for 21 years in progressive roles in R&D and business development. In his most recent position as global director of portfolio management, Kyle drove a culture of innovation to develop solutions for unmet needs in the biomaterials and medical device markets.   

Kyle has a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Grove City College and a master of science degree in biomedical engineering from Drexel University. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in organizational leadership at Eastern University.

Jim O’Brien is director of operations for Secant Group and Charter Medical. He is responsible for operational activities inclusive of scheduling/planning, manufacturing engineering, MRP, inventory control, and materials management. Prior to his current position, Jim served as manager of manufacturing engineering.
 
Before his tenure at Secant Group, Jim spent over 25 years in various textile leadership roles focused on advanced technical materials management, quality assurance, and operations management. Jim is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt and has successfully led and managed numerous continuous improvement activities at Secant Group and his previous companies across the textile marketplace.
 
Jim has a bachelor of science degree in textile engineering from Philadelphia College of Textiles and Sciences (presently known as Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University).

Jeremy Harris is senior research director at Secant Group, responsible for coporate research in support of the company's divisions.

Prior to joining the Secant Group, Jeremy worked for several start-up companies in the areas of personal care and medical devices, leading research efforts to develop new polymeric materials for use in the medical device field. Jeremy has extensive experience in materials characterization, polymer synthesis, product development, intellectual property, and FDA device regulatory pathways.

Jeremy has a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the College of Wooster and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Michigan State University, where he studied ultrathin polymeric films for use in the development of novel coatings and membranes.

Edmund Graf is finance director at Secant Group, responsible for overseeing the organization's financials, inventory control, and procurement.

Edmund has more than 15 years’ experience in the life sciences industry, serving in finance leadership roles at companies in the pharmaceutical and medical device space. Prior to Secant Group, he worked at Novocure, where he led global management reporting, budgeting, and forecasting. He has also held finance positions at moksha8, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson.

Edmund has a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Bucknell University. He has a master of business administration from W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and a master of international management from Thunderbird, School of Global Management.

Diana Lande is senior director, human resources. She is responsible for managing the company's organizational development and human resources department.

Prior to her tenure with Secant Group, Diana served on the executive staff of a small, privately held information technology firm, Content Data Solutions. She has also held executive level human resources positions for the information technology subsidiaries of the global publishing conglomerates, Reed Elsevier, PLC and Thomas Publishing Company, LLC. Diana has prior experience in the defense industry, where she focused primarily on compensation and benefit initiatives in both technology and manufacturing environments. She possesses expert generalist experience including recruitment, employee relations, policy development and implementation, performance management, training, and legal compliance.

Diana has a bachelor of business administration in human resources and risk and insurance management from Temple University.

Jim Tobin is general manager of SanaVita, LLC, Secant Group's partner company that provides specialized cGMP contract manufacturing services as value-added enhancements to the company’s biomaterials and textile expertise. He is responsible for growing the business to address new markets and applications for the unique needs of customers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device markets.

Before joining SanaVita, Jim worked for a privately held venture capital organization where he served as vice president of business development for several start-ups in the medical device space. Prior to that, Jim held various roles in marketing and business development in a variety of companies focused on advanced technologies in healthcare, medical device, telecommunications, and consumer electronics industries.  

Jim has a bachelor of arts in business management from Moravian College and a master of business administration in marketing from St. Joseph’s University.