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 director, medical technologies business line. She is responsible for overseeing all customer-facing activities within the organization, including commercial interactions and product development initiatives that support and strengthen business partnerships and contribute to customer success. Her work also drives overall growth of Secant Group business.
 
Mary Ann brings many years of experience dedicated to strategic business development initiatives within the pharmaceutical, medical, and biotech industries. Her expertise is building strategic alliances with C-suite and senior executives that result in sustainable business relationships, and creating innovative partnerships to achieve win-win results. Throughout her career, Mary Ann has held a number of sales and business development positions at the executive level and has been responsible for building sustainable revenue and growth business models.

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.

Jim Tobin is senior director of business development for Secant Group, where he is responsible for commercialization strategy and business development activities related to Secant's patented polymer platforms Regenerez® and Hydralese™. Jim is also general manager of SanaVita, LLC, Secant'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.

Daniel Nelson is senior director, strategic marketing and product management. He is responsible for developing expansion opportunities in current and future markets, leading assigned products, and driving marketing strategies to achieve divisional business growth objectives.
 
Prior to joining Secant Group, Daniel worked for leading organizations in biopharmaceutical manufacturing technology in R&D, product management, and marketing positions. Resourceful and outcome-oriented, his work to assess market potential, lead product development, and design and execute go-to-market strategies has resulted in successful commercialization of multiple programs. He is driven by a passion to advance affordable healthcare access to patients globally.
 
Daniel has a bachelor and master of science degree in biological engineering from Utah State 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.

Stephanie Reed is director, translational product development. Responsible for identifying and removing hurdles for new polymer product development, Stephanie leads a team of talented scientists in the development and commercialization of Secant’s Hydralese™ platform for controlled active delivery, with specific emphasis on drug-loaded poly(glycerol sebacate) urethane (PGSU) for long-acting implantable, injectable, and ingestible formulations. 

Before joining Secant, Stephanie worked at GlaxoSmithKline, researching 3D printing for oral and implantable dosage forms. She also worked at Advanced Bionics in a traditional product development atmosphere, commercializing cochlear implants for hearing restoration and navigating regulatory approvals. 

Stephanie earned a master of science degree and PhD in biomedical engineering from University of California Los Angeles and a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jack Hench is senior director, single-use and cell tools at Charter Medical, a sister company of Secant Group. He is responsible for overseeing all customer-facing activities within the organization, including commercial interactions and product development initiatives that support and strengthen business partnerships and contribute to customer success.
 
Jack has over 30 years of commercial experience in the biotech/biopharma space. Prior to joining Charter, Jack was instrumental in initiating and building the cell and gene therapy franchise at GE Healthcare (now Cytiva). He adopted the “design in" approach from his time in the bioprocess business at Pharmacia into the cell immunotherapy space. During his tenure as commercial leader at USCAN, Jack saw FDA approvals of Dendreon’s PROVENGE® and Novartis’s KYMRIAH®.
 
Prior to his time in cell and gene therapy, Jack supported sales and other initiatives in the Human Genome Project, the Human Proteome Project, and High Throughput Drug Screening. Above all is his passion and constant patient advocacy efforts to “Help Make Cancer History.”
 
Jack has a bachelor of science degree from Frostburg State 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).

Edmund Graf is senior 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.