BERKELEY, CA--(Marketwire - October 07, 2010) - Berkeley Bionics™, developer and maker of bionic exoskeletons that augment human strength, endurance and mobility, today announced that Eythor Bender has become its Chief Executive Officer. An internationally recognized expert in the business of medical technology, he succeeds Dr. Homayoon Kazerooni (Kaz), Berkeley Bionic's co-founding CEO, and Kazerooni becomes Chairman of the Board and Chief Scientist.
Eythor is renowned in the medical device, life science and bionic device spheres for his extensive expertise and accomplishments in steering global companies from concept through commercialization.
"His impressive medical technology background and business acumen are precisely the qualities we were looking for to shape Berkeley Bionics into the company we know it can be during this coming decade," stated Prof. Kazerooni. "We broke new ground in the field of human exoskeletons -- which is still in its infancy -- when we introduced the first practical exoskeleton, as well as the first untethered exoskeleton in the world, currently under a licensing agreement with Lockheed Martin Corporation. Together with Eythor, we are now ready to take our next steps."
"Under Eythor's direction, Ossur Americas quadrupled in sales in just three years to become a leader in the orthopaedics field -- and it did so enjoying a culture that heavily funded research and encouraged innovation. His strong management experience will nurture our continued growth, help us clear the FDA hurdles and take our products to market. For these reasons, I'm delighted to be working alongside him," added Prof. Kazerooni.
Prior to his appointment with Berkeley Bionics, Eythor was the CEO of Rex Bionics. Prior to that, Eythor spent 13 years in executive management with Ossur, a global leader in the development, manufacture and distribution of non-invasive orthopedic products, serving the last six years as president of Ossur Americas, a division he grew from the United States and Canada to one spanning the Western Hemisphere. A driving force in the company's unprecedented growth, during his tenure, the company mushroomed from a $3 million niche business to a $380 million international market leader with a global distribution network. Eythor also introduced the first three bionic devices in the world for lower-limb amputees: the Rheo Knee®, the Power Knee™ and the Proprio Foot™, intelligent prosthetic apparatus of choice used by war veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Prior to joining Ossur, Eythor worked for Hewlett Packard in Europe as product manager for both the Medical and the Computer Peripheral divisions. Eythor has a Masters in Business and Economics from Eberhard-Karls University, Tübingen, Germany and a Business School Degree from Reykjavik, Iceland. He is fluent in German, Icelandic and English.
About Berkeley Bionics
Berkeley Bionics (www.berkeleybionics.com) -- based in Berkeley, CA and founded in 2005, develops and manufactures powered and artificially intelligent human exoskeletons for military, civilian and medical uses that augment strength, endurance, mobility and injury prevention.
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