Our Leadership Team

Raymond W. Cohen

Raymond W. Cohen

Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Cohen has served as Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Axonics since co-founding the company in October 2013. Mr. Cohen is an accredited public company director with over 40 years of experience in leading medical device companies and serving as a board member at a number of private and publicly traded life science companies.

From 2010 to 2012, he served as CEO of Vessix Vascular, a venture capital-backed renal denervation company that was acquired by Boston Scientific in November 2012. Previously, Mr. Cohen spent nearly a decade as Chairman and CEO of Nasdaq-listed Cardiac Science Inc., which was ranked as the fourth fastest growing company in the U.S. in 2004. Mr. Cohen currently serves as a Chairman of the board of BioVentrix Inc., a privately-held transcatheter ventricular restoration company focused on treating congestive heart failure patients.

From May 2006 to July 2021, Mr. Cohen served on the board of directors at BioLife Solutions (Nasdaq: BLFS) a developer and manufacturer of preservation media for regenerative medicine and for the last 8 years served as Chairman. From June 2013 to April 2020, Cohen served as an independent director, chair of the compensation committee and member of the audit and nominating committees of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPPI). Mr. Cohen also previously served on the boards of two companies that were successfully sold in 2017: Zurich-based LifeWatch (LIFE.SW), sold to Biotelemetry (Nasdaq: BEAT); and Colorado-based Syncroness, Inc., a privately held contract engineering firm, sold to ALTEN Group, a multibillion-dollar French engineering services company.


Kari Keese

Kari Keese

Chief Financial Officer

Ms. Keese leads the company’s finance and accounting functions. She joined Axonics in 2014 and previously served as the company’s Director of Finance and Controller. Prior to Axonics, Ms. Keese was a Controller at Vessix Vascular, Inc., a company that was acquired by Boston Scientific in late 2012. Ms. Keese began her career in public accounting and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics from University of California Santa Barbara and a management certification from UCLA Anderson School of Management.


Rinda Sama

Rinda Sama

Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Sama brings more than 10 years of Class III medical device experience, implementing lean operations and compliant quality systems. Prior to Axonics, Mr. Sama was the Director of Operations and Quality at Vessix Vascular Inc., and then the Director of Program Management at Boston Scientific. Mr. Sama holds a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine.


Karen Noblett, M.D.

Karen Noblett, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Noblett is Board Certified in OB/GYN and in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. Before joining Axonics, she had a long career in academic medicine. She served as the founding Chair and Professor of the Department of OB/GYN in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside, from 2014-2017. Before that, she was a professor in the OB/GYN Department and Fellowship and Division Director for Urogynecology at the University of California, Irvine, as well as the Interim Chief Medical officer.

Dr. Noblett completed her Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research at the University of California, San Diego. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and authored multiple book chapters. She is a recognized expert in the field of Sacral Neuromodulation.


Guangqiang (Jay) Jiang, Ph.D.

Guangqiang (Jay) Jiang, Ph.D.

Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Jiang is a seasoned technical executive with a 15-year track record of developing complex, implantable Class III medical devices. He was previously VP of R&D at the Alfred Mann Foundation. Dr. Jiang was elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)’s College of Fellows and served as Principal Investigator on several government contracts. Dr. Jiang holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California.


John Woock, Ph.D.

John Woock, Ph.D.

Executive VP, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer

Dr. Woock has a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University, focused on neural stimulation to control urinary function. He is the coinventor of several technologies in the field of urology. Dr. Woock was previously a Stanford Biodesign Fellow and an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company.


Al Ford

Al Ford

Chief Commercial Officer

Mr. Ford is an experienced executive leader with 20 years of experience driving global strategic sales, marketing, business development, product development, and commercial operations primarily within the medical device industry. He has led global commercial activities for both private start-up and public organizations, most recently as Chief Commercial Officer of Cardiac Science Corporation. Previously, Mr. Ford was GM and Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing at Opto-Circuits Incorporated, overseeing all global sales and marketing efforts across all product lines, including Cardiac Science, Criticare Systems, and Unetixs Vascular.

Mr. Ford has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marketing and a Master’s of Science degree in International Business from Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA.


Prabodh Mathur

Prabodh Mathur

Chief Product Development Officer

Mr. Mathur has over 25 years’ experience in developing Class III therapeutic medical devices. He previously led product-development efforts for Boston Scientific, Vessix Vascular, Cardiac Science, and Medstone International.

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