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Inspire leadership

Inspire was formed in 2007 when the technology and intellectual property portfolio were spun out of Medtronic. The employees of Inspire have come from the world’s leading medical device companies, working together to provide sleep apnea patients with a groundbreaking obstructive sleep apnea therapy option.

TIM HERBERT: Chair, President & Chief Executive Officer

Tim Herbert, Inspire’s founder, has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors since 2007, and as Chair of our Board since May 2024. Prior to joining Inspire, Mr. Herbert spent 11 years at Medtronic plc, a medical equipment development company, where he held management positions in product development, clinical research, sales, marketing, and healthcare reimbursement. Mr. Herbert holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from North Dakota State University and an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas.

RICK BUCHHOLZ: Chief Financial Officer

Rick Buchholz has served as Chief Financial Officer since May 2014. Prior to joining Inspire, Mr. Buchholz served as the Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, and Treasurer at superDimension, Ltd., a medical device manufacturer (which was acquired by Covidien plc in 2012), from 2006 to 2013. Mr. Buchholz holds a B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).

RANDY BAN: Chief Commercial Officer

Randy Ban has served as Chief Commercial Officer since July 2019. Prior to that, he served as Inspire’s Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing from 2009 to December 2018 and, in December 2018, his title was changed to Senior Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing. Before joining us, he served as Chief Operating Officer at Vertebral Technologies Inc., a medical device company, from 2008 to 2009. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Ban worked in a variety of sales and marketing leadership positions while at Guidant Corporation (Guidant was acquired by Boston Scientific in 2006). He began his career at Eli Lilly and Company in 1990. Mr. Ban holds a B.S. in marketing and an M.B.A., both from Indiana University.

BRYAN PHILLIPS: Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary

Bryan Phillips has served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary since January 2021. From December 2019 to January 2021, Mr. Phillips served as Chief Legal Officer of Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. From 2005 to November 2019, Mr. Phillips held several positions of increasing responsibility at Surmodics, Inc., a medical technology company, most recently as its Senior Vice President, Legal and Human Resources, General Counsel, and Secretary. Previously, Mr. Phillips served as Patent Counsel at Guidant Corporation’s Cardiac Rhythm Management Group (now part of Boston Scientific) from 2001 to 2005. Mr. Phillips began his legal career at a Minneapolis-based intellectual property law firm. Mr. Phillips earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Kansas and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.

JOHN RONDONI: Chief Technology Officer

John Rondoni has over 20 years of experience in the medical devices and digital healthcare solutions markets. He has served as Inspire’s Chief Technology Officer since 2022. Mr. Rondoni joined Inspire in 2008 and has held product, clinical, and business development roles in the U.S. and internationally. Before joining Inspire, he developed peripheral and central neuromodulation therapies for Medtronic. Mr. Rondoni is an inventor of over 100 U.S. patents; he holds a B.S. and M.Eng. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

CHARISSE SPARKS, M.D.: Chief Medical Officer

Charisse Sparks, M.D. has served as Chief Medical Officer since July 2023. In addition, Dr. Sparks served on Inspire’s Board from July 2022 to July 2023, including as a member of Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Previously, Dr. Sparks served as Chief Medical Officer of AppliedVR, Inc., a privately-held company focused on virtual reality-based treatments that addresses the complexity of pain and other conditions, since February 2022. Prior to this and since 2016, she held various roles at DePuy Synthes, Inc., an orthopaedics company, and a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies, including as Vice President / Integrated Leader of Trauma, CMF, and Biomaterials from September 2018 to February 2022. Dr. Sparks holds a B.S. from Wichita State University and a M.D. from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. She completed her residency in orthopaedics at the University of Arkansas Medical School and followship in orthopaedic trauma at Harvard Medical School.

CARLTON WEATHERBY: Chief Strategy Officer

Carlton Weatherby has served as Chief Strategy Officer since July 2023. Prior to this, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Medtronic’s Spine & Biologics Business since 2021. Prior to this, Mr. Weatherby served as Vice President of Strategic Sales and held various roles in corporate development since joining Medtronic in 2011. Mr. Weatherby received his B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

MELISSA MANN: Chief People Officer

Melissa Mann has served as Chief People Officer since July 2024. Prior to joining Inspire, Ms. Mann spent 8 years at UnitedHealth Group, most recently serving as Senior Vice President Human Capital of Optum Health. From 2002 to 2015, Ms. Mann held various Human Resources leadership positions at Target Corporation. Ms. Mann also served in Human Resources at HealthNexis, a healthcare supply chain technology startup and was a Benefits Analyst at William M. Mercer, Inc., a global human resources consulting firm. Ms. Mann received her B.A. and M.B.A. in Human Resources Management from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul.

ANDREAS HENKE: Executive Vice President, Managing Director Europe

Andreas Henke has more than 25 years of experience in medical device markets. Prior to his current role, he served as Sr. Director Sales and Marketing Europe and General Manager Germany of BTG Interventional Pulmonology. From 2003 to 2014, Mr. Henke held a variety of management positions in Cardiology, Cardiac Rhythm Management and Peripheral Interventions at Boston Scientific. In his current role, he is responsible for developing and commercializing Inspire therapy in Europe. Mr. Henke has a M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.

IVAN LUBOGO: Senior Vice President, U.S. Sales

Ivan Lubogo joined Inspire in 2011 as a Therapy Development Director, served as the Area Vice President of Sales from 2014 to 2019 and became the Senior Vice President of U.S. Sales in 2019. Prior to joining Inspire, Mr. Lubogo spent 11 years in the Cardiac Rhythm Management division of Boston Scientific undertaking direct sales and sales management roles. Mr. Lubogo has a B.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

EZGI YAGCI: Vice President, Investor Relations

Ezgi Yagci has served as Vice President of Investor Relations since August of 2022. Before joining Inspire, she served as Manager of Investor Relations at Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. from 2020 to 2022. Prior to that she worked as a Senior Analyst covering medical device and healthcare services at Balyasny Asset Management from 2015 to 2019. Ms. Yagci worked in a variety of investment roles from 2006 to 2018 and holds a Master of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Relations from Boston University.