Leadership Team
Glaukos Leadership Team (left to right): Richard Harrison, David Haffner, Hal Heitzmann, Chris Calcaterra, Thomas Burns, Jeff Wells
Immersed in Vision Care
Headquartered in Laguna Hills, California, Glaukos has more than 35 employees who have extensive expertise in the ophthalmic medical device and pharmaceutical industries. The leadership team is comprised of ophthalmic device and pharmaceutical executives who have over 100 years of cumulative experience in eye care.
Thomas Burns, President and CEO, Director
Mr. Burns has provided the leadership for Glaukos since its founding in 2001 to create the premier device franchise in glaucoma treatment– a business that was recently ranked #19 by the Wall Street Journal in a review of approximately 6000 venture-backed companies. He is a leader in the ophthalmic industry having built substantial value, delivered rapid growth and created entirely new commercial product classes and global markets in senior leadership roles at three major, successful start-up companies.
Prior to Glaukos, Mr. Burns led Eyetech (acquired by OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc.) as President & Chief Operating Officer, Director and raised $108M in a final private placement round to prepare the business for a successful $157M initial public offering. Mr. Burns was a co-founder of Chiron Vision and, as Sr. Vice President and GM, helped build that business from a start-up to a successful $310 million acquisition by Bausch & Lomb in 1998. He has had the privilege of leading world-class teams to create new commercial global markets by introducing entirely new market-classes in ophthalmology: the first foldable intraocular lenses, the first LASIK keratome, the first intraocular ophthalmic drug delivery implants (Vitrasert®), the first preservative-free artificial tears (Celluvisc® and Refresh®), the first, foundational, customized LASIK technologies and the first MIGS (micro-invasive glaucoma surgery) implants to treat open-angle glaucoma. As a leading serial entrepreneur, Mr. Burns has raised a quarter billion dollars to date in private placements to build successful businesses. Mr. Burns received his bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University.
Chris Calcaterra, Chief Commercial Officer
Chris Calcaterra joined Glaukos in 2008, leading the operations management, strategic development and commercialization planning for the launch of the iStent® Trabecular Micro-Bypass. Mr. Calcaterra has over 21 years of increasingly responsible leadership experience at Advanced Medical Optics (AMO), most recently as Sr. Vice President of the Cataract/Refractive Business. He has a proven track record of quickly growing franchise-sized businesses and successfully managing teams across multiple disciplines. His stellar professional reputation has fostered strong relationships within the ophthalmic community. Mr. Calcaterra earned an MBA from Xavier University.
Richard Harrison, Chief Financial Officer
Richard Harrison joined Glaukos in 2008, bringing over 20 years of financial leadership experience in the medical device industry. For 10 years, Mr. Harrison served as CFO of Interpore Cross International, a publicly-traded spinal implant device company, which he helped to grow from $12 million to $70 million in revenues while leading a divestiture and an ultimate sale to Biomet, Inc. Mr. Harrison is a certified public accountant and earned an MBA from Loyola College, Maryland.
David Haffner, VP, Product Development
David Haffner has been on the senior management team of Glaukos since the company’s inception in 2001. Mr. Haffner leads the critical role of developing the multiple configurations of the iStent® micro-bypass product line. He has more than 20 years of experience in medical device engineering, design, manufacturing, project and product management. Mr. Haffner has directed several multimillion dollar programs involving the development and commercialization of ophthalmic products and technologies targeted at cataract, glaucoma, dry eye, and nasal disease groups. Mr. Haffner spent more than 10 years at Allergan, leading teams and departments in several divisions including Surgical Products, Pharmaceuticals and Worldwide Operations. Mr. Haffner earned a BS from California State University, Long Beach.
Hal Heitzmann, PhD, VP, Applied Research
Hal Heitzmann, PhD joined Glaukos in 2007. He is responsible for continuing applied research activities at the company. Dr. Heitzmann has 25 years of experience in the development of medical devices at five startup companies, including Edwards Lifesciences. Dr. Heitzmann has led the development of commercial products for blood gas monitoring, angioplasty, intracranial pressure monitoring, electrophysiology, coronary stenting, thrombectomy, venous oxygen saturation monitoring, and antimicrobial catheterization. He holds twelve US patents and six pending patent applications. He coinvented avidin-biotin staining for microscopy. Dr. Heitzmann earned a PhD in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University.
Jeff Wells, PharmD, Sr. VP, Clinical, Regulatory and Quality Affairs
Jeff Wells, PharmD, has extensive experience in pharmaceutical and medical device clinical affairs, regulatory affairs, research and development, marketing, sales, and business development, with over 15 years in ophthalmology. At Santen, Dr. Wells was Vice President, US Research and Development. Prior to this role in Research and Development, he held various positions with Santen, including Vice President, Clinical and Regulatory Affairs and Project Management for the US and Europe; Vice President, US Clinical Affairs; and Director of Marketing. Before joining Santen, Dr. Wells held various marketing positions at Bausch & Lomb where he launched Lotemax® and several other ophthalmic products. Dr. Wells earned a PharmD from the University of Florida and a master's degree in management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.
Celluvisc and Refresh are registered trademarks of Allergan, Inc.
Vitrasert and Lotemax are registered trademarks of Bausch & Lomb Incorporated.
iStent is a registered trademark of Glaukos Corporation.
