Who we are
Board of Directors
Andreas Hogg
Andreas Hogg earned an engineering diploma in Microtechnology in 2006, and his MSc and PhD degrees in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Bern in 2014. He worked as development engineer at Johnson & Johnson from 2009 to 2014. Since 2014, he taught and led a R&D group at He-Arc, which was focused on thin-film technologies. Mr. Hogg is leading the operations of Coat-X.
Stefan Schwab
Stefan Schwab is an independent Swiss entrepreneur. During the last 15 years, he led his family company Schwab-Feller AG and the investment company Linoa Holding AG.
Mr. Schwab is the lead investor of Coat-X. The company will profit of his strong industrial and sales experiences for the B2B activities. He takes an active role as Chief Value Officer and board member of Coat-X.
Yanik Tardy
Yanik Tardy received his Ph.D. in physics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne EPFL in 1992. After 10 years in academic research , Yanik joined the Medical Device Sector of Johnson & Johnson where he held different leadership positions in Research & Technology, Operations, and Product Development. In 2015 Yanik joined Dentsply Sirona as Vice President of R&D. Since July 2018, he took a new role at Coat-X as Chief Operating Officer.
Eric Nagels
Eric Nagels obtained his Master’s degree in Business Management at HEC Lausanne and an Executive Master in International Taxation at the University of Neuchâtel in 2012. He has been the finance director at Johnson & Johnson for seventeen years. Currently, Eric Nagels is director at RED’X SA and Head of Finances at Coat-X.
Advisory Board
Scientific Advisory Board
Prof. Dr. Juergen Burger
Juergen Burger earned an MSc in Physics and PhD in Physics at the University of Erlangen. He is currently full professor for Translational Medicine and Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Bern. He is also Director of the Swiss School in Translational and Entrepreneurship in Medicine at sitem-insel ...
His professional experience includes employment at Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique CSEM, Tegimenta AG (a Hoffmann-La Roche company) and Head of R&D Microsystems at Codman, a Johnson and Johnson company.
After a research stay at Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia in 2003 and various appointments to professorships in Biomedical Engineering including Charité, Humboldt-University, Berlin, University of Sydney and University of Stuttgart, he obtained his Habilitation in 2008 at the University of Bern in “Biomedical Engineering” where he was appointed associate Professor (Titularprofessor) in 2014.
The focus of Jürgen Burger’s research is on bringing innovative treatment methods and therapeutic/diagnostic systems into clinical application. A special focus is on intelligent implants and surgical instruments in combination with pharmaceutical products.
He has authored more than 93 publications including 15 patents in medical technology.
Prof. Dr. Herbert Keppner
Herbert Keppner attained his PhD in the field of solid state physics, solar cells, and plasma technology in 1987 at the University of Konstanz. From 1988 to 1998 he was the chief assistant for photovoltaics and applied plasma technology at the University of Neuchâtel. In 1996, he became a private lecturer at the University of Neuchâtel ...
Since 1998 he has been a professor for microtechnology at the University of Applied Sciences (He-Arc, Neuchâtel) also giving lectures at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de mécanique et des microtechniques (ENSMM, Besançon), and the University of Bern. Dr. Keppner is conducting numerous projects in the fields of biomedical engineering, energy harvesting systems, sensors, and actuators. His current research activities at He-Arc focus on all-polymer (mainly Parylene) microsystems based on the solid on liquid deposition technique. He has around 130 international publications in conference proceedings and journals as well as 14 patents.
Prof. Dr. Nikos Stergiopulos
Nikos Stergiopulos received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, in 1985 and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Iowa State University in 1990. Nikos Stergiopulos holds a degree in the management of Technology from the International Institute for Management Development ...
He is currently Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Hemodynamics and Cardiovascular Technology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. He has authored more than 160 publications and holds more than 15 patents in medical technology. In 1998, he co-founded EndoArt, a medical device company that produced of telemetrically powered and controlled implants for the treatment of congenital heart disease and morbid obesity. EndoArt was acquired in 2007 by Allergan. In 2008, Dr. Stergiopulos founded Antlia S.A., a medical device company developing implantable drug delivery pumps. He is also founder and director of Rheon Medical, a medical device company that produces adjustable shunts for the surgical treatment of glaucoma.
Dr. André Haemmerli
André Haemmerli holds an engineering degree in Microtechnology from Neuchâtel University and a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Utah. He has worked over thirty years in the field of medical devices in R&D, Sales & Marketing, and General Management in Switzerland, United State, and Germany, with global companies such as Pfizer, SulzerMedica, Guidant and Johnson & Johnson. Currently he is an independent Strategic Advisor and Corporate Board Director.