Leadership Team
Daniel Levangie
President & Chief Executive Officer
Daniel Levangie
Daniel Levangie is an experienced executive with senior operating experience in the field of medical devices and in vitro diagnostics. Mr. Levangie is currently the President & Chief Executive Officer of CereVasc, Inc. and co-founder and Managing Partner of ATON Partners, LLC, a Boston based private investment and management consulting firm. Most recently, Mr. Levangie was Chief Executive Officer of Dune Medical Devices and co-founder and Managing Partner of Constitution Medical Investors, Inc. (CMI) a Boston-based private investment and product development firm acquired by Roche Diagnostics Corporation in July 2013. Prior to that Mr. Levangie was Chief Executive Officer of Keystone Dental, Inc., a Warburg Pincus portfolio company involved in dental reconstruction technologies and Chairman of the Board of ev3.
Beginning in 1992 Mr. Levangie held a variety of executive management positions with Cytyc Corporation until the acquisition of Cytyc Corporation by Hologic, Inc. in October of 2007. Those positions included Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Chief Executive Officer and President of Cytyc Health Corporation, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer and President, Cytyc Surgical Products Division.
Prior to joining Cytyc Corporation in 1992, Mr. Levangie held a number of sales, marketing and management positions with Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, IL.
Mr. Levangie resides in Boston, MA with his wife Joan, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Exact Sciences, Inc. and Renalytix, Inc. He previously served as Lead Director of Insulet Corporation and Director of Liposcience, Inc. Mr. Levangie, a graduate of the College of Pharmacy of Northeastern University in Boston.
Leslie Teso-Lichtman
SVP & Chief Financial Officer
Leslie Teso-Lichtman
Leslie Teso-Lichtman is an accomplished Senior Executive, Consultant, and Board Member with more than 40 years of success in the medical device, global biotech, and healthcare industries. Leveraging extensive experience with implementing systems, structures and financial controls for start-ups, Leslie is an asset for start-ups seeking guidance on different financing vehicles for fundraising, due diligence, and negotiating the financial aspects of the business. Throughout her executive career, Leslie has held leadership positions with Insulet Corporation; Roche Diagnostics Hematology, Inc. (formerly Constitution Medical Investors, Inc.); Hologic (formerly Cytyc Corporation); Matritech Inc., and Chas F Thackray USA.
Leslie holds an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University, a BS in Business Management, and an AS in Accounting, both from Daniel Webster College. As a seasoned Board Member, she currently serves as a Member, Board of Trustees, and Treasurer of the Atrius Health Equity Foundation. She previously served as a Director of Chembio Diagnostics, Inc., Atrius Health, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and Village Nursery School.
Adel Malek MD
Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer
Adel Malek
Neurosurgeon Adel Malek, MD, PhD, MBA is Chief of Neurovascular Surgery, Director of the Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Division in the Department of Neurosurgery at Tufts Medical Center, and Professor of Neurosurgery at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Malek attended Harvard Medical School for his medical degree and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his doctorate in medical engineering and Physics studying the gene expression response of endothelial cells to fluid shear stress. He completed neurosurgical training at Brigham and Women’s/Children’s Hospital Boston and neurointerventional radiology fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Malek’s clinical expertise includes the multi-modal and minimally invasive treatment of brain aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs). His research interests include the cellular and hemodynamic mechanisms involved in the development of brain aneurysms and AVMs and development of enabling endovascular technologies. He heads the Tufts Cerebrovascular Hemodynamics Laboratory specializing in computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis for aneurysm risk stratification and analysis of the cerebral vasculature response to endovascular implants, stents and flow diverters.
DJ Cass
SVP, Business Development & Strategy
DJ Cass
DJ Cass is an experienced executive in the medical device and diagnostics industries and has served as our SVP, Business Development and Strategy since August 2020. Prior, DJ spent six years at Insulet Corporation in roles including VP of Strategic Alliances, General Manager of Europe, and Group Vice President, International where he led the establishment of direct operations in the EU. Prior to Insulet, DJ spent twelve years at Cytyc Corporation and Hologic serving in commercial roles of increasing responsibility. DJ earned his BA in Policy Studies from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and his MBA from Bentley University and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of Excel Academy.
Aaron Levangie
SVP & General Counsel
Aaron Levangie
Aaron is the Senior Vice President & General Counsel at CereVasc. In addition to managing all legal affairs for the Company, Aaron has assumed General Manager responsibility since CereVasc’s inception in 2014. He played a key role managing the early design and development of the eShunt System and continues to support various design and operations activities for the Company. During the last several years, Aaron has orchestrated CereVasc’s FDA submissions securing approval for investigational use of the first and second generation eShunt Systems. Before forming CereVasc, Aaron was Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Constitution Medical, Inc. (CMI); after Roche Diagnostics acquired CMI in 2013, he continued as a consultant to Roche supporting various post-merger integration initiatives. Prior to CMI, Aaron was associated with two national law firms where he focused primarily on patent litigation matters before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and federal district courts.
Before entering private practice, Aaron served as the Attorney Advisor to the Honorable Paul J. Luckern at the ITC where he supported more than 20 patent and trademark-based Section 337 investigations. He is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Aaron earned his J.D., cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School and was a member of the Suffolk University Law Review. He earned his B.S. in biology from Villanova University.
Interests: Spending time with his three daughters, beaching, skiing, cycling, live music.
Mark Licari
SVP, Operations
Mark Licari
Ona Whelove
VP, Clinical Operations
Ona Whelove
Ona joined CereVasc from Stryker Neurovascular, where she led and contributed to several critical product development projects, clinical studies, and product launches for neurovascular implants across the globe. Prior to her experience at Stryker NV, she worked in engineering and project management roles in the wound care and orthopedic industries. Ona holds Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Missouri and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
Brandon Beneduce
Director, Marketing
Brandon Beneduce
Brandon joined the CereVasc team in October 2014 shortly after the Company’s inception. While at CereVasc, he co-authored two peer-reviewed publications in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery and fifteen accepted abstracts across various scientific meetings in the neurosurgery and gene therapy fields. As an early member of the Company, he has worked across many different aspects of eShunt System development including extensive literature review for product design, engineering design and testing, regulatory submissions leading to IDE approvals for clinical trial initiation in both the US and Argentina, as well as product expansion into CNS drug delivery applications. Prior to CereVasc, Brandon spent 2011 – 2013 in Wade Regehr’s lab within the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, using AAV-delivered optogenetic approaches to study synaptic transmission of the basal ganglia and cerebellum. He co-authored two peer-reviewed publications of this work in the Journal of Neuroscience. Brandon graduated magna cum laude with University Honors Program distinction from Northeastern University with a bachelor’s in behavioral Neuroscience. While at Northeastern, Brandon was a member of the Men’s Club Ice Hockey Team and volunteer with IDEA: Northeastern’s Venture Accelerator providing guidance to student entrepreneurs developing early-stage start-ups.
Stephen Conroy
Director, Clinical Engineering
Stephen Conroy
Stephen Conroy is a seasoned medical device professional who brings a wide variety of experiences to CereVasc, which include Manufacturing, Systems and Process Engineering management. Prior to joining CereVasc, Stephen played a key role bringing multiple new products to market at First Light Diagnostics, Roche Diagnostics, Cytyc Corporation, and Nova Biomedical. Stephen earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University.
Travis Carbonneau
Director, Clinical Technology & Training
Travis Carbonneau
Travis Carbonneau is a professional in the neuro endovascular space, with over 10 years of experience in the field. He has been at the forefront of novel treatments, procedures, and technologies worldwide. Travis has accumulated a wealth of knowledge through thousands of neurovascular procedures, including: intrasaccular flow disruption, flow diversion, stent and balloon assisted coiling, mechanical thrombectomy, venous and arterial thrombolysis, angioplasty, glue and embosphere embolization, and radiosurgery. Travis has developed clinical, technical, and research skills within several late- and early-stage organizations. He has been involved in the development of new technologies and has had the opportunity to be among the first to experience several novel technologies within the neuro endovascular space. Travis has also created training plans and content for several devices during their commercial and investigational stages within organizations such as MicroVention and Route 92 Medical.
Chris Dimler
Director, Operations & Engineering
Chris Dimler
Chris Dimler is Director, Operations and Engineering and comes to us from NeuroVasc Technologies where he led the Operations department as the company commercialized and began to scale its business. He previously worked at Medtronic where he took on roles of increasing responsibility over his tenure within the Operations, Engineering, and Strategic Projects groups. Chris earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo.
Allison Levangie
Clinical Operations Manager
Allison Levangie
Amanda Caldicott
Clinical Technology Manager
Amanda Caldicott
Amanda Caldicott is a seasoned Clinical Technology Manager with a diverse background in the healthcare industry. With a degree in radiologic technology and a BA in healthcare management, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her role.
Amanda’s responsibilities encompass the comprehensive management of clinical trial sites, ensuring efficient trial enrollment, clinical education, physician training, and technical case support. Her dedication to the success of clinical trials is unmatched, and her commitment to delivering top-tier support to healthcare professionals is evident in her work.
Amanda’s professional healthcare journey began in the field of radiologic technology, and she rapidly advanced to attain advanced clinical certification in vascular procedures. She honed her skills as a neurointerventional technologist and subsequently served in a leadership role at a prominent academic institution, collaborating closely with neurosurgeons to enhance patient care and outcomes.
Her impact extended beyond the clinical setting. Amanda played a pioneering role as a Clinical Specialist at Stryker Neurovascular, actively participating in the development of national medical education courses. She contributed significantly to the commercial launch of multiple innovative medical devices across various franchises within the division. Amanda’s ability to provide complex case support and her role as a liaison between the medical community and industry exemplify her exceptional skill set.
Outside of her professional life, Amanda resides in upstate New York with her loving family, including her husband and son.