After fifteen years of expanding responsibilities with large healthcare firms, Mr. Henson has founded or served as CEO and Chairman/Board Member for eighteen successful emerging healthcare (medical device or biotechnology) firms. Mr. Henson guided seven of these firms to become public companies (i.e., IPO) and complete six secondary public financings. Ten of the companies founded by Mr. Henson have been acquired by large, multinational firms. Most recently, Micrus Endovascular, founded by Mr. Henson, was acquired by Johnson and Johnson for $500 million in September 2010. In total, the firms founded by Mr. Henson have received financial investments of over $2 billion and have employed in excess of 2,000 people.
A number of firms founded by Mr. Henson are based on advanced therapies for the treatment of vascular and orthopedic diseases. Cardiovascular disease continues to be the number one cause of death in the United States. The healthcare community, including medical practitioners, hospitals and insurers, is very receptive of new technologies that reduce the mortality of patients with cardiovascular disease and/or improve the quality of life of these individuals. The field of endovascular disease therapy, including peripheral vascular and neurovascular markets, continues to hold great promise for clinically valuable devices. Similarly, with an aging, yet active, elderly population, orthopedics will continue to represent a major growth field over the next 5 to 10 years.
Mr. Henson founded CardioVascular Dynamics, Inc. (“CVD”), located in Irvine, California, in 1992. In September 1998, the accounting firm of Deloitte and Touche named CVD the Number One fastest growing technology company among all firms in San Diego and Orange County, California, and ranked 38 among the 500 fastest growing companies in the United States. CVD licensed its foundation stent delivery technology to a major cardiovascular medical technology and has received over $100 million in royalties based on this technology. CVD completed an IPO and was acquired. In February 2000, Mr. Henson was named “Director of the Year” among all Orange County, California companies. Awarded by the Joint Forum for Corporate Development, Mr. Henson was selected from over 1,000 nominees as Director of the Year for his participation and success in guiding emerging growth companies.
Mr. Henson has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of five publicly traded companies. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors for seven private companies and serves as a Director for two additional companies. In addition to his business activities, from 1997 until 2008, Mr. Henson was a member of the Board of Directors of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (“CRF”), based in New York, New York. CRF is one of the largest clinical cardiovascular research foundations in the United States and receives support from both industry and charitable donations.
In 2000, Mr. Henson founded the MedFocus Fund, LLC in combination with the Japan Asia Investment Company, Ltd. (“JAIC”). JAIC is one of the largest public venture capital firms in Japan. The MedFocus Fund is an “incubator” venture capital firm dedicated to accelerating the development of new, breakthrough medical technologies. In 2004, Mr. Henson founded the MedFocus Fund II, LLC. Also in 2004, Mr. Henson founded the HBM-MedFocus LLC in conjunction with HBM BioVentures, one of the largest life science venture capital firms in Europe. Mr. Henson has also joined the Board of Advisors of HBM BioVentures. Mr. Henson is also an Advisor to BioStar Private Equity, LLC, a medical technology venture capital firm. In 2006, Mr. Henson founded the MedFocus Accelerator Fund, LLC. The MedFocus Family of Funds now has a portfolio of twenty-one medical technology companies.
An accomplished speaker, Mr. Henson has participated as a visiting lecturer on entrepreneurship and has spoken on multiple occasions to the New York Society of Security Analysts, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Entrepreneurial Forum and the University Of Michigan Graduate School Of Business.
