Pulse Biosciences, Inc. appointed Kevin Danahy as new CEO

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. 


Effective September 20, 2022, the board of directors (the "Board") of the Company appointed Kevin Danahy to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Company and Darrin Uecker to serve as Chief Technology Officer of the Company. Mr. Danahy previously served as the Company's Chief Commercial Officer and Mr. Uecker previously served as the Company's Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Danahy, age 52, had served as the Company's Chief Commercial Officer since February 14, 2022. Mr. Danahy has more than 20 years of senior management experience building and managing strategic commercial organizations for medical technology companies. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Danahy most recently served as President of Solmetex, a medical device company focused on manufacturing environmental waste management products for the dental industry, from January 2019 to February 2022. From August 2017 to January 2019, Mr. Danahy held roles at Zimmer Biomet (NYSE: ZBH) ("Zimmer"), a global medical device company with a comprehensive portfolio of robotic technologies, including Vice President of Global Emerging Technologies and Specialty Sales, where he was responsible for leading the global launch and commercialization of Zimmer's new bionic surgical arm technology. Before his time at Zimmer, Mr. Danahy served as Sr. Director at Intuitive Surgical, where he successfully transformed the sales leadership training program. Early in his career, he served in commercial leadership roles at both Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson. Mr. Danahy holds an M.S. degree from Tufts University. The business terms in connection with Mr. Danahy's appointment to serve as Chief Executive Officer are being finalized.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Uecker, age 57, had served as the Company's President, Chief Executive Officer and a director since September 2015. Mr. Uecker has over 25 years of experience in the medical device field. From January 2014 to September 2015, Mr. Uecker was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Progyny, Inc., a company that developed EevaTM, the world's first automated time-lapse system for embryo selection during in-vitro fertilization. From June 2009 to January 2014, Mr. Uecker was the Chief Executive Officer and President as well as a director of Gynesonics, Inc., a company that developed a novel medical device for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids using ultrasound guided radiofrequency ablation. Prior to that, Mr. Uecker served in a variety of executive level roles, including as a Senior Vice President at CyperHeart, Inc. (June 2008 to June 2009), a company that developed an external beam radiation platform for the treatment of heart arrhythmias, a Senior Vice President at Conceptus, Inc. (May 2007 to June 2008), and as Chief Technology Officer at RITA Medical Systems, Inc. (January 2004 to January 2007), a medical device oncology company focused on ablative therapies. Mr. Uecker holds a M.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara.


In connection with Mr. Uecker's appointment as Chief Technology Officer, the Company and Mr. Uecker entered into an amendment, dated September 20, 2022 (the "Uecker Amendment") to his employment agreement, dated September 8, 2015, in connection with his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer (as amended on October 5, 2016). The Uecker Amendment provides that Mr. Uecker will receive an annual base salary of $400,000, with an annual target bonus of up to 100% of his base salary. Mr. Uecker will otherwise continue to be compensated pursuant to the terms of the employment agreement entered into between Mr. Uecker and the Company, as amended to date. The foregoing description of the Uecker Amendment is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Uecker Amendment, a copy of which is as attached hereto as Exhibit 10.2 and is incorporated herein by reference.

There is no arrangement or understanding between either Mr. Danahy or Mr. Uecker and any other person pursuant to which they were appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of the Company, respectively. There are no family relationships between either Mr. Danahy or Mr. Uecker and any director or executive officer of the Company.

Effective September 20, 2022, Mr. Duggan, who currently serves as a director and chairman of the Company's Board, was elected Executive Chairman of the Board.

A copy of the press release related to the matters set forth herein is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated by reference herein.