Speakers

MEET THE Event Speakers

Mitchell Bardack is a highly accomplished professional with an extensive background in accounting and tax matters for the U.S. and Costa Rica. He is originally from Los Angeles, California, and graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with a degree in Accounting. He later studied for his Master’s in Taxation from Golden Gate University. His professional career began in 1995 when he joined KPMG, followed by Deloitte & Touche in San Francisco, California, where he worked until 1999. In 2003, he joined AFC as the Accounting Partner, where he has played a pivotal role in the company’s growth and client development. Today, he serves as the Managing Partner of AFC, where he leads a team of over 100 dedicated professionals committed to excellence and regulatory compliance. With his strong background in accounting and tax advisory services, he has developed a specialization in assisting companies operating within the Free Trade Zone Regime and National Territory. His in-depth understanding of accounting and Free Trade Zone regulations, combined with a strategic approach, has enabled numerous companies to maximize the fiscal and operational benefits offered by this regime.

Gabriel Chaverri Guevara

Senior Sales Executive at Expeditors

Gabriel Chaverri Guevara

Senior Sales Executive at Expeditors

Gabriel Chaverri is one of the most recognized figures in the market, having consolidated his professional career in the medical devices industry in Costa Rica since 1998, when medical device manufacturing companies began to arrive and invest in our country under the Free Zone regime. He was the first employee hired by Expeditors International, who, alongside Mar y Tierra, had a great vision of what these foreign direct investments in the medical industry would bring to the country. They were able to support these companies from the project’s conception and first intention to invest in Costa Rica, their machinery and equipment transfers, and until the stabilization of their operations, which required resource optimization programs, supply chain solutions, and analysis for subsequent investment phases that continue to bring more benefits and growth opportunities for the medical cluster. Chaverri is a subject matter expert with advanced knowledge in everything related to customs regulations, FDA, Free trade agreements, and any other special procedure required during any startup project.

Johnny Chinchilla

Global Category Manager, Mechanical and Molded Materials, at ICU Medical

Johnny Chinchilla

Global Category Manager, Mechanical and Molded Materials, at ICU Medical

Johnny Chinchilla is an experienced global category manager at ICU Medical, specializing in mechanical and molded materials. With over 15 years of expertise in supply chain management, he has built a strong track record in the Class II and Class III medtech industries. Chinchilla holds a Bachelor's degree in Customs Administration and International Commerce from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and is certified in APICS with a CPIM designation. Throughout his career, he has successfully led make-vs-buy analysis and projects across key categories such as plastic injection molding, machined parts, and electronics. His role encompasses strategic supplier selection and development in highly regulated environments, ensuring alignment with industry standards and regulatory requirements. Chinchilla’s experience extends to optimizing supplier relationships, driving cost efficiency, and fostering innovation in the supply chain to support the delivery of critical medical devices.

Esteban Corrales

Director of Global Supply Chain for Confluent Medical Technologies

Esteban Corrales

Director of Global Supply Chain for Confluent Medical Technologies

Esteban Corrales is a seasoned supply chain and project management professional with extensive experience in leading teams and implementing solutions to optimize complex operations. He currently serves as director of global supply chain, overseeing global procurement, supply planning, logistics, and warehousing at Confluent Medical Technologies, a company dedicated to improving lives by delivering world-class medical devices through innovative material science, engineering, and manufacturing. In this role, Corrales drives operational excellence through strategic supply chain management and process optimization. With 12 years of experience in medical devices, he has also held key leadership positions in the technology and shared services sectors. Corrales holds an MBA in Finance from Tecnológico de Costa Rica and a degree in Industrial Engineering from ULACIT, complementing his industry certifications in Supply Chain (CPIM) and Project Management (PMP).

Alvaro Cortés

Senior Advisor at Cushman & Wakefield

Alvaro Cortés

Senior Advisor at Cushman & Wakefield

Álvaro Cortés is a seasoned advisor in corporate and medtech real estate strategy, specializing in site selection, lease negotiations, and build-to-suit solutions for multinational companies in Costa Rica. With over a decade of experience and more than $500 million in transaction value, he has helped international companies secure the right facilities to optimize operations, scale efficiently, and leverage Free Trade Zone incentives, helping them mitigate risk, reduce costs, and enhance operational efficiency through strategic real estate decisions. As a tenant representation expert, Cortés and his team guide medtech companies through every stage of expansion—evaluating competitive locations, structuring lease terms, and maximizing real estate strategies within the Free Trade Zone framework to drive cost efficiency and long-term operational success. His deep market knowledge and strategic approach make him a key partner for companies establishing or optimizing their footprint in Costa Rica’s thriving medtech ecosystem.

Sara E. Dyson, Esq. CPCU

Vice President, Underwriting Operations & Risk Management, at Medmarc Insurance Group

Sara E. Dyson, Esq. CPCU

Vice President, Underwriting Operations & Risk Management, at Medmarc Insurance Group

Sara Dyson is the vice president of Underwriting Operations & Risk Management for the Medmarc Insurance Group, which provides products liability insurance to the life sciences industry, primarily the manufacturers and distributors of medtech, pharmaceutical, and biological products. Dyson oversees the day-to-day management of Medmarc’s underwriting department, including its personnel and operations. She also manages Medmarc’s risk management department, which advises life sciences companies on products liability risk management strategies and assists with related specialty areas, such as FDA compliance, post-market surveillance, product safety, and recalls. She regularly performs evaluations of life sciences products and manufacturing operations to identify products liability risks and offer solutions to control potential losses and costs. Dyson received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School and is a member of the Wisconsin and Virginia Bar Associations. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Missouri. Dyson earned her certification as a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) in 2018. She is a member of the CPCU Society.

Anthony S. Freeman

President of A.S. Freeman Advisors LLC

Anthony S. Freeman

President of A.S. Freeman Advisors LLC

Tony Freeman leads A. S. Freeman Advisors, a transaction advisory firm focused on the precision manufacturing and specialty materials industries. With a focus on supply chain companies, Freeman Advisors offers buy-side and sell-side services as well as strategic consulting on market selection and value enhancement. Clients range from Fortune 500 firms to small, privately held companies in the life sciences, aerospace, electronics, and specialty chemical industries. Freeman also serves as executive director of mdmX, an industry organization for medical supply chain executives. He is a regular contributor to MPO and other industry publications. He holds a BA from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Columbia University.

Hannah Irwin

Director, Regulatory Affairs, at MCRA LLC

Hannah Irwin

Director, Regulatory Affairs, at MCRA LLC

Hannah Irwin serves as a director within MCRA’s Regulatory Affairs department, where she supports the department with the drafting, compilation, review, and maintenance of regulatory submissions, with a focus on orthopedic and spine devices. She assists with the drafting and submission of regulatory documents to the FDA on medical device submissions and handles strategy, analysis, and development of medical devices, as it relates to preparation for FDA and Notified Body approval. Prior to joining MCRA in October 2015, Irwin worked in clinical and regulatory affairs for a medical device company and performed research for a biotech company. She received her Bachelor of Science with a major in Biology from James Madison University.

Ronald Lachner

Vice Chair of AZOFRAS & Partner at BLP Legal

Ronald Lachner

Vice Chair of AZOFRAS & Partner at BLP Legal

Ronald Lachner is the vice chair of AZOFRAS, the Costa Rican Association of Free Trade Zones, and partner at BLP Legal, where he co-heads the Foreign Direct Investment practice. Lachner is a seasoned attorney who has dedicated over 30 years to advising international companies on their setup and daily operations in Costa Rica, with a special emphasis on the life sciences and medical device industries.

Laura López Salazar

CEO of PROCOMER

Laura López Salazar

CEO of PROCOMER

Prior to her appointment as General Manager of the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER), Laura López Salazar served as Deputy General Manager of the same organization, which is the national agency in charge of the promotion of exports and attraction of foreign direct investment in Costa Rica. She is an organizational strategist and specialist in the design of triple-bottom-line projects. López is focused on the development of programs to strengthen export companies, productive transformation initiatives for SMEs, and the development of the export and investment ecosystem. In addition, she is an advocate of initiatives that promote sustainable and inclusive development as an engine of growth for people, companies, and communities. An economist from the University of Costa Rica (UCR), she also holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, and a Master’s in Economic Development from the Institute of Social Studies Erasmus of Rotterdam University, The Netherlands.

Patrick Lynch

Principal at chainLEANk solutions

Patrick Lynch

Principal at chainLEANk solutions

Patrick Lynch is a sourcing and CMO leader in medical device supply chain and specializes in strategic sourcing, materials management, and procurement. He earned his undergrad in Supply Chain from Michigan State University, and has maintained ISM, ASQ, and APICS certifications in procurement, inventory management, quality auditing, and Six Sigma, in addition to having articles published on topics related to supply chain risk, ERP configuration, and kanban. During his career, he has helped companies such as General Motors, Illiumina, Abbott Labs, Callaway Golf, and several smaller startups. His latest achievements have included successful M&A support for TearFilm, risk management programs at Illumina and Abbott, along with assisting reshoring efforts for several companies.

Dave Mabie

Executive Vice President and Operating Partner at Cinova Medical

Dave Mabie

Executive Vice President and Operating Partner at Cinova Medical

Dave Mabie is executive vice president and operating partner at Cinova Medical, a vertically integrated contract manufacturer serving the medical device and life science industries. He started his thirty-year career in technical sales of medical raw materials, later moving into program management, marketing, and commercial roles for injection molded and machined metal components, and manufacturing of Class ll and Class lll single-use medical devices. From 2006 to 2019, he served as vice president, business development for outsourced manufacturing partners ATEK Medical (exited to VENTION Medical 2011), followed by Providien (exited to Carlisle CIT 2019) where he assisted the world’s leading medical device companies by shifting manufacturing within the U.S. and to Costa Rica and Mexico for improved quality, lower cost of manufacturing, and supply chain consolidation. Mabie has served as senior advisor to FOXCONN Medical, division of FOXCONN, the world’s largest electro-mechanical services provider. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, BS Business Administration.

Jim McCormack

Senior Global Commodity Manager at Hologic

Jim McCormack

Senior Global Commodity Manager at Hologic

Jim McCormack is an accomplished global supply chain leader in life sciences with an operations-focused finance background. At Hologic, he has over ten years of experience working extensively within the Costa Rica medical device sector. Areas of expertise include negotiating large complex supply agreements, plastics, and sterilization. During the pandemic, McCormack managed the scale-up of key suppliers that were instrumental in Hologic becoming one of the largest suppliers of molecular COVID-19 tests in the world. He has directed diverse global teams including procurement, strategic sourcing, supplier quality, and planning. Prior to Hologic, McCormack was responsible for Manufacturing Finance at a division of Parker Hannifin where he developed deep expertise in lean manufacturing. Jim has an MBA and an undergraduate degree in accounting from Bentley University.

Nicolas Medrano

Supply Chain Manager, Costa Rica, for Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies

Nicolas Medrano

Supply Chain Manager, Costa Rica, for Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies

Nicolas Medrano is an accomplished supply chain professional with over 18 years of experience in the medical devices, metal packaging, and food industries. As the Sr. manager of supply chain at Terumo BCT Costa Rica, Medrano leads a dynamic team responsible for planning, procurement, logistics, and warehouse activities. He played a pivotal role in transferring all supply chain activities from Lakewood, Colorado to Cartago, Costa Rica, supporting the production of disposables used in automated blood collection, therapeutic apheresis, pathogen reduction, and cell expansion systems. Medrano holds a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering and has earned certifications in Executive Mentoring from the Shingo Institute for Discover Excellence and Systems Designs. His extensive expertise and leadership have been instrumental in optimizing supply chain operations and driving continuous improvement initiatives.

Cecilia Monge

Sr. Director Global Supply Chain at Hologic Surgical

Cecilia Monge

Sr. Director Global Supply Chain at Hologic Surgical

Cecilia Monge is a supply chain senior director for three Facilities in Hologic—Costa Rica, Boston, and New Hampshire. Hologic supports women at every stage of life. Hologic develops life-changing medical technologies designed to achieve exceptional clinical results and help healthcare professionals treat each patient with ever-greater certainty. She is responsible for purchasing, planning, material engineering, traffic and logistics, and warehouse. Starting her career as a production manager, Monge has more than 30 years of experience in life science companies—15 years at Baxter and 14 years at Hologic. She received her Industrial Engineering degree from Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnología ULACIT. She received a Master’s degree in Trade Compliance from the University of Spain, Esden Business School. She also received a Master’s in Business Administration from Universidad Latinoamericana de Costa Rica.

Carolina Palma

Associate Partner for the Indirect Tax practice at EY—Central America and Dominican Republic

Carolina Palma

Associate Partner for the Indirect Tax practice at EY—Central America and Dominican Republic

Carolina Palma is an associate partner with Indirect Tax and leader of the Global Trade and Customs Division for Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic with more than 15 years of experience as a trade and customs attorney. She has advised businesses in establishing operations in Central America, in supply chain optimization, duty preferences, trade and customs compliance, customs valuation, and all import or export related matters. Palma is also a professor with the University of Costa Rica where she teaches the courses Dispute Resolution, Multilateral Trade, and Market Access. She formerly worked as a trade negotiator of Free Trade Agreements at the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica. As an attorney, she has advised governments, productive chambers, and businesses in trade and customs areas. Under her supervision, the Trade & Customs Team in Central America has carried out assessments for numerous companies in the region, including companies in the retail sector, pharma sector, customs agencies and customs brokers, and companies in the automotive industry. Palma holds two Masters’ degrees in International Law and International Trade. Furthermore, she concluded Ph.D. studies at Switzerland’s World Trade Institute at the University of Bern in 2019 and is expecting her Ph.D. degree.

Eduardo Ramos

Human Capital & Managing Director at Peoplexceed

Eduardo Ramos

Human Capital & Managing Director at Peoplexceed

Eduardo Ramos leads Human Capital services at Peoplexceed, advising businesses across industries—particularly in medical devices—on start-up companies, aligning talent attraction strategies, building HR structures, developing top leadership teams, retention strategies, and coaching executive career planning. With over 30 years of experience in executive HR leadership and consulting, he has held key roles in national and multinational healthcare companies across Costa Rica, Latin America, Spain, the UK, Italy, and other global markets. He has led complex transformations, developed business capabilities for growth, implemented regionalization and integration strategies, and culture development. Ramos holds degrees in Business Administration and Human Resources from Universidad Autónomade Centroamérica. He completed postgraduate studies in Human Resources at Universidad Autónomade Monterrey and earned a certification in Strategic Change Management from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University.

Juan Ruiz

Multi Site VP for Resonetics Costa Rica

Juan Ruiz

Multi Site VP for Resonetics Costa Rica

Juan Ruiz is a seasoned professional in the manufacturing operations of medical device industries. He is an expert in executing operational excellence while improving quality, reducing costs, generating increased revenue, and achieving EBITDA gains—all while creating customer value. A continuous improvement practitioner and transformational/servant leader, Ruiz is skilled at developing management teams, fostering an operational excellence culture, and building strong customer relationships. He was Resonetics Costa Rica's first employee, joining the company in 2015. He was responsible for building from scratch the first site and operations of Resonetics outside the U.S. Since then, Resonetics Costa Rica has grown to employ 530 people within their two sites, becoming Resonetics' second-highest revenue-generating site out of 17 locations. Ruiz holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Costa Rica and an MBA in Finance from the Costa Rica Technological Institute. He also has a Master's in Project Management from International Cooperation University.

Enrique Saborio

General Manager Costa Rica & Vice President Operations for Shockwave Medical, a J&J Company

Enrique Saborio

General Manager Costa Rica & Vice President Operations for Shockwave Medical, a J&J Company

Enrique Saborio’s career spans more than 30 years. Currently, he is part of Shockwave Medical, a Johnson & Johnson company, since September 2022. He joined as vice president of operations and was responsible for the establishment of a green-field operation. Prior to that, Saborio was responsible for a multi-site operation of TE Connectivity in Costa Rica. There, he was responsible to consolidate and ramp-up their medical components and catheter facilities. He also served as director of engineering and operations at Boston Scientific, where he was responsible for the start-up of a green-field to its full operation. Saborio also has experience in high-volume electronics from time at Intel Corp., where he served in multiple managerial positions at operations, engineering, and project management. He holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from Colorado State University and a BSc. from the University of Costa Rica.

Carolina Sánchez Chacón

Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Sector at PROCOMER

Carolina Sánchez Chacón

Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Sector at PROCOMER

Carolina Sánchez Chacón serves as the director of the Advanced Manufacturing Sector at PROCOMER, Costa Rica’s National Trade & Investment Promotion Agency, a position she has held since June 2023. She brings over 10 years of experience advising complex foreign direct investment projects in Costa Rica, specializing in the life sciences and advanced manufacturing sectors. Prior to her public sector role, she spent 20 years in the private sector working in areas such as advisory services, business development, international trade, and operations. Sánchez holds a Master's degree in International Trade Management from the National University of Costa Rica and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in International Trade from Universidad Latina de Costa Rica.

Carlos Valdes

Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs for Solesis

Carlos Valdes

Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs for Solesis

Carlos Valdes currently serves as the vice president of Quality and Regulatory Affairs for Solesis, an innovative provider of biomaterials solutions and services primarily focused on the medtech and biopharma industries. Throughout his tenure, he has been a strategic leader, helping navigate many phases of growth, technology expansion, and acquisitions for private equity-backed Solesis. He is currently leading all phases of Solesis’ global expansion into Costa Rica. Valdes has held several leadership roles in engineering, operations, and quality management over the last 30 years, primarily in manufacturing, technology, and entrepreneurial companies. He holds a Master’s degree in Technology Management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and School of Engineering of Applied Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bucknell University.

Priscilla Vargas

Environmental & Industrial Engineer at Siel Siel S.A.

Priscilla Vargas

Environmental & Industrial Engineer at Siel Siel S.A.

With over 25 years of experience, Priscilla Vargas Bolaños has become a recognized leader in environmental impact assessment, sustainability, and industrial compliance. Holding a Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, she specializes in guiding key industrial sectors—particularly medical device manufacturing—toward sustainable and responsible operations. Her deep industry expertise, combined with a sharp understanding of regulatory frameworks and market demands, allows her to develop innovative strategies that align environmental responsibility with business success.