Management Team

 

Peter M. DeComo,
CEO

Pete DeComo is the CEO of Renal Solutions, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fresenius Medical Care. Mr. DeComo, a co-founder, served as the Chairman and CEO of Renal Solutions subsequent to the acquisition and merger. He was previously the COO of HemoTherapies Inc. where he led the commercialization of the only FDA-cleared Liver Dialysis System. Mr. DeComo was Senior Vice President of the Specialty Pharmacy Division for Olsten Health Services, now Accredo, a $600 million specialty pharmacy provider. Prior to joining Olsten, Mr. DeComo held numerous senior level positions in the health care industry.

 

Mr. DeComo currently serves as a member of Congressman Jason Altmire’s Health Advisory Committee and is a director on the boards of the National Kidney Foundation of the Alleghenies, ThermalTherapeutic Systems, Inc., ClearCount Medical Solutions, Inc., Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse and the Pittsburgh Technology Council. He has also served as a director on the board of Curative Health Services (NASDAQ: CURE).

 

Mr. DeComo is the recipient of numerous “Entrepreneur of the Year” awards having been recognized by Ernst & Young in 2008, Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association in 2007, and the Carnegie Science Center in 2005. Mr. DeComo received his MS and BS degrees in Healthcare/Business Management from the University of Pittsburgh.

 

Derrick L. Latos,
MD MACP, Medical Director

Derrick L. Latos, MD, MACP is Medical Director of Renal Solutions and also serves as Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board.  He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the West Virginia University School of Medicine and Medical Director for Wheeling Renal Care, LLC. in Wheeling, W.V.  He is past president of the Forum of ESRD Networks and of the Renal Physicians Association.  Dr. Latos also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Nephrology News and Issues and on the Board of the National Kidney Foundation of the Alleghenies.  He has been widely published in peer-reviewed literature on numerous nephrology topics.

 

John J. Maholtz,
Senior Vice President, Engineering & Operations 

Mr. Maholtz joined Renal Solutions in June of 2003 as Senior Vice President of Engineering and Operations.  Immediately prior to joining Renal Solutions he served as Director of Global Market Operations for Free Markets, Inc., a publicly traded company based in Pittsburgh, PA. He was responsible for services in North America, Europe and Asia.  Prior to joining Free Markets, he served as Vice President of Global Marketing and Distribution for Oberg Industries, a privately held tool and die manufacturer.  Before Oberg, Mr. Maholtz was with Respironics Inc. as Manager of Engineering.  In that capacity, he was responsible for new product development and sustaining engineering.  In that role he led the team that won the Society of Plastics Engineers 1995 “Consumer Product of the Year Award.”  Mr. Maholtz also held senior engineering positions at Bayer Corporation and Amp Incorporated.  Mr. Maholtz holds an MS Degree in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University.

 

R. Preston Thompson,
Senior Vice President, SORB™ Technology, Inc.

Mr. Thompson is Senior Vice President and General Manager of SORB™ Technology, Inc. He has over 25 years experience in sorbent regenerative dialysis disposables operations, holding previous positions as operations director, production manager, chemical R&D manager, technical buyer, and quality control supervisor.  Mr. Thompson was the lead chemical engineer for the revised development of the sorbent cartridges in the early 1980s and has led the recent development of the Company’s advanced sorbent cartridge series. Mr. Thompson has been awarded 3 patents related to disposable devices in the dialysis field. Mr. Thompson holds an MBA in general management, with a BS in management and a BS in chemistry.

 

Dave Updyke,
Senior Vice President, Technical Marketing

Mr. Updyke is Senior Vice President of Technical Marketing for Renal Solutions, where he is responsible for overseeing the development of specifications for sorbent products and technical innovations. Prior to his current role, Mr. Updyke served in numerous senior-level positions at Fresenius Medical Care for over 20 years. Most recently, he served as the Vice President of Future Technology Implementation, where he was responsible for determining the direction of sorbent technology within the Fresenius family of products. As Vice President of Dialysis Service Technology, he was responsible for New Therapy Support, which included the nationwide roll-out of the online clearance/adequacy monitoring, monthly access flow monitoring, and the Urea Kinetic Modeling programs. In this position he was also responsible for overseeing operations of NephroMed Distribution, a start-up company with $50 million in annual sales, as well as the Fresenius Medical Care Pharmacy Services, Risk Management Department, and Fresenius US Vascular Services.

 

David J. Vanella,
Senior Vice President of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs

David J. Vanella joined Renal Solutions in April 2005, where he oversees regulatory affairs and quality initiatives. Prior to this position, Mr. Vanella served in numerous leadership and regulatory positions at Respironics (now Phillips) during his 13-year tenure. At Respironics he served in the role of Director of Quality Assurance for the $400 million Homecare Division where he was responsible for all compliance activities for manufacturing, distribution and corporate facilities. Prior to this role he served as Manager of Regulatory Affairs and was responsible for worldwide regulatory product market approvals., Mr. Vanella was successful in obtaining over 25 product approvals including the C-Flex CPAP system that revolutionized CPAP therapy for treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Mr. Vanella currently serves as the medical device expert on the Safety Advisory Board for SRI, an accredited registrar that issues quality, medical device, and various quality system registrations. Mr. Vanella holds an MS degree in Business Administration from Duquesne University and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.