Paul
Geyer,
CEO and Chair (Management
& Director)
Paul Geyer
graduated with a B.A.Sc. in electrical engineering from the University of British
Columbia in 1988. In 1991, he founded Mitroflow International Inc., a medical
device company that developed and commercialized bovine tissue heart valves.
As the company's president and CEO, Mr. Geyer grew Mitroflow from a start-up
of nine employees and an investment of $800 thousand in 1991 to more than 125
employees in 1999, when he sold the company to Swiss firm Sulzer Medica for
more than $50 million. Mitroflow, now part of Sorin Group, continues to be one
of the largest medical device companies in the Vancouver area.
In 1998, Mr. Geyer received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Richmond (B.C.) Chamber of Commerce. In 1999, he was named as one of Business in Vancouver newspaper’s “Top 40 Under 40,” an award given to honour outstanding young businesspeople in the city of Vancouver. In the same year, Business in Vancouver also designated Mitroflow as one of British Columbia’s “50 Fastest Growing Companies.”
Mr. Geyer continued as president of Mitroflow until 2001, when he founded Medical Ventures Corp. (TSXV:MEV), a public medical devices firm specializing in products for the quickly growing vascular and surgical market.
Mr. Geyer is an active angel investor and supporter of local technology and life sciences firms. He is on the board of directors of the LifeSciences British Columbia industry association as well as a director for several private and public companies. He served previously on the board of directors for the Medical Device Development Centre (MDDC) and MEDEC, the association representing medical device companies across Canada. Since 2003, Mr. Geyer has been actively participating as a member of the board of governors at Science World British Columbia, where he took on the role as the board chair in May 2007. Mr. Geyer has been instrumental in the establishment of Science World's new life sciences gallery, "Body Works."