Fortis Life Sciences is led by executives with deep industry expertise,
strategic insight, and a steadfast commitment to innovation.
With domain experience across antibodies, diagnostics, genomics,
nanomaterials, and viral vectors, they bring a proven record
of strengthening respected brands and driving growth.
Together, they guide the company forward with clarity, purpose,
and a bold focus on sustainable progress that supports customer
discoveries that shape medicine, diagnostics, and applied science.
John R. Bagnuolo is a seasoned CEO who has led multiple exits for private equity sponsored companies. He has extensive experience in the healthcare, technology and pharmaceutical industries. He held senior leadership positions with Danaher & Johnson & Johnson earlier in his career.
John’s focus is on building scalable & sustainable growth cultures. He is a hands-on leader who builds strong teams and leads through his team while building strong leaders at all levels of the organization.
Most recently he was the CEO of Transcendia Corporation, a provider of engineered materials serving pharmaceutical & healthcare customers.
John holds an M.B.A. from DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Northern Illinois University.
Chief Financial Officer
John Hakola
John leads the overall finance, accounting, and IT teams at Fortis, bringing more than 20 years of experience to his role. He has led global finance teams and has a wide range of overall corporate governance experience. John has a passion for developing strong teams and driving engagement cross-functionally.
Prior to joining Fortis, John was the Vice President, Principal Accounting Officer at Orchid Orthopedic Solutions, a contract manufacturer in the orthopedic industry. During his 14 years at Orchid, John held several roles within the finance and accounting team, prior to becoming the Principal Accounting Officer. Prior to Orchid, John started his career in public accounting, spending 8 years with PwC, mainly serving Life Science companies.
John earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from Ohio University.
Chief Commercial Officer
Scott A. Taillie
Scott leads Commercial strategy and marketing for Fortis Life Sciences across the businesses. He brings more than 30 years of experience in life sciences commercial leadership, spanning diagnostics, toxicology, and laboratory services.
Prior to joining Fortis, Scott held senior leadership roles at Alere and Abbott. He serves as Vice Chairman of The National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association and a Trustee of the NDASA Foundation.
Scott holds a B.A. in Business Administration and Marketing from Webster University.
General Manager, Antibody Solutions
Cindy Horton
Cindy Horton is a seasoned biotech executive with more than 20 years of leadership experience in point-of-care diagnostics and laboratory services.
She spent nearly two decades at Alere, including as Vice President and General Manager of its Toxicology Core business, and later served as Senior Vice President of Abbott's Toxicology business unit. She went on to serve as CEO of Healgen Scientific and Premier Biotech.
Cindy's expertise spans commercial growth, operational excellence, strategic planning, and business process improvement.
Senior Director, Human Resources
Oswaldo Lopez
Oswaldo Lopez is a global human resources executive with more than 25 years of experience supporting business growth, organizational transformation, and operational effectiveness across life sciences, manufacturing, and other complex industries.
Prior to joining Fortis Life Sciences, Oswaldo held senior HR leadership roles with RiceTec, Monsanto, Rich Products, and Ford Motor Company, across the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia. His expertise includes organizational design, M&A integration, talent strategy, and building scalable organizations to enable sustainable business growth.
Oswaldo holds both a BBA and MBA from Tecnológico de Monterrey and has completed executive education programs at Harvard, Stanford, and Northwestern Kellogg.
Vice President, Commercial Operations
Jeff Hurst
Jeff has over 15 years of experience bringing science-driven technologies to market across diagnostics, biopharma, and advanced optical technologies.
As Vice President, Commercial Operations, he draws on his experience in sales, marketing, product management, and operations to connect technical capabilities with customer needs.
Jeff has a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Washington.
Senior Director, Antibody Solutions Business Unit, Sales and Marketing
Chris Woodward
Chris Woodward is a senior commercial leader with extensive experience driving revenue growth across life sciences and medical instrumentation sectors.
He has held leadership roles at Fortis Life Sciences, Cell Signaling Technology, Miltenyi Biotec, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and WCG Clinical.
Chris holds a B.B.A. in Marketing from Duquesne University.
Board of Directors
Strategic oversight and guidance that keep Fortis disciplined,
growth-oriented, and aligned with long-term scientific
and commercial objectives.
Board of Directors
David P. King
David P. King is a respected senior healthcare executive who operates with a strong emphasis on deeply understanding the healthcare industry, strategic planning, "playing the long game," and staying ahead of rapidly evolving industry trends and challenges. He uses the insights gained in his 20+ year healthcare career in providing strategic and operational advice to industry stakeholders.
David most recently served as executive chair and CEO of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (Labcorp). Under his leadership, Labcorp transformed from a pure-play U.S. testing laboratory into a leading global life sciences company — tripling in size through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions, entering the Fortune 500, and being named to Fortune's List of World's Most Admired Companies. It is now the world's largest clinical laboratory and second-largest drug development business. In 2019, Forbes named David to its list of America's Most Innovative Leaders.
Prior to joining Labcorp, David was a partner at Hogan & Hartson LLP (now Hogan Lovells) where he was a key leader in the firm's healthcare fraud and abuse practice, representing national healthcare companies in investigations and litigation. He was also an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.
David's board service includes non-executive chair of Privia Health (NASDAQ:PRVA); nonexecutive chair of ZimVie (NASDAQ:ZIMV); and board member of several privately-held companies. David's community service includes serving as a board member of Novant Health, a multi-state integrated health system; and on the advisory board and executive committee of Duke University's Robert J. Margolis, MD, Center for Health Policy. Mr. King previously served on the board of Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), a Fortune 20 healthcare company; PATH, a nonprofit global health organization (board chair from 2018 to 2021); The Emily K Center, a college-readiness center founded by Duke Men's Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski; and the American Clinical Laboratory Association, (board chair from 2010 to 2014).
Mr. King holds a bachelor's degree, cum laude, from Princeton University and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Board of Directors
Darren M. Black
Darren joined Summit Partners in 2013 and focuses on healthcare and life sciences investments. He currently serves on multiple healthcare boards including LifeStance Health, Sound Physicians, U.S. Renal Care, VaxCare, and others.
Prior to Summit, Darren was a Managing Partner at SV Life Sciences and previously co-founded and led two healthcare companies. He began his career in healthcare consulting at Accenture.
Darren holds an A.B. from Harvard College and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Board of Directors
Ross D. Stern
Ross joined Summit Partners in 2009 and focuses on healthcare and life sciences investments. His board experience spans healthcare services, practice management, diagnostics, and specialty pharmaceutical platforms.
Previously, Ross worked at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and in healthcare investment banking at Cowen & Company.
Ross holds a B.A. from Bowdoin College and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Board of Directors
Julie Coletti
Julie Coletti is EVP, Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer at Align Technology, a global medical device company and leader in digital dentistry. She advises the Board and Executive Committee and leads legal, regulatory, and quality organizations worldwide.
Prior to Align, Julie served as Vice President and Global General Counsel for Danaher's Dental Platform and held senior leadership roles at Bayer HealthCare.
Board of Directors
Heiner Dreismann, PhD
Heiner brings more than 35 years of experience in molecular diagnostics and life sciences leadership. A pioneer in the early commercialization of PCR technology, he held multiple global leadership roles at Roche Diagnostics, including President and CEO of Roche Molecular Systems.
Heiner has served on numerous public and private boards across the U.S., Europe, and Israel and is widely recognized for advancing molecular diagnostic platforms globally.
