Grand Bahama
Okyanos Heart Institute in Grand Bahama Names Manuel Vianna As COO
By MMI Public Relations
May 10, 2012 - 11:53:08 AM

FREEPORT, Bahamas – Okyanos Heart Institute (http://www.okyanos.com/ ), which brings a new standard of care and a better quality of life to patients with “no-option” coronary artery disease (CAD) via cardiac stem cell therapy, has announced that co-founder Manuel Vianna will serve as chief operating officer. As COO, Vianna will report to the chief executive officer and will be responsible for the company’s day-to-day operating activities, including revenues and growth, as well as expense, cost and margin control. Along with co-founder and CEO Matt Feshbach, Vianna established the healthcare institution to provide coronary artery disease patients with a new standard of care and a better quality of life through cardiac adult stem cell therapy.

Vianna, who was born in Lisbon, Portugal, earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Mass. and a bachelor’s degree with a specialization in production engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With a diverse and global business background, Vianna previously served as the chief financial officer and a member of the executive committee of Diskeeper Corporation, a software firm. Previously he worked for the Monitor Group for almost 20 years, rising through the Management Consulting division’s ranks to partner and member of the Global Operating Committee. Later he led the public equities investment division of Monitor and was elected to the Monitor Group’s board of directors. In addition to his position at Okyanos Heart Institute, Vianna is currently the chairman of the board of Suncoast Rehabilitation Center, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to drug rehabilitation in Florida.

“All of us at Okyanos Heart Institute are extremely pleased to have our co-founder, Manuel, lead Okyanos as COO,” said Feshbach. ”Manuel is extremely passionate about his work, and this passion will help to foster the growth and development of Okyanos Heart Institute as we move forward in helping improve the lives of those dealing with chronic coronary artery disease through the advanced treatment option of cardiac adult stem cell therapy.”

“Manuel will provide excellent guidance on an operational level to Okyanos Heart Institute, an organization focused on improving the lives of those struggling day-to-day with CAD,” said Howard T. Walpole Jr., M.D., MBA, FACC, FACAI, FSCAI and chief medical officer for Okyanos Heart Institute. “Under Manuel’s leadership, we look forward to the expansion and growth that is to come, as he is focused on hiring more than 25 medical and support staff in Freeport.”

ABOUT OKYANOS HEART INSTITUTE:

Based in Freeport, The Bahamas, the Okyanos Heart Institute is a Center of Excellence (CoE) adhering to U.S. surgical center standards and led by Chief Medical Officer Howard Walpole Jr., M.D., MBA, FACC, FACAI, FSCAI, a leader of the American College of Cardiology for many years. The mission of Okyanos Heart Institute is to bring a new standard of care and a better quality of life to patients with “no-option” coronary artery disease via cardiac adult stem cell therapy. The Greek god of rivers, “Okyanos” symbolizes the primary mechanism of action that these adult stem cells have on ischemic (lack of blood flow) heart tissue, the result of the plaque deposits in the coronary arteries. The stem cells, derived from a person’s adipose (fat) tissue, create new blood vessels, a process known as angiogenesis. These cells facilitate blood flow in the heart and intake and use of oxygen, as measured by a rigorous clinical trial known as the PRECISE trial, as well as cardiac cell therapy trials at leading research institutions. For more information, visit http://www.okyanos.com/.

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