J. Richard Damron, Jr. President and Chief Executive Officer and Director
J. Richard Damron, Jr. has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director since February 2001. Mr. Damron served as a consultant to Home Diagnostics from August 2000 to February 2001. Mr. Damron has been employed in the medical products industry since 1980, in both operational and financial roles. Prior to joining Home Diagnostics, Mr. Damron was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Apollo Eye Group, Inc. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions and Chief Financial Officer of Chiron Vision Corp, was a partner in the investment firm of Tullis Cook & Co., and was the Executive Vice President of Operations at Cooper Vision Cilco. Mr. Damron holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Marshall University.
George H. Holley Chairman of the Board
George H. Holley has served as Chairman of the Board and director of Home Diagnostics since 1985. Mr. Holley is the co-founder of Home Diagnostics. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company from 1994 to 1997. Mr. Holley has served as President of U.S. Sign & Fabrication, a signage wholesaler, since 1991 and as President of Eye Level Corp., a consumer products company, since 2001. Prior to starting his own business ventures, Mr. Holley was employed with General Electric from 1967 through 1979. Mr. Holley holds a Master of Business Administration in Management/Marketing from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.
Donald P. Parson has served as Vice Chairman of the Board since 2001 and has been a director of Home Diagnostics since 1996. Mr. Parson is of counsel to the New York law firm of Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke LLP, which acts as corporate counsel to Home Diagnostics. He is a director of two publicly traded mutual funds, Philadelphia Fund and Eagle Growth Fund. Mr. Parson received a Juris Doctorate from Syracuse University College of Law, an L.L.M. from New York University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University.
G. Douglas Lindgren has served as a director of Home Diagnostics since March 2006. Since 1991, Mr. Lindgren has been President of Lindgren Equity Capital, Inc, a private equity firm he founded to invest in leveraged buy-outs and venture capital investments. Prior to that, Mr. Lindgren was President and CEO of Hunter-Melnor, Inc., which manufactured and marketed Hunter ceiling fans, Melnor lawn care products, and Kenroy lighting. His career has included various sales and marketing positions with General Electric Company, Texas Instruments, and The Toro Company. Mr. Lindgren holds a Bachelor of Arts from University of Washington and a Masters in Business Administration from University of Michigan.
Richard A. Upton has served as a director of Home Diagnostics since March 2006. He is the President of Upton Advisors, LLC, a healthcare investment bank. Mr. Upton has been advising companies since 1993, both as a senior healthcare investment banker for Salomon Brothers and for Bear, Stearns & Co. and as an independent advisor. Mr. Upton has served as a director of numerous private companies and serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Pine Hill Waldorf School. Mr. Upton holds a Masters in Business Administration from University of Virginia's Darden School of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College.
Tom Watlington was appointed as a director of Home Diagnostics in 2007. Mr. Watlington is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Triage Wireless Inc., a San Diego-based medical device company that is developing a wireless vital signs monitoring system that includes a blood pressure monitor without cuffs. Mr. Watlington brings over 25 years experience in the medical device sector to Home Diagnostics. During 2006 while at Triage Wireless, he served a dual role as President of Naviscan Pet Systems, a medical imaging company. For ten years, he served as Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Biosite Inc., a leader in the field of medical diagnostics. In addition, he spent fourteen years at Boehringer Mannheim Corporation in various sales, marketing and strategic roles including Vice President of Marketing for the Diabetes Care division. Mr. Watlington received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland.