Bernie Andreas

Bernie attributes his strong personal values and “will do” mindset to his parents, who immigrated from Germany to California a few years before he was born. Growing up, Bernie witnessed firsthand that almost anything was possible with a goal, a plan and a solid work ethic. A key formative example illustrates how he lived out his belief: his goal was to attend college; his plan was to use his talents as a mechanic; and his solid work ethic enabled him to earn and save enough money to cover his University of California, Davis, tuition.

After graduating from UC Davis with bachelor’s degrees in both mechanical engineering and materials science, Bernie applied for what he believed was an ideal engineering opportunity with a medtech company, a position he learned during the interview had already been filled. At that point, his career could have taken a drastic turn when he was offered more senior engineering positions at companies in other fields.

However, undeterred in his desire to follow his passion and armed with that “will do” mindset, Bernie got his first taste of the medtech world by joining DVI, a company that later became part of Guidant, in an entry-level position. He was quickly promoted to a role as an R&D engineer, designing and developing medical devices. That began an illustrious career in the medtech industry, where he has helped create therapies that have improved the quality of life of tens of thousands of individuals.

Over his career, Bernie has held senior management roles with both industry pillars and startups, including Chrono Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson, Acclarent, The Foundry and Perclose. His decades of R&D engineering experiences provided him a solid foundation in innovation that led to him earn more than 100 medical device patents and co-found two companies, Xtent and ReSept Medical Inc.

Bernie appreciates the opportunity he has at Fogarty Innovation to work alongside a group of professionals who have already achieved excellence in their careers and now share their years of industry experience to mentor, support, educate and elevate the next generation of medtech innovators.