Cross to Chair Alphatec Spine

Leslie Cross, the nearly 30-year veteran of DJO’s (nee Smith & Nephew) bracing business has agreed to become Alphatec Spine, Inc.’s new Chairman of the Board replacing outgoing Chair, Mortimer Berkowitz, III, who is also President of Alphatec’s largest shareholder—HealthpointCapital.

Cross recently retired as the president and CEO of DJO Global, Inc. but continues to serve as a Director and Chairman of DJO Global’s board. During his tenure Cross guided the firm through many incarnations, including taking it public in 2001 selling 7.8 million shares to the public at $17 per share and, more recently merging with ReAble Therapeutics in a deal worth a spectacular $1.3 billion.

Cross has held virtually every job there is in orthopedics and he is largely responsible for building DJO Global into the international manufacturer and distributor of electrotherapy products, orthopedic implants and orthopedic rehabilitation products that it is today.

Mortimer Berkowitz, III, the chairman of the Executive Committee of Alphatec Spine, said, “I am pleased that Les Cross has agreed to serve as the chairman of our Board of Directors. Les is a highly talented business leader who has repeatedly driven growth, profitability and shareholder value in the orthopedics industry. Having known Les for many years, we were pleased to recruit him to join the Board of Directors earlier this year and we believe that he will be an outstanding chairman of the Board of Directors.”

Dirk Kuyper, Alphatec Spine’s president and CEO, said “I look forward to working closely with Les as we drive towards our goal of being a Top-5 global market leader.”

Alphatec Spine is a medical device company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets products for the surgical treatment of spine disorders, primarily focused on the aging spine.