NEWTON, Mass.– Lumicell, Inc., a privately held company focused on developing innovative fluorescence-guided imaging technologies for cancerous tissue detection during surgery, is proud to announce the appointment of Howard Hechler as Chief Executive Officer.
“The Board of Directors is highly confident in Howard’s ability to inspire robust investment into this unparalleled opportunity,” said Andrey Zarur, PhD, Executive Chairman, Lumicell, and CEO, Green Light Biosciences. “His vision is compelling, to unite surgical oncology under Lumicell’s imaging platform and enable every cancer surgery patient to go home cancer-free.”
More than 17 million people are diagnosed with solid tumors each year, the majority of whom will have surgery as their first-line treatment. There is a need to help these patients with intraoperative imaging to guide surgeons and optimize surgical outcomes.
“I’m fully committed to executing our key initiatives, with a strong emphasis on driving deep and sustained market adoption. Building upon Lumicell’s historic FDA-approval earlier this year, we’re focused on expanding the platform across the continuum of solid tumor cancers,” said Hechler.
“The opportunity to work with the combination of life-changing technology and truly exceptional employees is a rare find. I’m honored to lead this team into Lumicell’s future, furthering our mission to meaningfully improve the standard of care for cancer surgery, bringing hope and positive outcomes to patients across the world.”
Hechler joined Lumicell as SVP of Corporate Development & Strategy and was then promoted to President and now CEO. His prior experience spans investment banking, management consulting and extensive partnering/M&A work at large medical device and biopharmaceutical companies, including Medtronic, Smith & Nephew, and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. He graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and received his MBA and juris doctorate from the University of Virginia.
