AtriCure Names Michael Carrel President and Chief Executive Officer

AtriCure

, a medical device company and a leader in cardiac surgical ablation systems for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, or AF, and systems for the exclusion of the left atrial appendage, today announced that Michael Carrel has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective immediately. Mike Carrel was most recently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Vital Images, a publicly-traded medical imaging software company

, from 2008 until it was sold to Toshiba in 2011. He stayed on as Chief Executive Officer of the new business unit within Toshiba until 2012 when the integration was successfully completed. He originally joined Vital Images in January 2005 as Chief Operating and Financial Officer. During his time at Vital, Mike worked extensively with surgeons, cardiologists, radiologists, oncologists and neurologists in developing and taking new products to market. Under his leadership, the company grew revenue and profitability, increased global market share, expanded its presence to over 90 countries and raised $100 million in equity financing. "Mike is an industry veteran with an excellent track record for growing organizations, driving corporate development activities and successfully building commercial platforms to create value for shareholders," said Dick Johnston, Chairman of AtriCure's Board of Directors. "We believe that his leadership and operational expertise will lead AtriCure to enhanced profitability and success as we seek to continue to grow our market share in the US and expand our international business. We welcome Mike to AtriCure and are confident that the Company can continue to build from its solid foundation and strong growth prospects."