Leadership Team
Intellijoint Surgical was created from a capstone project at the University of Waterloo. Realizing that orthopaedic surgeons rely on experience and judgement to make critical cuts and position implants during total hip arthroplasty (THA) our trio of co-founders identified an opportunity. Armen Bakirtzian, Richard Fanson and Andre Hladio sought to deliver surgical navigation without the hurdles created by complicated systems, that were often repurposed from other surgical areas. Intellijoint HIP®, our flagship product, was designed specifically to be helpful, reliable and easy to use for THA.
Our vision is to be an independent, global MedTech leader, providing enabling technologies for musculoskeletal health
Armen Bakirtzian, MHSC
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
Armen leads increased market adoption and team growth, manages strategic partnerships, investor and government relations, and fundraising. He is passionate about growing the Canadian medtech industry and seeing patients around the world benefit from Canadian innovation. He spearheaded the creation of MIX--Canada’s first industry-led innovative hub dedicated to helping medtech companies scale within Canada. Armen holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and a master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto.
Andre Hladio, MASC
Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder
Andre contributes meticulous project management skills, which are applied to product development, regulatory and legal, as well as manufacturing activities. His previous technical and management experience spans the automotive, bio-medical, architectural and defense industries. His Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering, and Master’s in Electrical and Computer Engineering are from the University of Waterloo.
Richard Fanson, MASC
Chief Science Officer and Co-Founder
Richard brings an exceptional technological and analytical background particularly in all things mechanical and electrical. His previous experiences were on advanced product development teams at General Motors and Critical Systems Labs. His bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering is from the University of Waterloo, and Master’s in Medical Robotics is from McMaster University.