WallabyPhenox Group Appoints James Lago as CEO to Accelerate its Global Expansion

Shanghai, Laguna Hills & Bochum, September 1, 2023 – Wallaby Medical Holding, Inc. (“WallabyPhenox Group”) are proud to announce James Lago as CEO, effective April 2023. This marks an exciting new chapter for the Group as it accelerates its global expansion, a year on from the successful acquisition of phenox Inc. “I fully support this strategic leadership appointment,” commented Liu Bing, Founder and Chairman of WallabyPhenox Group, “and I am excited to work together to build an integrated and highly-efficient global team, creating greater social value.”

Having spent time at the Shanghai office, James has been honored as "The Most Charming Uncle" by the new-generation of WallabyPhenox China employees, who affectionately call him "Uncle James", to which he responds with a polite “Nihao”.

WallabyPhenox Group has become a global leader in the neurovascular field, since its foundation in 2015, recognized for its strategic vision, commitment to the China market and unwavering focus on delivering high-quality products to patients worldwide. So how will James Lago lead this new team to win wider respect and recognition in the global market?

East Meets West

WallabyPhenox Group’s vision is to “save the most lives impacted by stroke”. After joining hands with phenox, the synergistic strength of these two businesses became increasingly apparent. Wallaby Medical is the representative of "Intelligent Manufacturing in China" in the neurovascular field, and phenox owns a worldwide sales network. Both companies have an established corporate image of "high technology, high quality and excellent service". The merger has created huge synergies in product portfolio and geographic coverage. This enables the Group to become a global leader in providing a wide range of neurovascular technologies and solutions to its customers and patients in more than 60 international markets.

As CEO, James brings more than 30 years of experience in marketing, sales and leadership of multinational medical device companies, of which over 20 years have been deeply involved in neurovascular field. Prior to the acquisition, he was the global General Manager of Commercial for phenox for many years. Liu Bing has rich experience in R&D and manufacturing system management, quality registration and product commercialization operations, as well as a deep understanding of the China market. The collaboration between them will accelerate WallabyPhenox Group’s local operation in China, and its global expansion as an innovative and dynamic multinational enterprise that commits to providing world-class products.

Accelerating Globalization

To drive strategic synergy, James has adopted the well-known Success Tree Strategy Structure. This clearly and simply articulates the WallabyPhenox Group strategy in a way that all employees can understand and helps them to align their own personal goals with the company’s. "Having spent many years leading international sales teams, I understand the power of having clear and transparent corporate strategic objectives that allow a global team to work together towards a common goal. This not only improves efficiency and accelerates business development but helps employees to feel more of a sense of belonging." explains James.

WallabyPhenox Group will harness the power of their impressive, combined product portfolio in a number of ways. Bringing phenox’s leading products, such as pRESET thrombectomy device and p48/64 flow modulation device, to the China market, benefiting Chinese stroke patients as quickly as possible. Equally, taking high-quality products manufactured in China, such as Avenir coil system, Esperance® distal access catheter and pNOVUS™ 17 microcatheter, to other global markets. The “Intelligent manufacturing in China" brand also brings huge opportunity for further expansion globally. In the future, new products, technologies and solutions will be launched globally at the same time, eliminating the product generation gap between developed and other markets. This means the Group’s world-class stroke solutions can equally benefit patients around the world.

Delivering this ambitious strategy requires a talented team, something WallabyPhenox Group are focused on. “Over the last few months, I’ve spent time in our offices in United States, China, Germany and Ireland, talking to our employees.” said James “I could feel a real sense of unity and an eagerness and determination to build a multi-national century-old company. This spirit deeply inspired me!". James Lago will work with the team to retain the strengths of existing talent and motivate employees to explore their potential, building a sustainable pipeline that will drive the business into the future and create the foundation for century-long success.

Embracing Market Challenges

Like Founder & Chairman Liu Bing, new CEO James embraces a growth mindset as a core principle of his leadership style, shaped by his unique upbringing and professional experience. From the age of 10-16, James was involved in the family janitorial business, and immersed in the competitive business environment of the United States, which honed his entrepreneurial spirit. In the ensuing decades, James has put this to good use in every job he did - from hospital operator, bedside nursing, physiologic monitoring specialist, medical device clinical specialist to the leader of overseas marketing and sales for multinational enterprise. "We can never know what's going to happen next, so it's important to enjoy the journey while staying true to our beginnings! The only way to evolve your capabilities is to keep learning and growing with an open mind, keep thinking out of the box, and keep evolving your abilities." commented James.

In recent years, the China and global markets have become more and more diverse, complex and unstable. In the face of market uncertainties that cannot be eliminated, James will lead the business to meet these challenges with a stable core. "A patient’s survival and their quality of life are not only crucial to that individual but affects their family and society as a whole. Therefore, WallabyPhenox Group encourages its employees to treat every patient as their own family member, and to take great care in development, production and selection of devices for use every time. We certainly hope that our world-class stroke solutions will help more patients around the world, and that they will continue to benefit from innovations and developments in medical technology, so that more and more families will be revitalized."

Since James Lago’ appointment as CEO, WallabyPhenox Group is embarking on a new journey. We are looking forward to his leadership to take the business to new heights!