Primary Job Title Board Member Primary Organization Bigfoot Biomedical
Location Los Altos, California, United States Regions San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, West Coast Gender Female
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Karen Talmadge is an award-winning entrepreneur, executive and scientist in the biomedical industry, currently serving as president of Nabu Strategic Advisors, a Silicon Valley-based consulting business she started in 2011 to advise entrepreneurs and early-stage companies in health care.
Dr. Talmadge retired at the end of 2010 as vice president,
chief science officer of Medtronic Spine, Kyphon Products Division. She was also a Bakken Fellow following her 2009 induction into the Bakken Society, Medtronic’s highest scientific and technical honor. In 1994, Dr. Talmadge co-founded Kyphon, a minimally invasive orthopaedic spine medical device company, and served as a Board member, its chief executive officer for the first five years and in other executive positions until its acquisition by Medtronic in 2007.
Prior to starting Kyphon, Dr. Talmadge held multiple science and business positions at California Biotechnology (later called Scios Inc., now a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), including vice president, research and development for its diabetes and obesity subsidiary, Metabolic Biosystems. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her work and leadership, including the 2004 Patient Quality of Life Award from the International Myeloma Foundation, the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Phoenix Medical Device CEO Conference and the Charles H. Best Medal for service in the cause of diabetes from the American Diabetes Association (Association) in 2010 and 2013. The Silicon Valley Business Journal named her a Woman of Influence in 2013.
