CEO Clements steps aside at Firefly Medical

After less than a year as chief executive at Firefly Medical Inc., Rene Clements is stepping out of that role.

In a May 19 letter to individuals associated with the company, Clements announced her intention to step aside as CEO at the Fort Collins startup.

“As we move toward closing the initial round (of investments) and opening the Series A round, our advisors have been recommending that we add industry experience all the way down the chain,” Clements wrote.

In October, Clements detailed her plan to join Firefly as CEO. The plan included selling her consulting company, The Clements Co. LLC.

“I’ve never really thought of leaving what I’ve created to go work for someone else,” Clements said in a Business Report interview in October. “It was just the right time, the right person and the right opportunity.”

Shortly after accepting the CEO position, Clements sold her company to Longmont-based Human Resource Management Consultants.

Clements’ decision to step down was about what she felt was the best for Firefly and its investors, she said. During her short tenure there, she was able to initiate the company’s seed round of investment, file patents and hire an industrial designer to help form the design for the first product.

“I think I accomplished what I needed to accomplish for the time I was there,” she said. “I feel it was a productive time.”

For the time being, Clements will lead a search for the company’s new CEO.

“The right person must have a medical industry background,” she said.

When Clements decided to become CEO of Firefly, it was not her intention that it would be a short-term move.

“That’s not how I initially viewed it when I was asked to step into this role,” she said.

But as she consulted with investors in other companies, medical device industry professionals and other leaders in the community she began to hear that the company would soon have other needs.

Firefly is nearing the launch of its first product design, according to founder Steve Schmutzer. He said he could not divulge details of the product until its launch, but the company’s focus is on designing health-care equipment more relevant to the current industry environment. The company’s products will fall in the durable medical equipment category.

Industry experience needed

Schmutzer said that as the company prepared to raise another $900,000 to $1 million in seed funding and move into the Series A investment round, potential investors were looking for a chief executive with more medical experience.

“She became aware of the fact that her days (as CEO) were numbered,” Schmutzer said, adding that he was still surprised by Clements’ decision.

“I had to applaud her for her objective assessment of the company’s needs and the way in which she was responding to them,” he wrote in the May 19 letter.

Venture capitalist Dave Dwyer said that his firm, Vista Ventures, likes to see at least some of the key people in place when a company is seeking early-stage funding. The quality and experience of the management team is a very important aspect for investors. Dwyer added that having someone, particularly a CEO, with domain experience is key to choosing a successful startup. Industry experience brings knowledge of trends, potential clients, competition and other key contacts to the company.

“While there are certain skills that are transferable, it’s like Michael Jordan playing baseball,” he explained. Some executives have the basic skills necessary to lead a company, but it is the expertise that makes them stars.

“If they’ve been in that industry before and have domain expertise, it’s a big leg up,” Dwyer said.

As for finding a new CEO for Firefly, Schmutzer doesn’t believe it’s an urgent necessity.

“Right now, it’s probably not our top priority,” he said, explaining that product design and patents were at the top of that list. “(The CEO search) is casual right now.”

Clements said she is working with the Firefly team to determine what qualities are necessary for the company’s new CEO. For Schmutzer, the most important attributes will be experience in the medical industry and in developing new and disruptive products. Clements estimates the company will have a new CEO in the next six to nine months.

After that, Clements is not sure exactly what she will do.

“It’s another opportunity for me to take the skills I have and apply them somewhere else,” she said.

She isn’t sure if she will seek to step into another chief executive role, saying she

hasn’t really pondered it yet. In all, she is glad for the chance to work with Firefly and learn new skills.

“Firefly is going to be a very successful company,” she said.

And as an investor in the company, she has high expectations.

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