Leadership

Brian Johnson  was named president of the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC) in July 2018. An accomplished author and media entrepreneur, Brian serves as the  association’s second chief executive officer in its history, managing its day-to-day operations and working with medical device industry executives in developing its policy agenda. Since its establishment in 1996, MassMEDIC has grown to 300 member companies – manufacturers and developers of medical products, suppliers, research institutions and academic health centers –  and has advanced the public policy interests of the New England medical device sector on Capitol Hill, Beacon Hill, and before various federal agencies.

In 2007, Brian conceived and later launched MassDevice.com, where he been responsible for the strategic vision of the company, from inception through the summer of 2018, including leading the company through an acquisition in 2015 by WTWH Media.

As publisher, Brian spearheaded the growth of MassDevice from 0 to 100,000+ readers each month and led the company to profitability in just 3 years and more than $2.8M in annual sales. In 2011, Brian conceived and launched DeviceTalks, a live-interview series featuring leaders in medicine. The event, which is held three times annually in Boston, Minnesota and Orange County, California, has attracted thousands of medical device executives to date and featured leaders from some of the world’s largest medical technology companies. Since 2015, Brian also founded and launched two additional magazines, Medical Design & Outsourcing and Drug Delivery Business News, bringing total readership under his supervision to over 1.5 million.

Under Brian’s direction, MassDevice and its associated properties were widely recognized for its commitment to quality journalism. The editorial boards of the New York Times, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post have cited MassDevice’s coverage of issues pertaining to the medical device industry.  In 2012, MassDevice won a prestigious Communicator award in 2012 for excellence with its live web video series “Disruptors.”

An experienced reporter and author, Brian has worked for The Associated Press, Boston Globe digital and The Eagle-Tribune newspaper, covering business and economics, local government and crime.  In 2017, his critically acclaimed first novel “MWD: Hell is Coming Home” was released by Candlewick Press.

Brian resides in Brookline, Massachusetts with his wife and two young children.

A high-energy, connection-driven, non-profit executive, with a background in life sciences, technology and robotics engineering, Rachel joined MassMEDIC as Vice President in February 2020. During her tenure, the organization has tripled its headcount and increased its operating budget by more than 40%. Rachel joined the organization just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all in-person events, and pivoted its in-person events strategy, launching a virtual events campaign to serve members and keep the medtech community connected.   

Promoted to Chief Operating Officer of MassMEDIC in 2021, Rachel is responsible for executing the organization’s strategy, including cultivating community partnerships and employee development.  She guides the direction and execution of the organizations programming and community collaborations, including Think Tanks on patient engagement, Working Groups around digital health, and she leads the MassMEDIC’s IGNITE Accelerator Program.    

As President of MassMEDIC IGNITE, one of medtech’s most successful accelerators, it has been her honor to help women- and minority-led ventures, raise more than $100M in the past two years. Their goal, and hers, is to drastically improve how medicine is practiced and challenge the standard of care.  

Rachel has spent the last 15 years in life sciences, primarily focusing on promotion of this important industry through business development and marketing. Through roles at Delve, Acorn Product Development and MPR, her skills have been centered on developing new strategic relationships, growing teams, and initiating thought leadership initiatives to drive awareness.  

Kayla Fasken is the Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships at MassMEDIC. She joined the company in 2021 and works closely with MassMEDIC members to ensure they are taking full advantage of their membership benefits, as well as leading business development initiatives for the organization.

Kayla is an ambitious and highly versatile executive with a commitment to making a difference and impacting lives through her work. She brings close to 10 years of sales and membership experience to her role with her career having a technology-first focus, particularly in the life sciences industry.

Infinitely curious, Kayla takes a connection-driven approach to business initiatives as she believes every person has a unique and valuable perspective to add. She is passionate about creating global connections and partnerships in order to broaden and strengthen an industry that saves the lives of patients every day.

Kayla is also proud to volunteer her time with local initiatives that economically empower women and girls and encourage them to pursue careers in STEM through programmatic outreach.

Nichole W. Owens is the Director of Marketing Communications for MassMEDIC. With more than two decades of integrated marketing communications experience, Nichole leads marketing communications strategy and initiatives, as well as events for the organization. Previous to joining MassMEDIC in 2022, Nichole was most recently the Chief Marketing Officer for GRYT Health, a cancer community, patient education and patient experience research organization. Nichole served in a leadership position at LifeSciences New York, (formerly known as MedTech Association) and has managed communications and events for start-up and matrixed organizations in the healthcare, non-profit, agriculture and aerospace industries.

Nichole received her bachelor’s degree from SUNY Oswego, cum laude, and is currently pursuing her Executive MBA. She is a graduate of the Leadership Greater Syracuse Program and was recognized with the 40 Under 40 Award in 2007. A breast cancer survivor, she volunteers her time with numerous organizations throughout the community, including as a mentor with Cancer Connects, which pairs newly diagnosed individuals with someone to help them through their journey. Nichole lives in Syracuse, NY with her husband and two children and enjoys coming to Boston to produce live events and meet members in “3D”.