Leatherhead-based medical devices company MatOrtho has appointed Simon Cartmell as a non-executive director, following a recent investment by private equity firm, Connection Capital.

Cartmell has more than 35 years’ leadership experience in the life science and healthcare sector, having held senior positions in pharmaceutical, biotech and medtech companies. He was chief operating officer at Vanguard Medica, latterly Vernalis, and chief executive of Celltech Pharmaceuticals and executive director of biotech Celltech.

He then joined venture capital-backed medtech start-up ApaTech as chief executive for seven where he developed the business into a global orthobiologics company before it was acquired by Baxter in 2010.

Subsequent to this exit Cartmell joined life science venture capital company Imperial Innovations, and later, joined IP Group as an operating partner advising on early and growth stage private ventures, their funding, and the challenges they faced in commercialisation. He left IP Group early in 2019.

Cartmell is currently chairman of OssDsign, Oviva and as a non-executive director at Axis Spine Technologies and NuvoAir.

Carter Schwartz’s head of private equity Lewis Buckley, advised on the appointment.