Damien de Courten, PhD, PMP

Leading large medical device development projects at Ypsomed AG | Dr. sc. ETH Zurich | Executive MBA candidate IMD

Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

About

Because of my passion for mountaineering, some « friends » predicted that I would not be around for a long time. Yet I am writing these lines many years later. Indeed I could overcome my fears, manage, and minimize risks in this magnificent journey toward the snowy summits. Along the way this taught me a profound sense of resilience and that I could achieve my goals with the proper preparation. For the last decade, I have been working at the nexus between various specialist disciplines and technology in the medtech industry, in hospitals, in research, and in consulting. My experience in producing and developing novel medical devices, in gleaning new insights from hospital data, and in coordinating an essential part of the Swiss national response to the COVID-19 crisis, allows me to be both highly specialized and to have a broad know-how. People describe me as creative, resilient, being not afraid of taking initiatives and good at communicating my work to executives or the general public. I am always eager to address challenges combining passion with my proven abilities to structure, coordinate, and lead complex projects.

Experience

  • Ypsomed AG (Full-time · 4 yrs 7 mos)
    • Project Manager Pens (Associate Director)
      Sep 2022 - Present · 3 yrs 10 mos

      Managing product development projects for a novel mechatronic medical device platform, from the product idea to product launch with overall responsibility • Leading a >30 people, >20 internal FTE multidisciplinary team of specialists (Sys. Eng., Mech./Electro./ESW Dev., RA, QA, Risk, etc) • Managing a >XXMio CHF budget with overall cost responsibility over a new product platform • Managing a large outsourced project with a strategic supplier

    • Senior Project Manager
      Dec 2021 - Aug 2022 · 9 mos

      • Managed international client facing product development projects for variants of combination products (medical devices), from the project initialization to product launch • Initialized a large, complex product development projects for a new mechatronic medical devices platform

  • Clinical Data Management Consultant at Indema AG
    Jun 2019 - Sep 2021 · 2 yrs 4 mos

    Business and Clinical Data Management Consulting in Life Science with a focus on project management, infectious deseases, pathology, and medical devices • Delivered innovative digital solutions to large hospitals at all stages of the patient journey and oversaw execution • Managed the first placing on the market of a Class I medical device • Managed Communication with national media campaigns

  • Member at Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force
    Apr 2020 - Aug 2021 · 1 yr 5 mos

    • Consulted the federal authorities at highest level as part of the expert group Infection Prevention and Control • Co-created and managed the reMask project/group (>30FTE) overall • Coordinated a response on personal protection equipment at federal level • Co-established a new standard on community masks

  • Founder at Illuneo
    Feb 2016 - May 2019 · 3 yrs 4 mos

    Developed the business opportunity related to our research at the hospital -Pitched the business idea to venture capitalists, CEOs including of listed technologies companies, CTOs and senior scientists of world leading institutions and concluded partnerships -Collaborated with the business school of the University of Zürich and supervised master students in the Entrepreneurship course -Successfully obtained an hybrid public financing based on my business plan

  • UniversitätsSpital Zürich (Zürich Area, Switzerland)
    • Postdoctoral Researcher
      Jan 2016 - May 2019 · 3 yrs 5 mos

      Developed a non-invasive, continuous blood glucose monitor for preterm neonates at the neonatal intensive care unit -Obtained approval for clinical research on preterm patients -Successfully co-authored successive grant proposals -Supervised the research of a physician for his doctoral thesis in medicine

    • Scientific Collaborator
      Mar 2010 - Jan 2016 · 5 yrs 11 mos

      Conducted the development of medical sensors for preterm neonates from the needs to the preclinical study with patients at the NICU - Started the project from scratch locating external knowledge necessary to turn the concept into a prototype - Supervised the research of students for the master thesis of a sport scientist and a medical student -Presented my research at an international conference -Demonstrated the clinical feasbility that resulted in a patent