ParaNano Strengthens Board Leadership with Appointments of Rod Whitson as Chairman and Lora Spencer, Esq. as Chair of Executive Compensation Committee
ParaNano today announced the appointment of Rod Whitson as Chairman of the Board and Lora Spencer, Esq. as Chair of Executive Compensation Committee, further strengthening the company’s leadership team as it advances commercialization of its innovative wound care technology.
These appointments bring deep expertise across operational leadership, life sciences, healthcare technology, governance, legal strategy, and commercialization as ParaNano prepares for its next phase of growth.
We are Thrilled to Welcome Rod Whitson and Lora Spencer to ParaNano’s Board leadership”
— Chelsea Luxen, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
Rod Whitson Appointed to Chairman of the Board
Mr. Whitson is an experienced Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) Implementer and executive leader with a strong background in scaling entrepreneurial and growth-stage companies. Over the course of his career, he has helped lead six entrepreneurial businesses and served as CEO and President of three financial services firms.
Previously, Mr. Whitson served as President of Townsend Agency, a San Diego-based technology marketing firm, where he led strategic engagements for biotechnology and life sciences organizations including Merck Bioscience, Dow Pharma, Accelrys, Gen-Probe, Diversa, Agilent, and Applied Molecular Evolution, along with numerous emerging pharmaceutical, diagnostics, medical device, and instrumentation companies.
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His experience also includes advising leading technology companies such as Toshiba, QUALCOMM, Intel, BAE Systems, and ARM, in addition to supporting a broad range of early-stage software, semiconductors, and wireless ventures. He is also an active angel investor with multiple successful exits and currently serves on several boards and advisory boards.
Lora Spencer, Esq. Appointed to Chair of Executive Compensation Committee
Ms. Spencer brings extensive experience across the medical device, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare technology sectors, with a career spanning both the private and public sectors.
Ms. Spencer currently serves as Chief Legal Counsel for Mechanical Circulatory Support at Medtronic, a leading global healthcare technology company, where she also holds the role of Senior Litigation & Investigations Counsel. In these roles, she defends the company in global litigation matters and advises senior leadership on enterprise risk, litigation, governance, and strategic business matters impacting innovative healthcare technologies.
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Ms. Spencer is also a peer recognized leader in artificial intelligence, medical devices, and enterprise risk governance. She serves on Medtronic’s AI Legal Practice Group and AI Litigation Task Force where she advises on AI-driven healthcare technologies, products liability, and litigation trends.
Prior to joining Medtronic, Ms. Spencer defended leading medical devices and pharmaceutical companies on complex litigation and regulatory matters at a global law firm. Earlier in her career, she received a highly selective appointment as Presidential Management Fellow at the National Institutes of Health and later joined the National Cancer Institute, where she oversaw pre-clinical trial portfolios and advised on drug development, regulatory, and policy matters. Ms. Spencer’s experience also includes prior commercial and leadership roles at Pfizer and Sanofi.
Ms. Spencer is a Johnson & Johnson Board Fellows alum and completed executive education at Harvard Business School focused on corporate directorship.
