January 28, 2008 — Item Group Recruits Top Talent from Industry Leaders
Providence, RI –January 28, 2008 – Item Group has recruited senior talent from Adidas, Agfa-Gevaert N.V. and Dorel to complement its fast growing team of design, engineering and regulatory compliance professionals. Item Group operates three stand alone companies and employs over 100 staff at its Providence, Rhode Island Headquarters.
Lori Kahler recently joined Ximedica, Item Group’s medical device development and manufacturing subsidiary, as Director of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs responsible for quality, medical affairs, regulatory, and compliance oversight.
Lori previously served as Global Director of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs for the healthcare division of Agfa-Gevaert N.V. and was responsible for establishing and achieving the strategic direction and development of all quality and regulatory activities related to the cardio-vascular product portfolio. Lori is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation and the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society.
Ryan Shafer has been appointed as Design Director for Innovation ChainTM Partners, the Item Group company that works directly with leading national retailers to develop innovative consumer products for private brands.
Ryan comes from Dorel Juvenile Group and brings over 14 years of design and product development experience. His background includes designing juvenile products, consumer electronics and medical equipment for companies including Daewoo, Disney, Eddie Bauer, AT&T, DuPont and Toshiba. Ryan graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design and is a member of Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).
Mark Busse joins Item Group from Adidas as a Program Manager for Item New Product Development. Mark will be responsible for a broad range of design and engineering projects managing clients and overseas suppliers.
He previously worked in the Reebok / Adidas Advanced Concepts Group as a Product Development Manager where he helped develop conceptual and production solutions for performance footwear technologies. Mark brings over 13 years of manufacturing and production experience having worked with large brands such as Burton Snowboards and Schwinn. He graduated from University of Arkansas with a bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
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About Item Group
Item Group is one of the largest product development companies in the U.S. and has launched hundreds of commercially successful products ranging from medical devices and consumer products to commercial equipment. Client companies include Boston Scientific, Discovery Channel, Gerber, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Sperian, Thule and Black and Decker. Item Group and its subsidiaries, Item New Product Development, Innovation ChainTM Partners and Ximedica, are headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island with offices in Hong Kong.
For more information visit www.itemnpd.com or www.ximedica.com.
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