Our team offers a unique combination of seasoned industry-experienced investors and world class surgeons with deep clinical and entrepreneurial backgrounds.

Amit Hazan

Co-Founder and Managing Partner

Amit Hazan is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Puma Venture Capital, bringing extensive research and analytical expertise to the firm’s investment process, along with deep relationships in the sector.

Mr. Hazan is a former Wall Street equity research analyst covering the medical technology sector for nearly 23 years. Mr. Hazan was most recently a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where he was head of the medical technology equity research team. Prior to Goldman, Mr. Hazan held similar roles at Citigroup, Oppenheimer (fka CIBC World Markets), SunTrust, and Gleacher & Co.

The subsegment of medical robotics became a specialization for Mr. Hazan over his years in research, highlighted by a number of key publications on the topic of the future of robotic surgery, as well as his appointment as co-chair of the Society of Robotic Surgery annual investor event, where co-founder Dr. Patel is a founding member.

Mr. Hazan holds an undergraduate degree from UCLA and a JD/MBA from Santa Clara University.

Dr. Vipul Patel

Co-Founder and Senior Venture Partner

Dr. Patel is a co-founder and Senior Venture Partner of Puma Venture Capital. Dr. Patel is a board-certified urologist who has performed more robotic surgeries than any other surgeon worldwide, including more than 17,000 robotic prostatectomies to date. He is the director of the Global Robotics Institute at AdventHealth Celebration. He leads one of the world’s most experienced robotic surgery teams and travels around the world to educate physicians and care for patients.

In addition, Dr. Patel is the founder of the International Prostate Cancer Foundation (IPCF) and a founding member of the Society of Robotic Surgery.

A recognized authority in his field, Dr. Patel devotes considerable energy to helping train fellow surgeons around the world in the use of the latest robotic surgical techniques and tools in order to improve patient care and outcomes. He teaches advanced courses in robotic surgery for the American Urologic Association and is an active Professor of Urology at the University of Central. He also retains honorary professorships at several prestigious international universities and medical societies, including the University of Milan, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Asian School of Urology, Ricardo Palma University College of Medicine in Peru, Korea University Hospital and the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and he has provided robotic surgery instruction or helped create new robotic surgery programs at numerous medical teaching facilities worldwide.

Dr. Patel has co-authored or contributed to more than a dozen medical textbooks on topics including robotic surgery, minimally invasive urologic procedures, prostate cancer, robotic prostatectomy, emerging surgical technology, robotics in genitourinary surgery and others, and his work has appeared in more than 100 peer-reviewed medical journals.

Prior to joining AdventHealth, Dr. Patel served as Director of the Center for Robotic and Computer-Assisted Surgery and as an Associate Professor of Urology and Bioinformatics at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Patel has been designated as one of America’s Top Doctors® and as one of America’s Top Urologists by Castle Connolly Medical and U.S. News & World Report, establishing him as among the top 1 percent of doctors nationwide. He is also a founder and director of the International Prostate Cancer Foundation and a founding editor and editor emeritus of the Journal of Robotic Surgery.

Dr. Patel earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Texas and completed a urology residency and subsequent urology fellowship at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Florida. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Our Surgeon Venture Partners

  • DR. ERIK WILSON

    GENERAL SURGERY

    Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center

    Division Chief of Elective General Surgery for the UT Department of Surgery

    Founder, Clinical Robotic Surgery Association

    Co-Founder, Texas Association for Bariatric Surgery and Houston Bariatric Society

  • DR. SANTIAGO HORGAN

    GENERAL SURGERY

    UCSD

    Chief, Division of MIS

    Director, UCSD Future of Surgery

  • DR. CHRIS THOMPSON

    GENERAL SURGERY

    Brigham and Womens

    Has led multiple clinical trials

    Numerous patents; 200 publications

    Founded five successful medtech start-ups

  • DR. SHARONA ROSS

    GENERAL SURGERY

    AdventHealth

    Member, Intuitive Surgical Advisory Board

    Numerous Professional Organizations

  • DR. MARTIN ROCHE

    ORTHOPEDICS

    HSS Florida

    WW Leader in robotic and sensor assisted knee surgery

    Design collaborator, MAKO Robot

    Founder & CMO, Orthosensor

  • DR. RICARDO ESTAPE

    GYNECOLOGY

    HCA

    Director, HCA Institute for Gyn Oncology

    Part of Intuitive Surgical FDA trial for gynecology

    Decades of product development and industry advisory roles

  • DR. MARTIN MARTINO

    GYNECOLOGY

    Ascension

    Director, Gyn Onc Robotic Surgery

    Founding member: Institute for Surgical Excellence; Robotic Training Network (RTN)

    Co-founder, CAI Health

  • DR. CHRIS HOLSINGER

    HEAD AND NECK

    Stanford

    PI of Clinical Trials in Robotics

    Co-founder Photonic Medical Technologies

  • DR. SCOTT MAGNUSEN

    HEAD AND NECK

    AdventHealth

    Director of Robotic Head and Neck Surgery at Nicholson Center

    Numerous product development and industry advisory roles

  • DR. ADNAN SIDDIQUI

    NEUROSURGERY

    State Univ of NY at Buffalo

    Vice Chairman in the Department of Neurosurgery

    CEO of Jacobs Institute; commercialize technologies at the Institute’s Idea to Reality (i2R) Center.

    Has over 450 peer reviewed publications; almost 70,000 citations

  • DR. AMEER HASSAN

    NEUROSURGERY

    Valley Baptist Health System

    Current PI of 11 clinical trials

    Current President of SVIN; Previous Chair AAN Endovascular Section

    Numerous advisory roles with key companies in sector

  • PROF. DR. ALEX MOTTRIE

    UROLOGY & ROBOTIC TRAINING

    OLV Hospital of Belgium

    Pioneer of robotic surgery

    Founder and CEO of Orsi Academy, major center for MIS training in Europe

    More than 20 y of experience in robotic surgery, over 380 peer reviewed publications, head of robotic training

  • DR. FERAS KHALIEL

    CARDIOLOGY

    King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Saudi Arabia

    Program Head, Adult Cardiac Surgery

    Secretary General: Saudi HF Society

    Top robotic surgeon in Middle East region

  • DR. NADINE HARAM

    RECONSTRUCTIVE & PLASTIC SURGERY

    Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

    Consultant Plastic Surgeon and Head of Clinical Innovation

    Founder and CEO, Proximie

  • DR. ANDREW HUNG

    UROLOGY

    Cedars Sinai

    Internationally recognized leader in Artificial Intelligence for surgery

    Leading innovator in the development of automated performance metrics for robotic surgery

    Produced over 200 papers on surgical assessment and training

  • DR. RAFAEL COELHO

    UROLOGY

    University of San Paolo, Brazil

    Director of Robotic Surgery, Brazilian Society of Urology

    One of leading robotic surgeons in Latin America

  • DR. ALBERTO BREDA

    UROLOGY

    Fundacio Puigvert, Barcelona, Spain

    Head of the Oncology Urology Unit

    Chairman Laparoscopic Group of the ESUT/EAU

    President of ERUS-EAU; Robotic Surgery Section of European Association of Urology

  • DR. BERNARDO ROCCO

    UROLOGY

    University of Modena, Italy

    Chief of the Department of Urology

    Co-inventor of the posterior reconstruction technique (Roccoճ stitch)

    Author of more than 150 articles

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