A strong vision for the future built on our history of innovation and success
A vision requires leadership to become reality. Get to know ZimVie's leadership team and what makes them uniquely qualified to drive our business.
Vafa Jamali
President, Chief Executive Officer
Vafa Jamali brings more than 25 years of experience in medical devices to his role as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of ZimVie, which became a publicly traded company on March 1, 2022.
In 2021, Vafa was recruited as a member of Zimmer Biomet’s Executive Committee to lead the soon-to-be independent organization.
Prior to his appointment at ZimVie, Vafa held the position of Senior Vice President and President, Respiratory, Gastrointestinal, and Informatics (“RGI”) of Medtronic plc from May 2017 until October 2020. Before leading the RGI business, he served as Senior Vice President and President, Early Technologies of Medtronic plc from January 2016 until May 2017 and as Vice President and General Manager, GI Solutions of Medtronic plc from January 2015 until January 2016. Before joining Medtronic, Vafa held leadership positions with Covidien plc, Cardinal Health, Inc., and Baxter International Inc.
He received his Bachelor of Commerce degree with distinction from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and has completed a number of executive leadership programs, including the Harvard Executive Leadership Program in 2020. In addition to ZimVie, he also serves on the board of directors of Baylis Medical and Eptam Precision.
Rich Heppenstall
EVP, CFO
Rich oversees all areas of ZimVie’s finance and accounting organization and investor relations. He has more than 25 years of experience across all areas of finance within medtech and other industries. Rich most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Breg, Inc. and previously held senior leadership roles at Orthofix International, Solera Holdings, Flowserve Corporation, and Coopervision Inc.
Heather Kidwell
SVP, Chief Legal, Compliance, and Human Resources Officer
Heather oversees ZimVie’s Legal, Compliance, and Human Resources functions and serves as Secretary to the board of directors. She has more than 20 years of legal experience and most recently served as Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Zimmer Biomet. Before joining Zimmer Biomet in 2009, Heather was a Partner with the law firm now known as Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.
Steve Rondeau
SVP, Chief Information Officer
Steve leads ZimVie’s overall IT strategy, manages enterprise-wide technology implementations and infrastructure, and delivers innovative, user-focused systems across our global business. He has been transforming business through technology for more than 25 years, both as a consultant and in executive-level corporate IT roles. His experience includes serving as Vice President, IT, Global Applications Services, and Vice President, divisional CIO, for the Covidien business unit at Medtronic and leading IT transformation projects for The Hackett Group.
Indraneel Kanaglekar
SVP, Chief Commercial Officer
Indraneel joined ZimVie from Zimmer Biomet and has served as Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer since April 2024. Previously, Indraneel led strategy and business development across several of Zimmer Biomet’s business units for nearly 10 years before becoming Global President of the Dental division in 2021. He also has extensive experience in the life sciences industry in research and development, sales and marketing consulting, and business development with Agilent Technologies, ZS Associates, and Danaher Corporation.
Ruth Lopez
Sr. Director, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, and Clinical Affairs
Ruth leads ZimVie’s quality, regulatory, and clinical functions, having held increasingly senior positions since 2017. She brings deep expertise in the dental implant sector, gained through her roles at Zimmer Biomet and Phibo. Beyond medtech, Ruth’s background also encompasses the pharmaceutical industry, with experience at Alcon Laboratories and Merck Serono.