Kickoff Event: Exploring the Japanese Healthcare Market – Tips for the 2026 U.S.-Japan Healthcare Conference

Kirk Zeller is medical device industry veteran whose career has been dedicated to commercializing medical device technologies around the world and building medical device companies.  Kirk completed most of his undergraduate studies in Japan, started his career as a heart valve sales rep in Japan, and has spent much of his career helping companies get into international markets with a particular focus on Japan.  Kirk served on the board of US-Japan MedTech Frontiers prior to it becoming US-Japan Healthcare Connection.  He is a Council Leader of the US-Japan Council and co-chair of the U.S.-Japan Council Healthcare Group.  He has co-founded and served on the boards of numerous companies as well as provided fractional leadership and been a long-time mentor of early-stage medical device companies.  Kirk co-founded, Progressive NEURO, Inc and Suture Shield, LLC. Kirk received an award from United States Congressman Adrian Smith and is on Congressional Record for his entrepreneurial endeavors during COVID.

Kirk has a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) from the International School of Management (Paris) and an MBA with a specialization in Health Technology Entrepreneurship from Imperial College London with research for both degrees focused on medical device start-ups.  Doctoral dissertation and master’s thesis topics were as follows: “European Market Entry Strategic for Venture Capital Financed Medical Device Companies” and “Financing and Beyond: The Role of Venture Capital in Silicon Valley Based Medical Device Companies.”  Kirk wrote the business plans and raised financing for two of Imperial College London’s medtech start-ups during his MBA and continued on the medtech start-up path after graduation.  Kirk spent much of his undergraduate studies in Japan studying at Nanzan University and Senshu University. Kirk is a frequent speaker at conferences and in the media on topics related to start-ups, commercialization, market access, and US-Japan relations.