Karen Cronholm

Karen is the CEO and Co-founder of Akeyna, a medical device company focused improving the lives of patients with its unique blood vessel detection technology. Karen was previously President and CEO and Board Member at Cytrellis and led the company from early stage to the Company’s first ever FDA clearance and market introduction in 2021. While at Cytrellis she also raised more than $75M in venture capital funding for the company. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the life sciences and medical device industries has a track record of launching exceptionally successful products. Karen also has extensive expertise building commercial teams while spearheading operational improvements to drive productivity to increase company value. She managed the body contouring franchise at Cynosure, directing marketing and product management of several dermatologic product lines for treatment of cellulite and fat reduction. Previously, Karen was Head of Marketing for the Lab Solutions business at EMD Millipore. Throughout her 12 year tenure at EMD Millipore she successfully developed new technologies, held various roles such as marketing manager, research and development scientist, and quality manager. She began her career in the biotech industry working with TransKaryotic Therapies. Karen has a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of New Hampshire and earned an M.B.A. with honors from Northeastern University.