Leadership
Leading with Vision & Purpose
Meet Our Executive Leadership Team
Zavation’s Executive Leadership Team brings together decades of experience across the medical device, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. With a shared commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and world-class customer service, the team leads by example – advancing our mission by cultivating a culture of excellence, focused on empowering surgeons and enhancing patient lives through advanced spinal solutions.
Derek Kuyper
Chief Executive Officer
Bio
Derek serves as CEO and brings more than 15 years of sales and marketing experience in the medical device and spine industry. He is known for a quantitative, data-driven approach to commercial strategy, leveraging market insights and performance analytics to guide sales execution and marketing investment.
Derek has led new product development, M&A, and business development initiatives, guiding cross-functional teams to expand portfolios, enter new markets, and accelerate growth. His service-based leadership emphasizes team empowerment, strong stakeholder relationships, and delivering solutions that improve value and outcomes.
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Ty Pulliam
Chief Financial Officer
Bio
Ty serves as CFO and Head of Business Services, overseeing accounting, finance, procurement, human resources, IT, insurance, and legal functions. He drives financial discipline, operational excellence, and strategic alignment across the organization.
Ty brings deep expertise in M&A, financial modeling, ERP implementations, and value-creation initiatives within private-equity-backed environments. He is a CPA, licensed in Property & Casualty Insurance, and holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Accountancy from Mississippi State University.
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Brad Risher
Chief Commerical Officer
Bio
Brad serves as CCO and brings extensive experience in medical device commercialization strategy, field operations, and clinical program development. He is known for building trusted customer relationships, aligning field execution with market needs, and advancing innovative technologies through hands-on, field-focused support.
Brad has a proven track record of driving product adoption, strengthening operational execution, and collaborating across teams to deliver meaningful value to surgeons, healthcare systems, and patients. His approach emphasizes scalable growth while keeping clinical needs and patient outcomes central to every decision.
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Lawrence Walker
Chief Research & Development Officer
Bio
Lawrence Walker serves as Chief Research and Development Officer, leading engineering excellence and product innovation since 2011. With experience spanning the spinal and aerospace industries, he brings deep technical expertise and a disciplined approach to medical device development.
Lawrence specializes in guiding complex medical systems from conceptual design through regulatory approval, collaborating cross-functionally to translate innovation into clinically meaningful solutions. He holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Mississippi State University.
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Steve Gordon
Chief Quality Officer
Bio
Steve brings more than 25 years of professional experience, including over a decade in the medical device industry, with a reputation for practical problem-solving and a straightforward, common-sense approach to operational and compliance challenges.
He has deep expertise in FDA and ISO compliance, as well as quality management system (QMS) implementation and maintenance, supporting both regulatory rigor and operational efficiency. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology from Mississippi State University.
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JOHN FUTRELL
Vice President, Specialty Spine
Bio
John serves as VP of Sales for Specialty Spine and brings more than 20 years of experience in sales leadership and strategic business development. He is known for consistently exceeding revenue targets, building high-performing sales teams, and driving sustained market expansion.
John has a strong track record of developing and executing effective go-to-market strategies, with deep expertise in the sales process and a data-driven approach to decision-making that delivers measurable results.
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BRETT SMITH
Senior Director, Marketing
Bio
Brett serves as Senior Director of Marketing, having joined the company in 2016 and advanced through roles of increasing responsibility across engineering, product management, and marketing. With more than 13 years of experience in the medical device industry, he brings a strong technical foundation to commercial strategy.
Brett regularly leads cross-functional teams and is known for translating surgeon feedback and market insights into actionable design and marketing inputs that support product adoption and growth. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri.