MEMBERS OF THE BOARD

Bruce Rippe, Board Chairman & CEO

Bruce Rippe is a healthcare entrepreneur behind the first‑in‑kind, highly disruptive FDA‑cleared bed barrier platform that reframes hospital beds from a hidden infection risk into a controllable, data‑driven lever for reducing HAIs, driving accelerating adoption across health systems focused on safety and capital efficiency. Trinity Guardion’s engineered bed barriers have now protected more than 350,000 patients and are supported by peer‑reviewed data demonstrating roughly a 50% reduction in hospital-acquired infections in deployed settings.

Under Bruce’s leadership, Trinity Guardion’s Soteria Bed Barrier became the first and only FDA 510(k)-cleared hospital bed barrier, with a unique product code that differentiates the category and strengthens regulatory defensibility. Building on this foundation, the company has expanded into neonatal care with a NICU-specific barrier solution designed to protect the most vulnerable patients while fitting seamlessly into intensive care workflows. Trinity Guardion’s intellectual property portfolio includes five issued patents around barrier design and reprocessing workflows, and the company has successfully completed multiple funding rounds led by well‑recognized early‑stage venture investors, anchoring its position as the reference solution for bed-based infection control and a platform for future innovations. Its value proposition combines infection reduction, regulatory differentiation, and strong ROI for health systems seeking both quality improvement and capital asset protection.

Bruce brings 30+ years of experience in manufacturing, product development, and go-to-market execution, including two decades focused on patient room products with leading healthcare brands. He holds a BSBA in accounting from Xavier University, underpinning a disciplined approach to capital efficiency and scaling.

Martin Foster
Martin serves as the Co-President and partial owner of Economy Linen & Towel Service, Inc. a regional leader in healthcare laundry services. With a strong background in finance and accounting, Martin holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Brent Rippe

Brent executes sell‑side M&A mandates, carries out build‑to‑sale strategies, and oversees operations and placements for Rippe and Kingston Capital Advisors direct investments.

At RKCA, Brent has advised on transactions totaling over $1.5B in enterprise value and manages holdings with more than $75M in aggregate annual revenue. ​

Today, Brent remains passionate about advising founders and entrepreneurs who have spent their careers building a business of significance and want a thoughtful plan to address the realization of financial, timing, legacy, and other personal objectives that define an ideal exit.​​

Rich Grant
With over 45 years in the medical device industry, Rich brings a wealth of experience in engineering, quality, and regulatory consulting. He co-founded Reach Surgical Inc. and Medennium, Inc., and has been an active angel investor with Queen City Angels since 2000.

Rich launched his career at Ethicon Inc. and Ethicon Endo-Surgery, establishing a strong foundation in medical innovation.

Matt Sokany
Matt brings over 42 years of experience in the medical device industry. He began his career at Johnson & Johnson, advancing to senior roles in Sales and Marketing. He later led New Wave Surgical to a $115 million exit and Standard Bariatrics to a $300 million exit.

Today, Matt leverages his expertise as a consultant, supporting early-stage medical ventures.

John Miller, Director of Operations
John, a Six Sigma Black Belt Senior Executive, brings more than 30 years experience leading internal & external manufacturing functions. His expertise includes the areas of advanced mechanical design & engineering, finance, HR, customer service, product quality, ISO 13485 certification & continuous improvement. The majority of his career has been devoted to healthcare design & innovation, & he holds 10 patents in the US, Europe & Japan for medical equipment, hospital beds, chair beds & mattress configurations.

As director of operations, John’s focus is on product development, quality & regulatory compliance, ISO 13485 certification, vendor management & HR. John holds a BS in Industrial Education from Western Kentucky University, a Masters of Science in Industrial Education from Texas A&M University, his MBA in International Business from Xavier University & his Black Belt Six Sigma certification from Purdue University.

Edmond Hooker, MD, DrPH, Clinical Advisor
Edmond Hooker teaches in the Department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University. He also practices emergency medicine & conducts public health research at the University of Cincinnati Hospital, & serves as their residency research director, overseeing the clinical research coordination program. Edmond has authored more than 50 articles in leading journals & published numerous book chapters. He serves as an editor & has contributed numerous chapters for eMedicine, an online clinical knowledge base.

Edmond holds a BS degree from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia & a MD from Eastern Virginia Medical School. He completed his residency training in emergency medicine at the University of Louisville, then served as an associate professor & director of resident research there from 1991–1996. He then served on the faculty at the University of Virginia. In 2007, Edmond earned his Doctorate in Public Health from the University of Kentucky, & in 2015, was promoted to professor.

He has spent eight years researching infection risks associated with hospital beds & mattresses, which has led to numerous published articles & guest lectures on the topic.