AU graduate named chief commercial officer for global medical technology company

Ashland University has helped James Kaufman in many ways throughout his decades-long career.

First, it allowed him the flexibility to take remote and night classes at the Ohio State University Marion campus and Marion Technical College for his bachelor’s degree while working full time in the 1980s.

Then the training Kaufman received from its business administration and marketing programs was a valuable asset when expanding his expertise to include a medical focus through the nuclear medicine technology program at OSU in the 1990s, he said.

Most recently, it helped him be named chief commercial officer for Serac Imaging Systems Limited, a medical technology company.

“Understanding business and combined with my many years of experience in the business side of drug and device production and commercialization, was key in my ability to secure my current position with a start-up company,” Kaufman said. “I like seeing new and novel ideas be developed into real, tangible products, and I believe what Serac is developing will be a real winner in the industry.

“And making a difference is a paramount goal for me personally,” added Kaufman, who has almost 30 years of experience in the global health care and molecular imaging industry.

The product Serac is developing that Kaufman believes “will be a real winner in the industry” is Seracam, a portable hybrid gamma-optical camera for medical imaging.

Mark Rosser, chief executive officer of Serac, said in a news release that the global company based in London is excited to welcome Kaufman to the team at such a pivotal point, with clinical testing of Seracam well underway and feedback from patients and physicians imminent.

“With his wealth of experience in nuclear medicine and medical imaging, combined with his business development prowess, Jim will play a significant role in driving Seracam forward through its next stages of development,” Rosser said in the release.

While he will be making regular trips to the United Kingdom as part of the Serac leadership team, Kaufman will be based in the United States, which he said will be Serac’s No. 1 target market for Seracam. Canada also will be a significant target market, added Kaufman, who lives in Florida.

Because he has moved several times throughout his career, including living overseas for five years, Kaufman, who graduated from River Valley High School in Marion County, said he rarely gets back to Ohio and, when he does, it’s mostly to visit family.

Even though he hasn’t been on AU’s main campus in Ashland for many years and only took a few classes there during his undergraduate years, Kaufman said he enjoyed the atmosphere and environment when he was there.

“Ashland has a great reputation for quality schooling and is flexible about scheduling and attending remote classes, which allowed me the appropriate time and flexibility to complete my degree in a timely manner,” Kaufman said. “I would recommend Ashland, especially for similar individuals who maintain a working schedule while completing a degree.”