Thomas M. Loarie

Thomas M. Loarie is the Executive Chairman of Mercator MedSystems and is an accomplished healthcare executive and medical technology entrepreneur with more than 30 years in the field, responsible for bringing more than 20 medical devices to market worldwide.

Mr. Loarie previously served as CEO of Mercator; Co-founder and Chairman of CardioProfile, Inc.; CEO and Chairman of KeraVision, Inc; COO of Novacor, Inc.; and President of American Heyer-Schulte (Division of American Hospital Supply, now Baxter, Inc.). He has served as Assistant Professor of Surgery, Creighton University Medical School and serves on the boards of Clarity Medical Systems and Silicon BioDevices. Mr. Loarie received his B.S.M.E. from the University of Notre Dame. Accessible and direct, Mr. Loarie is quick to acknowledge—first by action, then by words—the profound anchor of his life, his Catholic faith, in all his endeavors.

Additionally, Mr. Loarie is a Top 500 Amazon Reviewer. Perhaps this is a throw-back to his childhood, growing up in a media/communications family. Mr. Loarie's grandfather, Richard J. Finnegan, co-founded the Chicago Times (today's Chicago Sun-Times). And his father, Willard J. Loarie, was executive vice president for J. Walter Thompson advertising agency.

The Loarie family home in Deerfield, Illinois, was often filled with reporters, editorial cartoonists (including Herblock), politicians, TV stars, and other media personalities. As noted above, Mr. Loarie spent his college years at the Universities of Notre Dame (B.S.M.E.), Minnesota (grad school), and Chicago (grad school). His passion centers on improving/saving lives through the global commercialization of innovative medical products.

He is a published writer, a sought-after speaker in the field of medical technology and entrprenuerism, and an accomplished cartoonist and oil painter. Mr. Loarie also serves as a Trustee of the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley, as a board member for several privately-held medical technology companies, and on the advisory board to the University of California's (Berkeley) School of Mechanical Engineering. He has lectured at the Anderson School of Management (UCLA) and the Haas Business School (UC Berkeley). He is active in the Catholic Church playing active roles in his Diocese (Program Chairman for Catholics@Work) and in his parish (past president, Pastoral Council).

Mr. Loarie may be reached at TLoarie@CatholicBusinessJournal.biz