Mathew Likens (Ulthera)- Startup Grind Phoenix

Startup Grind Phoenix featured Matthew Likens, President and CEO Ulthera, in a fireside chat with Christina Kehoe on August 24th, 2017.

*we are aware of the audio issue about 1/2 way through*

After graduating cum laude from Kent State University with a Bachelors of Business Administration degree and a major in Marketing, Mr. Likens began his professional career with Johnson & Johnson Corporation. He then spent more than twenty years in domestic and international sales, marketing and general management roles at Baxter Healthcare Corporation, culminating in the position of President, Baxter Biotech North America, followed by President of Baxter’s Renal Division in the U.S.

In July of 2006, Mr. Likens became President and CEO and the second employee of Ulthera, Inc., a venture capital-backed start-up company in energy-based aesthetics in Phoenix, AZ. Beginning with European regulatory clearance in late 2008, followed by FDA clearance in September of 2009, Ulthera has realized net revenue growth from $0.5M in ’08 to over $117M in 2014 and been profitable each year since 2012. After filing for an Initial Public Offering in early 2014, Ulthera attracted interest from several larger companies, and in July of that year, was acquired by Merz Pharma GmbH for $600M, an amount representing 6.6x trailing 12-months’ revenue. The Arizona Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) recognized this as Transaction of the Year for 2014.

Phoenix Business Journal honored Mr. Likens in 2012, naming him one of Arizona’s Most Admired CEOs.

In June of 2015, Ernst & Young presented Mr. Likens with the Entrepreneur of the Year for the Mountain Desert Region Award, which recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Matt is currently involved in a number of early-stage company initiatives as well as community support organizations.

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Startup Grind Local features incredible talks with entrepreneurs from Startup Grind’s world wide network. Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs.

We host monthly events in more than 300 cities and 115 countries featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Our monthly fireside chat interviews, startup mixers and annual conferences provide ample opportunities to connect with amazing startups and the people behind them, tap into a strong support network, form meaningful connections and gain inspiration for the startup journey ahead.