MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is recognizing Verb Surgical's President & CEO Scott Huennekens as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2016 at its Builders + Innovators Summit in Santa Barbara, California.

Goldman Sachs selected Scott Huennekens as one of 100 entrepreneurs from multiple industries to be honored at the two-day event. Scott is a successful entrepreneur in the medical device and biotech industries, having served as CEO, board member and investor in numerous startups with market valuations that have totaled over $5B, and more importantly, with over 20 million patients that have benefited from the therapies and diagnostics of these companies. He is currently Chairman, President & CEO of Verb Surgical, Alphabet Inc. (formerly Google) and Johnson & Johnson's new start-up to revolutionize the future of surgery. The company, located on the Google campus in Mountain View, CA, was founded in August 2015, with Scott joining as employee #1. Verb's big vision is to democratize surgery globally, and in turn improve access to the benefits of surgery for the 5 billion people who do not have access today. At the same time, Verb aims to improve outcomes, lower costs and enable more surgical procedures globally. There are over 200 employees currently working on building and commercializing the Verb platform, including team members at Verb, Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) and Johnson & Johnson. Prior to joining Verb, Scott led Volcano Corp., as its first and only President & CEO, from start-up in 2002 to its IPO in 2006 and sale to Philips in 2015. Volcano 2015 revenue was > $400+ million and its market capitalization peaked at nearly $2 billion.

"This is a tremendous honor not for me, but for Verb and our partners at J&J and Verily," said Scott. "Verb is a company driven by taking action for patients. We are in a unique position to leverage technology in ways never imagined before, to create the future of surgery. This a future we call digital surgery, which we believe can improve access to the 5 billion patients worldwide that need surgical care."

"We are honored to recognize Scott Huennekens as one of the most intriguing entrepreneurs of 2016," said David Solomon, co-head of investment banking at Goldman Sachs. "This is the fifth year that we've hosted the Builders + Innovators Summit where emerging business leaders gather to discuss their common interests in building thriving organizations."

For more than 145 years, Goldman Sachs has been advising and financing entrepreneurs as they launch and grow their businesses. In addition to honoring 100 entrepreneurs, the summit consists of general sessions and clinics led by Goldman Sachs experts, seasoned entrepreneurs, academics and business leaders as well as resident scholars.

About Verb Surgical
Verb Surgical is working with physicians around the world to create the future of surgery. A future that aims to achieve improved patient outcomes, lower costs, and greater hospital efficiency.

Verb Surgical was founded in 2015 with technology, expertise, and funding from Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) and Ethicon, a medical device company in the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. This company will continue in strong partnership with Verily and Johnson & Johnson (Google and Johnson & Johnson Team for Robotic Surgery) to advance the surgical tools and capabilities available to surgeons and OR professionals today. We are a company dedicated to making possibilities happen. Along with our clinician partners, we turn technology and information into actions that matter.

Contact: For further information, please contact media@verbsurgical.com

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SOURCE Verb Surgical Inc.