2 Houston startups make strategic hires

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Two Houstonians have been named to the C-suites of growing startups. Photos courtesy

A pair of Houston tech startups have recently announced new appointments to their leadership staff. A digital supply chain commerce company named a new CFO, while an Irish health tech company has named its new Houston-based leader.

GoExpedi names new CFO

Jorge Ordonez is the newly named CFO for GoExpedi. Photo courtesy of GoExpedi

Houston-based GoExpedi, an innovative end-to-end digital supply chain and data analytics solutions company, named Jorge Ordonez as CFO for the company.

"With our rapidly accelerating growth, ongoing investment activity and new industrial customers coming online, it was crucial that we bring on board an experienced financial leader who can help us successfully scale at a fast pace," says Tim Neal, GoExpedi CEO, in a news release. "Jorge led one of the top medical equipment providers in the country as well as a leading industrial technology solutions provider. We'll greatly benefit from his diverse financial experience, helping us to become the leading digital industrial supply chain and data analytics providers in North America."

Ordonez brings 25 years of finance and accounting experience across industries, including 10 years in distribution and logistics. His most recent position was CFO at US Med-Equip, a medical equipment provider.

"I am honored to join GoExpedi, one of the most innovative industrial supply chain and data solutions providers out there, at this time of rapid growth," says Ordonez in the release. "I look forward to working closely with GoExpedi's leadership team to support sustained financial success as the company expands into different geographies and sectors. My goals are to help the company continue its financial success and build optimized financial decision-making models and processes that will equip the company to scale and expand capital availability to continue its growth trajectory."

Health tech startup with US operations in Houston names new CEO

Benjamin A. Hertzog will lead Intelligent Implants through its next phase of development. Photo courtesy of Intelligent Implants

Benjamin A. Hertzog, entrepreneur in residence at Johnson and Johnson’s Center for Device Innovation at the Texas Medical Center, has a new title. Last month, Hertzog was named CEO of Intelligent Implants, a development-stage digital medicine and orthopedics startup based in Ireland with its United States operations based in Houston.

“Ben joined Intelligent Implants as Executive Chairman of the Board in 2020, and his broad experience in complex Class-III medical devices, leadership, and exceptional track record made it an obvious choice to have Ben join us at the helm of the company,” says John Zellmer, Intelligent Implants co-founder and founding CEO, in a news release. “Ben has the skills and credibility to guide Intelligent Implants as we navigate through the next stage of clinical and commercial activities. We look forward to his leadership as we continue to achieve key milestones.”

Zellmer will transition into the role of COO while Hertzog is tasked with leading product development, as well as clinical, and commercial activities for the company’s novel and proprietary smart orthopedic implant platform.

With more than 20 years of experience in healthcare and life sciences as an engineer, investor, and entrepreneur, Hertzog has founded medical device startup, Procyrion, leading the cardiac device company through Series C financing, product development, animal studies, strategic investment, and human clinical trials. He also served as managing director of AlphaDev (now Fannin Partners), an early-stage venture development firm.

“I am thrilled to work with John and the entire Intelligent Implants team as we make progress towards bringing this novel technology platform to the market,” says Hertzog. “Throughout my career, I’ve been driven by and focused on bringing innovative medical device therapies to the market, and I believe that SmartFuse represents the future of medical devices; smart connected implants that provide therapeutic benefits and real-time data to support clinical decision making. Ultimately, I believe these implants will have significant advantages to traditional implants in addressing unmet clinical needs and improving patient outcomes.”

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XSpace plans $250M industrial condo expansion with RAFA Racing Club

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Houston-based XSpace Group has teamed up with two other Houston companies, RAFA Racing Club and Maximo Capital, to develop five industrial condo projects that pair flex space and high-end car storage space with a members-only clubhouse for motorsports enthusiasts.

The five projects will be built in the Dallas-Fort Worth; Miami-Boca Raton; Charlotte-Mooresville, North Carolina; Phoenix-Scottsdale; and Los Angeles markets. Other markets, including Las Vegas, are under consideration for future phases.

XSpace says the initial five-project venture will generate estimated sales of $250 million. Condos will be available to rent or own.

The ground floor of each project will feature a RAFA Racing Club Social & Performance Centre, a members-only clubhouse, event space and lifestyle hub. The remaining floors will offer space for car storage, collectibles, offices and studios. RAFA will operate the ground floor of each building.

“Our goal from day one with RAFA Racing has been to connect people through a shared love of performance and community,” Rafael Martinez, founder of RAFA Racing Club and principal of Maximo Capital, said in a news release. “By pairing XSpace’s forward-thinking condominium design with the exclusive hospitality, networking and high-performance environment of a RAFA Racing Club clubhouse, we’re establishing a community blueprint where passion meets community.”

Each clubhouse will offer:

  • Lounges
  • Dining, working and networking spaces
  • Concierge service
  • Driving simulators
  • Fitness and conditioning capabilities

“We’re building the most valuable community-driven real estate product in America — and RAFA Racing Club is the anchor that makes it unlike anything else on the market," Byron Smith, founder of XSpace, added in a release. “By integrating our flexible, high-end industrial condominiums with RAFA’s world-class hospitality and automotive community spaces, we are completely redefining what commercial real estate can be for the motorsports enthusiast.”

RAFA operates facilities for motorsports fans in Houston and Austin. The clubs, geared toward wealthy people, entrepreneurs, executives, and brand partners, combine a clubhouse, garage, paddock (racing’s version of a locker room), a “human performance” center and driver training programs.

RAFA plans to open seven clubs in the U.S. and three outside the U.S. over the next four years.

XSpace operates a high-end office, warehouse, and lifestyle condo project in Austin and is building a project in Houston that’s set to open in 2027.

Walmart expands drone delivery service to 8 new Houston-area stores

Now Landing

More Walmart delivery drones are now buzzing around Houston-area skies.

In January, Walmart launched its drone delivery service in partnership with Wing at five locations in the Houston area. The retail giant just added eight more stores to its Houston-area drone delivery network.

Wing says the expansion makes drone delivery available to more than 1 million residents of the Houston area. “Many can now bypass notorious Houston traffic to get everyday Walmart essentials delivered by drone in minutes,” Wing said in a release.

The eight Walmart stores that joined the drone delivery network are:

  • 13003 Tomball Pkwy. Houston
  • 12353 FM 1960 Rd. West, Houston
  • 2901 Riley Fuzzel Rd., Spring
  • 20310 U.S. Highway 59, New Caney
  • 1025 Sawdust Rd., Spring, TX 77380
  • 13484 Northwest Fwy., Houston, TX
  • 13750 East Fwy., Houston
  • 3506 Highway 6 South, Houston

Stores where drone delivery was already available are:

  • 14215 FM 2100 Rd., Crosby
  • 1313 N. Fry Rd., Katy
  • 15955 FM 529 Rd., Houston
  • 255 FM 518, Kemah
  • 6060 N. Fry Rd., Katy

Houstonians can learn whether their address is eligible for drone delivery from a Walmart store by visiting wing.com/walmart. Drone-delivered orders can be placed on the Walmart app, the Wing app, or at Walmart.com.

Once an order is ready, it’s loaded onto a delivery drone. The drone then flies up to 60 mph and at a cruising altitude of about 150 feet to reach the customer’s home. The average flight takes less than 5 minutes.

Once it arrives at the customer’s home, the drone stops, hovers at roughly 23 feet, and lowers the order via a tether. Wing says its drones gently lower orders to the ground to protect fragile items like eggs and coffee.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

TMC expands Korea BioBridge, welcomes 12 biotech companies to Houston

welcome to hou

The powerful partnership between Texas Medical Center (TMC) innovation and the world of Korean biotech advancement is already growing in scope. Just six months after the new TMC Republic of Korea BioBridge was first announced, 12 new companies from the Republic of Korea will establish on-site presences in Houston to further collaboration between the two nations and medical industries.

The expansion comes from a new agreement between TMC and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI). William McKeon, president and CEO of Texas Medical Center, applauded the move and predicted it would benefit both Houston and Korea immensely.

“Korea has established itself as a global leader in biohealth innovation, with a growing pipeline of breakthrough technologies across digital health, biotechnology, and medical devices,” McKeon said in the news release. “Through the TMC Korea BioBridge, we are creating a direct connection between Korea’s innovators and the world’s largest medical city. This collaboration between TMC and KHIDI provides companies with a place to establish a presence, build strategic relationships, engage with leading clinicians and researchers, and accelerate the path toward commercialization and patient impact in the United States.”

The companies that will be in residence at the TMC Innovation Factory include Ardens Lifescience, whose new CAROL device is currently in human trials tackling lung cancer by using the airway network as electrodes to perform bronchoscopic ablation; stem cell-based gene therapy firm CELLeBRAIN, currently working on neurological disorders and solid cancers; and Wellysis, the developer of the S-Patch wearable cardiac monitoring device.

Additional companies include:

  • Antigravity
  • ARPI
  • CTCELLS
  • elecell
  • HUVER Inc.
  • Hutom
  • ORGANOIDSCIENCES
  • YOUTH BIO GLOBAL
  • Seoul Medical Informatics Intelligence Lab Inc.

“This collaboration establishes a strong foundation for connecting Korea’s biohealth innovation ecosystem with world-class clinical and innovation resources in the United States,” Younghun Jeong, executive director of the KHIDI, added in the news release. “Through partnerships with Texas Medical Center and the Korean-American Medical Association Texas, we look forward to fostering meaningful collaboration among innovators, clinicians, and industry leaders while creating new opportunities for clinical validation, commercialization, and global growth. KHIDI remains committed to expanding global partnerships that support biohealth innovation, clinical collaboration, commercialization, and international growth.”

This is the seventh international strategic partnership for the TMC. It launched its first BioBridge with the Health Informatics Society of Australia in 2016. It launched its TMC Japan BioBridge, focused on advancing cancer treatments, last year. It also has BioBridge partnerships with the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark and the United Kingdom.

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