• Lawrence Hoffman has been appointed CFO of Averion International (Southborough, Massachusetts), replacing Christopher Codeanne. Hoffman previously was executive VP, general counsel, secretary and CFO at Encorium Group. Averion is a clinical research organization specializing in cardiovascular diseases, oncology and medical devices.

• Boston Scientific (Natick, Massachusetts) said that President/CEO Jim Tobin will be extending his tenure at the company, and that Fred Colen will become the president of its cardiac rhythm management (CRM) group. COO Paul LaViolette will be retiring from the company. Colen has been with Boston Sci since 1999, most recently as executive VP of operations and technology, CRM. LaViolette joined the company in 1994, and has been COO since 2005

• Kenneth Hachikian has been elected chairman of the board of Cambridge Heart (Tewksbury, Massachusetts), replacing Robert Khederian, who will continue as a director. The board also elected Jeffrey Wiggins as a new director. Wiggins is a former principal of Dresdner RCM Capital Management. In addition, Louis Blumberg has resigned from the board. Hachikian has served on the company's board since July 2004 and is a member of its audit committee and chairman of the nominating and compensation committees. Cambridge Heart makes products for the non-invasive diagnosis of cardiac disease.

• CoreValve (Irvine, California) named Daniel Lemaitre CEO. He succeeds Jacques Séguin, MD, PhD, co-founder of CoreValve, who will remain as chairman. Previously, Lemaitre has led Medtronic's corporate strategic planning and corporate development functions since 2006. CoreValve makes aortic valve replacement systems.

• Jack Springer has been named VP and general manager of Invatec-USA (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania). Springer previously was president/CEO of Neuromonics. Invatec-USA, a subsidiary of Invatec srl (Brescia, Italy), makes interventional devices for coronary and peripheral therapies and RFA equipment.

• Marikay Menard has been named VP of clinical strategy of LifeWatch (Chicago). Previously, Menard was a healthcare executive at Cerner. LifeWatch is a provider of ambulatory cardiac monitoring services and ambulatory cardiac and vital signs monitoring devices.

• Art Parker, senior VP and treasurer and currently interim CFO of MedCath (Charlotte, North Carolina), has been named senior VP of finance and development. MedCath is a healthcare provider focused on high-acuity healthcare services, primarily the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

• Warren Muth, MD, a general and vascular surgeon, practicing in Dayton with South Dayton Surgeons, has been named president of the Ohio State Medical Association (OSMA; Columbus) for 2008-09. Muth also is affiliated with Kettering Medical Center, where he serves as the medical director of the Surgery Network.