• Ivax Diagnostics (Miami) reported that Giorgio D’Urso is resigning as president/CEO and as a member of the board, effective Jan. 10. Kevin Clark, company COO since September 2007, has been named acting CEO, effective from D’Urso’s resignation until he is named permanent successor. Ivax makes diagnostic reagents, instrumentation, and software.

• Observant (Boston) reported the appointment of two senior executives. John Hartman, PhD, a social scientist and statistician, has joined the firm as VP. Hartman’s research has focused on the mathematical analysis of cross-national healthcare data; his programming work has emphasized how to present the complex relationships he uncovers to his clients in intuitive visual forms that are business actionable. Jennifer Potter, PhD, has joined the firm as a director. A clinical psychologist, Potter joins the firm from Harvard Medical School where her clinical research specialties included pain, substance use disorders, and the design and conduct of clinical trials. Observant is a market research partner to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

• Louis Kirby, MD, was named chief medical officer of Provista Life Sciences (Phoneix). Previously, Kirby was the founder, CEO and medical director of Pivotal Research Centers. Provista is a diagnostic development company.

• John Glenn has been named CFO of Thermage (Hayward, California). Previously Glenn was CFO of Cholestech. Thermage specializes technologies for non-invasive tissue tightening in the aesthetic industry.