Chris Lyons is known in the musculoskeletal industry as a “lifer” by many who know him with a dedication of more than 33 years to industry-leading medical device manufacturers. Graduating from the University of Memphis in 1990, with a Marketing and Sales degree, Chris entered the industry at a time of great prosperity and yet the beginning of change. Serving Smith and Nephew plc since 1989, Chris held numerous marketing roles, driving product launches, engaging surgeons, and creating intellectual property predominantly in the company’s Knee and Hip product lines. Additionally, he spent two years in the Smith and Nephew Sales Force to learn the underpinnings of what made the organization successful. In 2005, Chris joined Medtronic Spine and biologics, with the first three years being focused on driving the growth of the international biologics business of Medtronic. The opportunity presented itself to move into the realm of Business Development for the next 10 years, working with all of the executives and cross-functional leadership to transact various acquisitions, minority investments, and license and distribution agreements. During this time Chris was also selected to join the Board of the Southeast Medical Device Association (SEMDA) of which he remains a contributor, also serving as Chairman of the board for SEMDA for 2016. For the last five years, Chris has run a successful Consulting firm in the medical device space, Southern Metric Consulting LLC, working with multiple clients across the industry, primarily focused on the sell side of M&A and all that entails.