First Friday - Frank Tighe
Frank J. Tighe
Georgia Tech - Lead Entrepreneur in Residence
Frank is chairman and CEO of Atlanta-based, TDH Partners. He has 27 years’ experience in executive management, fundraising, sales, marketing, and corporate formation in the medical device industry. He has developed and commercialized more than 150 medical devices in his career and negotiated license agreements with major universities, physicians, private equity firms, and industry competitors that resulted in millions of dollars in funding, sales, and royalty income.
Immediately prior to joining ATDC, Frank served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Deal Team Member with PE Investors, LLC, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a private equity firm focused on investments in technology and healthcare. He led the negotiations for a Series A investment in a German medical device manufacturer.
Prior to his time with PE Investors, Frank served as vice president of Vitreoretinal Instrumentation for IRIDEX Corp (NASDAQ IRIX). He joined Iridex as a part of the acquisition of his company, RetinaLabs. In this position, he helped lead the company’s global consumable marketing team and a network of distributors in more than 100 countries through a period of substantial revenue growth, acquisition, and portfolio expansion.
Prior to Iridex, he was the founder, chairman, and CEO of RetinaLabs, with internationally renowned investor and eye surgeon, Dr. Eugene de Juan Jr. He grew the company from a small startup organization through acquisition by Iridex, by developing an innovative global portfolio of patented products and through licensing agreements with major universities such as Johns Hopkins University.
Frank received a Bachelor’s of Arts in History from Auburn University in 1984 and an MBA from Emory University in 1996. Frank has been married to the former Ellen Marie McMullen for 27 years, and Mrs. Tighe holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marketing from John Carroll University. She is a senior hospital executive with the pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co.
When he is not focused on founding, investing and advising new ventures, Frank serves on the Board of the Umbrella Foundation, a 501(c)(3) corporation, and actively mentors business school students at both the Harbert College of Business at Auburn University and the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
