SurgiBox Inc., the medical technology company transforming surgical care with its award-winning SurgiField portable surgical environment system, announces the appointment of Kelly Laurel as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2026. Laurel, who has served as the company's Chief Operating Officer for the past year, will succeed co-founder Dr Mike Teodorescu, DBA, who is stepping down as CEO to focus on his academic work and additional research endeavours while continuing to advise SurgiBox as a Board Member.
Laurel brings over 35 years of leadership experience, including over 24 years of military service, 12 years of healthcare innovation, and business development. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Chemistry, an MBA, and has completed postgraduate studies in Healthcare Policy and Management.
As a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and former Senior Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of the Army, she has deep expertise in healthcare operations, business strategy, federal procurement, and innovative technology deployment. Her distinguished military career includes serving as a strategist on the Secretary of the Army’s personal staff, Senior Congressional Appropriations Liaison, Health Financial Policy Advisor to the Army Surgeon General, and as a Military Hospital CFO in Europe.
After retiring from the U.S. Army, Laurel joined Siemens as the Director for Federal Healthcare, responsible for establishing new go-to-market strategies that achieved unprecedented market growth year over year. She later transferred to the Siemens Energy and Infrastructure Division to revitalise partnerships, address unique governmental energy and infrastructure issues, and deliver creative new solutions that yielded the highest company sales on a contract in history. After leaving Siemens, Laurel consulted for a pharmaceutical company and two energy companies charged with developing their strategic planning, capital raising, and creating key partnerships.
Laurel joined SurgiBox as its Business Development Director in 2021 and was promoted to COO in 2024. She has been instrumental in establishing the company's global commercial infrastructure, building distributor partnerships across 20 countries and securing initial sales in 16 countries, including recent sales to the public sector in Malaysia and a private hospital in Japan. Her strategic vision has positioned the company for significant revenue growth in global markets in 2026.
"I am honoured to lead SurgiBox as we enter this pivotal phase of growth," said Kelly Laurel. "Our mission to make safe surgery accessible any time, any place has never been more important. In 2026, we will focus on delivering proven clinical outcomes, securing anchor sales across our international distributor network, and raising capital to scale our operations. The SurgiField System addresses a critical global need, and I'm excited to work with our exceptional and dedicated team to bring this life-saving technology to the patients and providers who need it most."
