X2 Management Team

Rich Able

Founder, Chief Marketing Officer

Rich has over 20 years of experience in business development, product ideation, marketing, and distribution of medical devices and global retail consumer products. Rich is a former U.S. Army officer and has worked in varying marketing roles for Abbott Laboratories, Roche Cardiology, and McKesson Health Systems. Rich is the proud father of three sons who all played varsity football in high school.

Christoph Mack

Founder, CEO

Christoph Mack is a 20 year veteran entrepreneur, specializing in electromechanical product invention, design, engineering, and manufacturing. He is the founder and former CEO of Synapse Product Development. Christoph is named on 8 granted utility patents and on over 30 pending applications. His Bachelor’s degree is in Mechanical Engineering from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. Christoph is the unbearably enthusiastic father of two amazing little twin kidlets, Lily and Lucas.

Management Team

Ed Mlinek, MD

Chief of Clinical Affairs

Ed has over 27 years of experience in Level I or II trauma centers. He was residency trained in emergency medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, and is board certified in Emergency Medicine. From 1988 to 1998, he became an Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Since 1998, Ed has served as Medical officer, Urban Search and Rescue of the department of Homeland Security. He has led medical teams at Ground Zero, NYC (post 9/11), New Orleans (post hurricane Katrina), and most recently during Hurricane Sandy. In 2010, Ed served as the Medical Director of the U.S. National Special Olympic Games. Ed is currently pursuing a Masters in Medical Informatics at Northwestern University.

Jeff Higashi

CTO, VP Product Development

Jeff brings with him 15 years of design experience primarily in the mobile phone industry. As a Senior Industrial Designer and Team Leader for Nokia he developed product strategies, design proposals, 2D & 3D design visualization and models for several Nokia phones. Jeff is also a founding member of Samsung Mobile’s largest satellite design operation, where he oversaw all aspects of business operations and personnel. He then launched several successful business ventures prior to joining X2. Jeff graduated in 1995 from Art Center College of Design’s with a Bachelors of Science degree in Product Design.