Vernon Hartdegen is a life-long orthopedic professional. After completing his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Louisiana Tech, he joined Smith and Nephew Orthopedics as a product development engineer while simultaneously completing his master’s degree in Biomechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee. In 2000, he moved to Wright Medical Technology where he progressed through the ranks from engineer to senior director of product development. During his nine-year tenure at Wright, he oversaw the development of the total knee arthroplasty, upper extremity, and foot & ankle product portfolios. Hartdegen then moved into the start-up company environment with senior leadership roles at two companies before co-founding CrossRoads Extremity Systems in 2014. As president and CEO of CrossRoads Extremity Systems, Hartdegen successfully navigated the 2022 acquisition of CrossRoads by DePuy Synthes. He has continued with DePuy Synthes and is currently the vice president of R&D for the DePuy Synthes Trauma, Extremities, CMF, Animal and Sports franchise.