Sectra North America president John Goble, Ph.D., was killed Saturday in a helicopter crash in the Mojave Desert.
Goble co-founded Sectra North America, the North American unit of Linköping, Sweden-based PACS firm Sectra, in 1997, and had served as its president ever since. Prior to that, Goble was medical marketing manager for Hewlett-Packard's workstation division.
According to published reports, Goble was one of three men who were riding in a vintage 1951 military helicopter that was headed to an aircraft and classic car show in Riverside, CA, according to the Los Angeles Times. The helicopter apparently struck power lines shortly after takeoff and burst into flames on the morning of November 7.
In a statement, Sectra president Dr. Torbjörn Kronander said that Goble was a strong and committed leader of its North American business.
"John was a great person to work with, a close friend, as well as a very competent colleague, but most of all he was a loving husband, brother, and son," he said."Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends in this moment."
"John’s contributions in the field of medical imaging and advanced visualization, in both the research and commercial segments, will have a lasting impact," said Brian Anderson, vice president of marketing and business development for Sectra North America. "John was a man of unyielding character who had a zest for life, learning, and teaching. I was honored to work with him."
In addition to his work at PACS firms, Goble contributed to PET and CT programs at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and worked with the first generation of MR scanners at Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY. In addition, he founded the Neurosurgical Visualization Laboratory at the University of Virginia, and he held six patents for developments related to medical imaging, according to Sectra.
Goble was a highly-respected PACS executive, according to Michael Cannavo, president of Image Management Consultants (IMC) of Winter Springs, FL.
"John was one of the few down-to-earth people in the PACS industry and will be truly missed," Cannavo said. "John never failed to present a fair and balanced discussion of his company, and punctuated the discussion by his ever-present smile, hearty laughs, and jovial mannerisms. He and his team developed and executed a plan that allowed Sectra to show consistent growth over the years and helped establish the company as a leader in the market sectors it plays in today."
Sectra has named PACS veteran Thomas Giordano as acting president of Sectra North America. Giordano has been a Sectra North America board member since 2005 and previously served as vice president of marketing at Philips Healthcare.Related Reading
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