Rodger Ford

Managing Partner

Rodger G. Ford is the co-founder of Anthem Equity Group, Inc., a Tucson real estate and business development company. Anthem was heavily invested in Tucson Real Estate through 2003. The portfolio was sold during the surge in value of 2003 to 2006. Anthem is retooled for investment and development opportunities that arise with economic recovery and the science and technology growth in southern Arizona.

Mr. Ford is the former Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of ReliantHeart. He played a key role in ReliantHeart’s acquisition of the assets of MicroMed in October 2013. ReliantHeart is the manufacturer of a ventricular assist device (VAD) called the aVAD®, and its predecessor the HeartAssist5®, a revolutionary, powerful, implantable, electric pump designed to augment a failing human heart. The aVAD® is the only remotely monitored VAD in the world.

Prior to ReliantHeart, he served as the CEO of SynCardia from May 2005 through May 2011. During his tenure as CEO of SynCardia, Mr. Ford guided and directed the development of two new driver systems for powering the Total Artificial Heart. He helped raise the capital that funded the development and launch of the Freedom portable driver, the world’s first wearable power supply for the Total Artificial Heart. Under his leadership, SynCardia installed modern and effective business systems, such as MasterControl, quality management system software that was also later selected by the FDA. In addition, he recruited an experienced management team that transformed SynCardia from a “science project” into a celebrated bioscience company.

Mr. Ford founded AlphaGraphics Printshops Of The Future in 1970 and grew AlphaGraphics to 400 locations in 20 countries by 1988. AlphaGraphics was the first franchisor in the world to open locations in the Soviet Union (Moscow) and China (Beijing).

Mr. Ford was Quick Printing Man of the Year in 1985, Arizona SBA Entrepreneur of the Year in 1986 (AlphaGraphics) and Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, together with his partner David Mackstaller, in 2000 (PETsHOTEL).

Mr. Ford has served as a director of Great Western Bank (Arizona) and CitiBank of Arizona, and holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Arizona.