Halifax-based Hollo Medical has swapped out its CEO, replacing one co-founder with another.

Former CEO David Hodgson, who in June won the 2023 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, beating out almost 1,100 competitors internationally, will become chief medical officer. His co-founder and former chief operating officer, Sara Fedullo, is replacing him as chief executive.

“I am incredibly excited to take on this new role, and to continue this journey alongside my amazing co-founder and now Chief Medical Officer, David Hodgson,” said Fedullo in a statement. “Thank you David, and to our fantastic team for your support, hard work and positivity during these past two years, I truly look forward to many more accomplishments together.”

Fedullo and Hodgson are developing a spacer called the "Bre-Z Chamber" for use with asthma inhalers, which is small enough to fit in a child’s pocket, unlike existing, cumbersome products. As well as ensuring better distribution of medication, it means children who need to use inhalers will be spared the embarrassment and bother of having to lug around a huge device. The regulatory approval process is also being simplified by the fact that the technology’s underlying mechanism is already approved and widely used.

Hodgson, a professional engineer who just graduated from the Dalhousie University School of Medicine, was the first Canadian ever to win the GSEA, which has now been held 17 times. The awards are organized by the Entrepreneurship Organization, which operates across 94 local chapters in 39 countries.

Fedullo, meanwhile, is a Dalhousie University-trained chemical engineer who was previously lead 3D printing and material science engineer at another Halifax medtech startup, Adaptiiv, which specializes in printing personalized boluses for directing radiation during cancer treatments.