Our team
Physicians and operators, in that order
The founding team has built and run ambulatory surgery centers, surgical hospitals, and medical device companies. Physicians First Bancorp applies that ownership playbook to the institution physicians have never owned: their bank.
Leadership
Thomas ChambersMD, BSE Biomedical Engineering
Interim CEO
Thomas J. (“Tom”) Chambers, MD, resides in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and is a native of Iowa who obtained his B.S.E. in biomedical engineering and his M.D. at the University of Iowa. Dr. Chambers completed a surgery internship at IUPUI in Indianapolis, Indiana, an orthopedic surgery residency at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida. Dr. Chambers holds a patent on orthopedic implants currently used by nearly every major manufacturer. Dr. Chambers has practiced in Myrtle Beach for the past twenty-six (26) years. Following his fellowship, he was a founding partner in a multi-specialty neuromuscular group and developed the first orthopedic ambulatory surgery center in Myrtle Beach. He was instrumental and a founding partner in the merger of the area orthopedic groups into OrthoSC. From start-up to mergers, Dr. Chambers has personally experienced the business of orthopedic surgery. He is currently in private practice at OrthoSC and serves on the board for Carolina Bone & Joint Ambulatory Surgery Center. He is the head team physician for Coastal Carolina University. Dr. Chambers is involved in both sports medicine and consulting in computer-assisted surgery with major orthopedic companies.
Marty Nichols
Interim COO
Martin J. (“Marty”) Nichols resides in Leander, Texas, and is a native of Iowa who has worked for the last thirty (30) years in the medical device field with a focus on orthopedics and total joint replacement. Mr. Nichols is currently an independent consultant who began his career as a representative and later as a distributor with DePuy Orthopedics, where he received numerous awards, including Distributor of the Year. Previously, he represented Arthrotek/Biomet, Plus Orthopedics, Smith & Nephew, and Medacta. In 1999, Mr. Nichols began working with a small startup technology company out of California, where he gained an understanding of technology and its potential role in medicine. The start-up company was sold to Agilent Technologies in early 2001. Since that time, Mr. Nichols has worked as a consultant for several companies helping them develop and bring to market various technologies, including the anterior approach to the hip, Computer Assisted Surgery (“CAS”) for both knees and hips, and a technology allowing a manufacturer to make patient-specific cut blocks from CT scans for knee replacements. Mr. Nichols holds three (3) patents in robotic-assisted surgery. He also works with physicians to design, build, equip, and operate physician-owned outpatient surgical hospitals.
Co-Founders
Bryan E. ScheerMD
Co-Founder
Bryan E. Scheer, MD resides in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and, after completing medical school at the University of Nevada and an orthopedic residency at the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Scheer spent more than twenty (20) years owning and operating a successful orthopedic surgical practice. Dr. Scheer has been board certified in orthopedics since 2005 and board certified in orthopedic sports medicine since 2007. Among many entrepreneurial pursuits, Dr. Scheer founded inReach Healthcare (formerly known as Rural Partners in Medicine) in 2010, an entity dedicated to enhancing the health of rural communities by providing and managing specialty medical services. In addition, Dr. Scheer has owned and operated multiple other businesses, including Mountain Aviation, Ambulatory Surgery Centers / Medical Centers, and, most recently, Sinaptic Technologies.
Craig LoucksMD
Co-Founder
Craig Loucks, MD, resides in Castle Rock, Colorado, and is a founding partner of Peak Orthopedics and is on the Board of Managers for the Orthopedic Centers of Colorado. Dr. Loucks has been in the Denver area since 2003 and has developed a very successful hip and knee private practice. In 2004, he was one of the first surgeons in the Denver area to perform Anterior Minimally Invasive Hip Replacement Surgery (AMIS). Dr. Loucks has pioneered outpatient total joint replacement and has been successfully performing minimally invasive outpatient hip and knee replacement since 2013. Dr. Loucks is an international proctor, lecturer, and teacher of these techniques all over the world, including Europe, Australia, and North America. In addition, he is a design surgeon for Medacta International, creating new instruments and products to improve surgical techniques and patient outcomes. Dr. Loucks helped develop the MyKnee system, enabling surgeons to improve accuracy, sizing, and alignment during knee replacements using less invasive approaches. Previously, Dr. Loucks served as a consultant and teacher for hip and knee procedures for Zimmer and Conformis, Chairman of Orthopedics at the Medical Center of Aurora, and Chief of Orthopedics and Neurosurgery at Sky Ridge Medical Center. Dr. Loucks’ business experience includes founding and managing partner of Peak Orthopedics, founding board member of Orthopedic Centers of Colorado, founding partner of Big Sky Private Equity LLC, board member of Cherry Creek Surgery Center, board of advisors of Health Professionals Alliance, partner and board member of Colorado Laser Consortium, and strategic advisor to Hippo Health.
James Martin
Co-Founder
James (“Jim”) Martin resides in Littleton, Colorado, and is a founding partner of Orthopros, Inc. and the sole founder of Total Orthopedics, Inc. These two companies have represented significant orthopedic device manufacturers, including DJO, Tornier, Wright Medical, Stryker, RTI Surgical, Mitek, US Surgical, and Opus, among others. While running these companies, which are both still active, Mr. Martin was responsible for the employment of over one hundred (100) individuals at a given time and managed $60 million in annual revenues. Mr. Martin has been actively involved in all aspects of running these companies, including negotiation of over one hundred fifty (150) Integrated Delivery Network (“IDN”) and other hospital pricing contracts. Mr. Martin has attained sales growth in twenty-eight (28) of his thirty-one (31) years in business and has guided these companies to achieving nine (9) Distributor of the Year Awards. Mr. Martin has coached forty-seven (47) sales representatives to prestigious annual year-end awards. He has executed over $700 million in sales during his career in the Rocky Mountain Region. Mr. Martin has a national database of proven independent orthopedic device distributors and orthopedic surgeons. He has held several leadership positions as a consultant for many of the medical device manufacturers that he has represented.
Christopher NicholsBA, University of Arkansas
Co-Founder
Christopher (“Chris”) Nichols resides in Castle Rock, Colorado, and is a native of Iowa who graduated from the University of Arkansas. Mr. Nichols has worked in the medical device industry with DePuy Johnson & Johnson, where he won multiple regional and national awards, attaining sales consistently in the top ten percent (10%) of the Johnson & Johnson companies. After a successful career at Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Nichols worked with start-up companies seeking access to the U.S. market, including Tornier of France, where he expanded his territory to reach number one in the U.S. market for multiple years. Mr. Nichols served on the Presidents Club council to determine new product roadmaps for distribution and marketing, remaining with Tornier through its acquisition by Wright Medical. Mr. Nichols is currently working as a consultant to guide Tornier's transition and integration into the larger Stryker product family. In addition to his work with Johnson & Johnson, Tornier, and Stryker, Mr. Nichols was instrumental in bringing Plus Orthopedics to the U.S. market, helping it achieve growth and eventually secure its acquisition by Smith+Nephew. Mr. Nichols has also guided OMNI Orthopedics through its growth period and acquisition by Corin Group, and is actively involved in the transition. In addition to his experience in orthopedics, Mr. Nichols has been a leader in biologics, working with RTI Biologics, winning multiple awards, and currently managing a leading territory for RTI. Mr. Nichols is excited to apply his thirty (30) years of experience in the medical device and manufacturing community to his role as a board member of PFB. Mr. Nichols is uniquely qualified to guide physician groups as the market pushes them to consolidate into larger groups that look to invest in the equipment and facilities necessary to meet the U.S. medical demands.
Advisors
John LewisMBA
Managing Partner - 24 Advisors
Executive Leader and Managing Partner with an MBA in Finance and deep expertise bridging healthcare infrastructure with institutional financial growth. Proven track record directing capital raises, commercial bank operations, and medical real estate joint ventures. Strategic architect behind $300M+ in healthcare technology capital positioning, $750M+ in complex M&A due diligence, and the targeted development of master-planned medical facilities and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs).
Team
Will McCaffreyBA Business Administration
Director of Business Development
Will McCaffrey leads business development at Physicians First Bancorp, with a focus on investor engagement, physician outreach, and the firm's digital infrastructure. He built PF Bancorp's investor portal, website, and marketing content from the ground up to support capital formation and syndicate growth. He is a two-time national finalist in NASA's MITTIC competition (Minority University Research and Education Project Innovation and Tech Transfer Idea Competition) and has founded several startups spanning hardware, consumer products, and B2B software. Before joining Physicians First Bancorp, he worked in television production and startup operations, with a background in go-to-market strategy, product development, and investor communications. He is based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and holds a degree in Business Administration from San Diego State University.
