Background

Joel Becker is President and Chief Executive Officer of NeuroPace, the publicly-listed neurotechnology company (NASDAQ: NPCE) developing closed-loop responsive neurostimulation for drug-resistant epilepsy. He was appointed CEO in July 2023 and serves on the company’s Board of Directors. Becker brings more than twenty-five years of experience leading medical technology companies, with a focus on executing growth strategies with operating discipline to develop market leadership.

Leadership at NeuroPace

Under Becker’s leadership, NeuroPace has scaled the commercial trajectory of the RNS System (its implantable closed-loop brain stimulator for focal drug-resistant epilepsy) and advanced the NAUTILUS pivotal trial for the expanded idiopathic generalised epilepsy (IGE) indication. In Q1 2026, NeuroPace reported total revenue of $22.1 million (up roughly 20% year-on-year), with RNS System revenue of $21.7 million (up 19.5% YoY). The company raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $99-101 million.

The 18-month follow-up data from NAUTILUS, first presented at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in April 2026, showed a 77% median reduction in generalised tonic-clonic seizures, more than 30% reduction in injury events, and 44% reduction in benzodiazepine rescue medication usage. The FDA exercised a 180-day clock pause on the NAUTILUS PMA supplement during mid-cycle review, with NeuroPace expecting a midyear 2026 determination. Becker has characterised the pause publicly as a standard request rather than a substantive concern and has emphasised the device’s existing Breakthrough Device Designation as enabling consistent FDA interaction during the review.

Strategic context

NeuroPace’s commercial trajectory under Becker has been increasingly contrasted with peer hypoglossal nerve stimulation company Inspire Medical Systems, with the two companies on opposite sides of the CMS WISeR prior-authorization bifurcation that took effect 1 January 2026 (NeuroPace off the WISeR services list, Inspire on it). The contrast has become the case study for how a single CMS rule cycle can redistribute the commercial trajectory of devices in the same broader neuromodulation category.