ACG Tampa Bay - The Deal Table: CEO Stories Over Breakfast #2

Mr. Thiyagalingam currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of PainTEQ, a disruptive technology serving patients suffering from sacroiliac joint dysfunction and supporting the interventional pain market. From 2020 through 2025, he held successive leadership roles at the company—from Chief Commercial Officer to Chief Operating Officer, and ultimately as CEO. During his tenure, he led the company’s transformation from early-stage startup to hyper-growth innovator in the interventional pain space. He also led M&A initiatives and was instrumental in securing a Category 1 CPT code for the LinQ procedure—a new therapy in the interventional pain market. Under his leadership, PainTEQ was recognized three years in a row by the INC 5000 and named a “Best Place to Work” by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Prior to this he worked in senior leadership roles across reputable companies such as Abbott, Nevro and Stryker. He holds a Bachelor of Medical Science from the University of Sydney, a master’s in marketing management, and an MBA from Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM). He is also a certified Gallup Strengths Coach and is passionate about fostering high-performance cultures and mentoring emerging leaders in the medtech industry.

John Connery has a diverse transactional practice, with an emphasis on advising family offices, venture capital funds, companies, angel investors and private equity funds and their portfolio companies on structuring and negotiating complex business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, growth capital investments, joint ventures, fund formations and recapitalizations. John advises investors, developers and property managers on real estate joint ventures and regularly serves as outside general counsel to growing, middle market companies. He has substantial experience in structuring and tax planning for transactions. John served for many years as practice chair of the firm's Corporate & Tax Group. 

John acts as counsel to a number of institutional private equity and real estate investment and development clients, including KLH Capital, Mangrove Equity Partners, Keswick Partners, Clearwell Group, The Ferrante Group, Parkstone Growth Partners, Green Hills Partners, Landeavor, Fairbourne Properties, Third Lake Partners and Third Lake Capital. 

He is a Certified Public Accountant in Florida. Prior to joining the firm, John worked as an audit associate with Arthur Andersen in its Tampa office and practiced tax law in the Chicago office of the international law firm Mayer Brown. 

John is a founder and member of the Board of Directors for Bayshore Project, Inc., a Florida not-for-profit corporation that promotes health and fitness of middle school children through the creation of a middle school distance running community in South Tampa.