Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) said today that executive vice president Geoff Martha is slated to succeed Omar Ishrak as CEO next year, ahead of the medtech giant’s mandatory retirement age.
Ishrak is slated to assume the newly created executive chairman role April 27, 2020, the Fridley, Minn.-based company said, providing “counsel and guidance to Medtronic’s leadership, oversee CEO succession, and drive the ongoing successful execution of Medtronic’s long-term strategic plan.”
Martha, currently EVP for restorative therapies, was promoted to president and given a seat on the board, effective Nov. 1, with brain therapies president Brett Wall named to succeed him. Medtronic sets the mandatory retirement age at 65, lead director Scott Donnelly said.
“These changes are designed to ensure a smooth transition, continuity of leadership and a continued focus on delivering Medtronic’s innovation strategy and financial performance,” the company said.
Ishrak, the former CEO of GE Healthcare, was hired in May 2011 to replace Bill Hawkins, who the previous month revealed his plans to retire. Ishrak completely reshaped the company during his tenure, with early turns toward global markets and value-based healthcare, a few key divestitures and a raft of acquisitions, including the largest-ever medtech merger – the $50 billion buyout of Covidien in early 2015.
“Today, we announced leadership changes that meet both the board’s objective of executing a thoughtful leadership transition as well as my personal desire to begin transitioning my duties as CEO to a new leader coinciding with the start of our next fiscal year,” Ishrak said in prepared remarks. “This plan and its timing enable Geoff and I to partner on achieving Medtronic’s key financial performance goals as well as delivering on our critical pipeline milestones, including several important product launches. Leading Medtronic as CEO is an honor and a privilege, and I know that Geoff is the right leader to take Medtronic to the next level of its growth and evolution. Geoff is a results-oriented, dynamic and innovative business leader who is passionately committed to our mission, the advancement of our growth strategy and the development and diversity of our people. I am confident he has the right track record, commitment, vision and judgment to lead our company.”
Ishrak recruited Martha, who’d been his strategy lieutenant at GE Healthcare, to join Medtronic soon after taking the corner office. After spearheading the Covidien integration, Martha was tapped to lead the restorative therapies business in 2015.
“I’m humbled and grateful for the opportunity to lead such an amazing company,” Martha added. “Since coming to Medtronic, I have been deeply motivated and inspired by the company’s mission, its people and its unique ability to create and commercialize technology that directly improves and saves people’s lives. I thank Omar and the entire board for their vote of confidence in selecting me as president and as the company’s next CEO. I know that with the support and dedication of my Medtronic colleagues around the globe, we can continue to deliver new levels of performance for patients, customers and healthcare systems we serve – and for our shareholders and business partners.”
