• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

MassDevice

The Medical Device Business Journal — Medical Device News & Articles | MassDevice

  • Latest News
  • Technologies
    • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    • Cardiovascular
    • Orthopedics
    • Neurological
    • Diabetes
    • Surgical Robotics
  • Business & Finance
    • Wall Street Beat
    • Earnings Reports
    • Funding Roundup
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Initial Public Offering (IPO)
    • Legal News
    • Personnel Moves
    • Medtech 100 Stock Index
  • Regulatory & Compliance
    • Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
    • Recalls
    • 510(k)
    • Pre-Market Approval (PMA)
    • MDSAP
    • Clinical Trials
  • Special Content
    • Special Reports
    • In-Depth Coverage
    • DeviceTalks
  • Podcasts
    • MassDevice Fast Five
    • DeviceTalks Weekly
    • OEM Talks
      • AbbottTalks
      • Boston ScientificTalks
      • DeviceTalks AI
      • IntuitiveTalks
      • MedtechWOMEN Talks
      • MedtronicTalks
      • Neuro Innovation Talks
      • Ortho Innovation Talks
      • Structural Heart Talks
      • StrykerTalks
  • Resources
    • About MassDevice
    • DeviceTalks
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Leadership in Medtech
    • Manufacturers & Suppliers Search
    • MedTech100 Index
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
Home » Former Olympus CEO Woodford resigns, calls for board’s ouster

Former Olympus CEO Woodford resigns, calls for board’s ouster

December 1, 2011 By MassDevice staff

Olympus

Michael Woodford, the former CEO of endoscopy giant Olympus Corp. (TYO:7733) fired for blowing the whistle on a massive accounting scandal, resigned his seat on the board and called for the wholesale ouster of his former colleagues

Woodford has been a busy man lately, speaking with authorities in Japan, the U.S. and the U.K. about the scandal. Olympus has admitted to using mergers and acquisitions to conceal billions of dollars of investment losses. In one case the company shelled out $687 million in fees to dummy consulting firms.

Woodford was sacked two weeks after taking his desk in the corner office after he confronted the board about the scheme. Now he’s looking to assemble a coalition of stakeholders to wrest control of the company from its current managers, whom he accuses of being complicit in the scandal.

Sign up to get our free newsletters delivered right to your inbox

The board "wrecked the company by siphoning off huge amounts of money on all this nonsense," Woodford said during a recent press conference. "The directors know that they will have to leave to bring credibility back to the board."

Saying his resignation "allows me to talk to all parties at Olympus," Woodford told Bloomberg that he’s committed to resurrecting the company. Olympus shares are down nearly 60 percent since Oct. 14, when the scandal first broke.

"I will come together with a new slate of directors," Woodford told the news service. "I remain completely committed to Olympus and, if the shareholders decide, very much want to return."

Olympus has a virtual corner on the world endoscopy market, with its $2.6 billion-a-year business accounting for a share of about 70 percent and high profit margins of about 17 percent. Preserving that operation is a priority, But the company faces a de-listing threat from Japanese securities regulators and is reviewing its corporate structure, perhaps with an eye toward jettisoning its under-performing camera unit.

That’s not the only probe under way both within and without the company. Olympus is conducting an investigation into its M&A deals and its accounting of them. Agents from Japan’s Securities & Exchange Surveillance Commission are on site a the company’s Tokyo headquarters conducting their own probe, and authorities in the U.K. and the U.S. FBI are also on the case.

Filed Under: Endoscopic, News Well, Wall Street Beat Tagged With: Olympus

More recent news

  • Medtronic reports first patient treated in study of multi-organ denervation for hypertension
  • Baxter turns to an automation company for its new CEO
  • Pristine Surgical appoints new CFO
  • Boston Scientific wins expanded FDA nod for Farapulse PFA
  • FDA warns on issue with J&J Abiomed pump controllers related to 3 deaths

Primary Sidebar

“md
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest med device regulatory, business and technology news.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MEDTECH 100 Stock INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
MDO ad

Footer

MASSDEVICE MEDICAL NETWORK

DeviceTalks
Drug Delivery Business News
Medical Design & Outsourcing
Medical Tubing + Extrusion
Drug Discovery & Development
Pharmaceutical Processing World
MedTech 100 Index
R&D World
Medical Design Sourcing

DeviceTalks Webinars, Podcasts, & Discussions

Attend our Monthly Webinars
Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

MASSDEVICE

Subscribe to MassDevice E-Newsletter
Advertise with us
About
Contact us

Copyright © 2025 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy