Hologic to retain CEO MacMillan | Personnel Moves - November 3, 2017

Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) said this week its current prez and CEO Stephen MacMillan will stay on with the company, resolving rumors that he may depart it to take up the corner office at Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH).

In an SEC filing, the Marlborough, Mass.-based company’s board said it approved a special “performance-based retention equity grant” to MacMillan after he had begun to receive interest from other medical device firms.

“Mr. MacMillan has led a dramatic turnaround of Hologic since joining in December 2013. The company’s performance has increased significantly under his leadership and he personally has recruited a large number of leaders to the company. In light of his long track record of success, other larger medical device companies have expressed interest over time in retaining him to serve as chief executive officer. Mr. MacMillan recently received such an offer from a large medical device company. The independent members of the company’s board of directors considered the potential for disruption to Hologic and its business should Mr. MacMillan leave, and determined that it was in the best interests of Hologic and its stockholders to retain him as chairman, president and chief executive officer. Accordingly, the independent members of the board, after careful consideration and discussions with Mr. MacMillan and the compensation committee’s compensation consultant, awarded him a special retention equity grant, all of which is performance-based. He has formally declined the other more substantial offer, reaffirmed his full commitment to Hologic, and will remain as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Hologic,” the company wrote in an SEC filing.

The news could be a boon for the company, according to a Leerink Partner analyst’s report, as the possibility of his departure “has been an overhang on the stock.”

“The board believed (appropriately in our view) it was in the best interest of HOLX shareholders after considering the disruption to HOLX and the business should he leave to issue a retention package which amounts to a combined ~$20M of equity grants (50% tied to return on invested capital metrics and 50% tied to total shareholder return metrics), and $10M in the form of options that vest in 4 equal installments over four years,” Leerink Partner analyst Richard Newitter wrote in a letter to investors.

Shares in Hologic are up 3.2% today, at $39.65 as of 11:43 a.m. EDT.

Tissue Regenix taps ex-Global Sanofi Biosurgery COO Caldwell as chief exec

Tissue Regenix (LON:TRX) has reportedly tapped Steve Caldwell as its chief executive officer, effective immediately.

The promotion lifts Couldwell from his place as a non-executive director, which he’s held since July 2013. Prior to joining Tissue Regenix, Caldwell held a number of positions with Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) including European orthopedics prez and sales and marketing senior VP.

Most recently, he held a position as chief operating officer for Global Sanofi Biosurgery.

“Since being appointed to the board in 2013 I have been impressed with the great commercial potential of our dCELL platform. The recent acquisition of CellRight Technologies has increased the market potential and provided a highly complementary product range in the $1.7B US bone graft and substitute market. I am delighted to be appointed CEO and look forward to leading the group through the integration of CellRight and expansion of commercial activities as we execute our commercial strategy and grow our market share throughout the US and the rest of the world,” Caldwell said, according to a Hargreaves Lansdown report.

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ConMed CFO Pomilio to retire

ConMed (NSDQ:CNMD) said this week its CFO Luke Pomilio will retire from his position with the company, but will remain on until a successor is found.

The Utica, N.Y.-based company said it has already initiated a search for a new CFO. Pomilio has served as CFO at the company since April, 2015 and originally joined as a Controller in 1995.

“On behalf of the board and the entire ConMed team, I would like to thank Luke for his invaluable contributions to the improvement of the company’s commercial execution, to the development of our financial organization, and to ConMed as a whole. We appreciate his commitment to our company and its shareholders during his distinguished career here, and we wish him the very best as he transitions into retirement,” prez & CEO Curt Hartman said in a prepared statement.

“I have been honored to be a part of the ConMed team for the last two decades and to lead its finance team for the past several years. I am proud of the progress we have made in strengthening the Company’s profile, and I am confident that ConMed is well positioned for growth and success,” Pomilio said in a press release.

Invacare (NYSE:IVC) said this week its chief financial officer Robert Gudbranson will step away from the company to pursue other opportunities, effective November 26.

The Elyria, Ohio-based company said it is engaging in an executive search for a successor, with corporate controller and VP Kathleen Leneghan assuming the CFO role on an interim basis.

“On behalf of everyone at Invacare and our Board of Directors, I want to thank Rob for his financial leadership and many contributions during his tenure as CFO, including serving as interim CEO from July 2014 to March 2015. We wish him success in his new endeavor. We have full confidence in Kathy’s ability to lead our finance operations, and we expect a smooth transition. We are grateful for her experience and leadership while our search is underway for a new chief financial officer. Based on our progress with our business transformation, this is a good transition point. We look forward to updating investors on our third quarter financial results in next week’s earnings call,” prez & CEO Matthew Monaghan said in a press release.

“I have enjoyed working at Invacare, and I wish the company well. I remain fully committed to helping Matt, Kathy and the Invacare team ensure a seamless transition over the next several weeks,” Gudbranson said in a prepared statement.

Pulmatrix (NSDQ:PULM) said late last month it tapped former Veristat chief medical officer Dr. Jim Roach as its new chief medical officer, effective today.

In his position, Dr. Roach will head the clinical development of the company’s inhaled drugs for serious lung diseases including allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and chronic obstructive lung disease, the Lexington, Mass.-based company said.

“We are excited to have Dr. Roach join the Pulmatrix team to oversee and accelerate the clinical development of our pipeline. Dr. Roach is an ideal person for the job, as a board-certified pulmonologist with many years of experience in successfully managing clinical development and operations, as well as medical and regulatory affairs, in a number of biotech and pharma companies,” CEO Robert Clarke said in a press release.

“I am very excited to be joining Pulmatrix at a time when its lead compounds emerging from the iSperse platform are so close to entering the clinic I look forward to working with the team to advance these innovative therapies that hopefully can make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients suffering from these chronic illnesses,” Dr. Roach said in a prepared statement.

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