Coming out of a dark phase its company’s history, Spectranetics Corp. (NSDQ:SPNC) is starting fresh with a new man in the corner office: former senior VP of operations at DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA), Scott Drake.
Drake takes the helm at the Colorado Springs-based cardiac ablation laser company after the resignation of Emile Geisenheimer, who continues to serve on the company’s board of directors.
Geisenheimer stepped down last October after the resolution of legal troubles that saw several Spectranetics executives indicted on charges that the company illegally imported medical lasers for a clinical trial.
“I am pleased that we have resolved our issues with the government. I believe that our level of cooperation and responsiveness and our demonstrable efforts at compliance, much of which preceded the onset of the federal investigation, were critical components that led to the resolution of this matter with no charges filed against Spectranetics,” Geisenheimer said in a January, 2010, press release. He retired later that year.
Spectranetics admitted responsibility and paid nearly $5 million to avoid federal prosecution. Two former executives and a consultant were indicted in September on multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud the federal government, lying to investigations, import violations and other charges.
John Schulte, who resigned as CEO nearly three years ago, former VP of business development Obinna "Larry" Adhigije, former business development manager Trung Pham and consultant Hernan Ricaurte were indicted in September, 2010, and face up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.
Drake spent nearly two years on the executive team at DaVita, prior to which he spent 17 years in various positions at Covidien plc (NYSE:COV), according to an SEC filing.