Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) named GE Healthcare’s former chief, Omar Ishrak, to take over from chairman and CEO William Hawkins, effective June 13.
The news from the Fridley, Minn.-based medical device behemoth came just one day after rival Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) announced that CEO J. Raymond Elliott will be retiring at the end of the year.
The Medtronic decision caps an extended search for a replacement for Hawkins, who’d planned to retire by the end of April. He recently agreed to postpone his departure for an indefinite period while Medtronic kept up the search. Ishrak is a 16-year veteran of GE’s (NYSE:GE) $12 billion health care business and was also a senior vice president and a member of the conglomerate’s executive council. He will be succeeded by Tom Gentile, the current vice president of the company’s aviation services division.
Elliott’s move to step down began a little more than a month ago, when the company’s board asked him to document the accomplishments of his two-year tenure.
As he spent an entire Sunday on a detailed outline of the past and — more importantly — the future of the Natick, Mass.-based medical device maker, the answers to their questions became the answers to his, Elliott told investors at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Health Care Conference in Las Vegas.
Two years on, the turnaround wasn’t fully complete, but the 61-year-old was confident that the pieces were in place for him to hand things over to the next generation. Someone who, in his words, would lead the company for the next five to 10 years.
Elliott said his longtime lieutenant, COO Sam Leno, is likely not a candidate to replace him in December, but dropped clues about what his successor will have to bring to the table.
Here’s the latest personnel changes from medical device, diagnostics and life science companies around the nation. For more recent hirings and firings, check out MassDevice’s compilation of the latest personnel moves.
- GE announces promotions, Ishrak’s successor
GE Healthcare announced two new members of its leadership team in a move designed to drive differentiated product and service offerings that meet its global customers’ diverse needs. Tom Gentile, currently vice president of GE Aviation’s Services division, has been named president and CEO of GE Healthcare’s Healthcare Systems division. Gentile succeeds Omar Ishrak, who is leaving GE to lead Medtronic.Mike Swinford, currently the Services leader for GE Healthcare’s North American division, was named president and CEO of Global Services, a new business that will be responsible for driving GE Healthcare’s service strategy globally, creating new service growth platforms across product lines and expanding the capabilities of each region’s service operations.
Read more - Direct Flow Medical taps David Elizondo as development officer
Direct Flow Medical Inc. a privately held medical device company developing minimally invasive implant to treat patients with heart valve disease announced the appointment of David Elizondo as the company’s chief development officer. Elizondo is a former executive at Plymouth, Minn.-based ATS Medical, which Medtronic acquired last year.
Read more - CNS Response taps CEO as president
CNS Response Inc. on April 29 appointed CEO George Carpenter to the position of president of the company. Dr. Daniel Hoffman, who served as President since April 2009, continues to serve as chief medical officer of the company. The board also appointed director David Jones as the board’s chairman, which position was previously held by Carpenter.
Read more - Dr. Mark Turco quits practice to become Covidien Vascular CMO
Interventionalist and long-time advocate for professional cardiovascular societies Dr. Mark Turco is leaving clinical medicine to become the first chief medical officer for Covidien plc’s (NYSE:COV) vascular product’s business, reports HeartWire. Turco was employed at Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, Md.
Read more - NaviNet names medical, product management executives
NaviNet Inc. tapped former Prematics executives Michael Ross as chief medical officer and David Kates as senior vice president of product management and clinical strategy, reports MassHighTech. The Boston-based company provides patient information management services and connections among health plans, industry partners, government agencies and health-care professionals.
Read more - TriReme Medical bulks up board with eye on Asia
TriReme Medical Inc., a developer of innovative catheters and stents for the treatment of complex vascular disease, announced the appointment of Supratim Bose and Michael Kleine to its board. Bose, founder of Bose Consulting Group, is based in Singapore and was until recently company group chairman at Johnson & Johnson with responsibilities for all of the medical devices & diagnostics franchises across the Asia-Pacific Region. Kleine was previously CEO of medical device company Biosensors International, which is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
Read more - Frantz Medical promotes Stephanie Harrington to COO
Mentor, Ohio-based Frantz Medical Group announced the immediate promotion of Stephanie Harrington to COO. Harrington joined Frantz Medical Group in 2005 as VP, Research & Business Development.
Read more - Cardiovascular Systems names Kevin Kenny VP of sales and marketing
Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (NSDQ:CSII) has named Kevin Kenny executive vice president of sales and marketing, a new position, effective today. Kenny will oversee all sales and marketing functions with the goal of building on the marketplace success CSI has achieved since its first-generation Diamondback 360° product was launched in late 2007.
Read more - SeraCare announces board elections
SeraCare Life Sciences Inc. (NSDQ:SRLS), a life sciences company providing products and services to facilitate the discovery, development and production of human diagnostics and therapeutics, announced the election of Joseph Nemmers and Kevin Hrusovsky to its board. Additionally, SeraCare announced that Nemmers has been appointed to the position of chairman.
Read more - David Edwards joins Nanostart-Holding BioMers as CEO
David Edwards is the new CEO of the Singaporean Nanostart (OTC:NASRY) holding BioMers Pte Ltd. The top executive will be leveraging his extensive experience in building brands to drive BioMers’ commercial expansion and launch of flagship product, SimpliClear.
Read more - RxTrials hires Adam Chasse as VP of biz dev
Christine Pierre, president of RxTrials Inc., named Adam Chasse VP of business development. Chasse, who has been head of prime sites for Quintiles, began on May 11 and will be based in Triangle Park, N.C.
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