Medtronic SVP and Chief Communications Officer Torod Neptune announced his departure from the world’s largest medical device company today.
“After nearly five transformative years at Medtronic, I’ve made the decision to turn the page,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “This was a deeply personal choice — rooted in reflection, conviction, and a renewed commitment to live more courageously and without fear.”
Related: Medtronic reports double-digit pay hikes for CEO Geoff Martha and other top executives
Medtronic Corporate Communications VP Amy Jo Meyer will move up to chief communications officer, the company said in response to a MassDevice inquiry. Neptune’s departure is effective Aug. 15.
Meyer joined Medtronic from Johnson & Johnson in 2017, moving up from the role of senior director of global communications and corporate marketing for the Americas region to VP of the same in 2020, according to her LinkedIn profile, where she describes herself as a “trusted advisor, confident leader and levelheaded problem solver, with a strong business acumen and bias for action.”
Meyer was promoted to her current role in 2021.
“The work we do in communications and marketing has never been more important,” Meyer wrote on LinkedIn. “It’s how we build trust, strengthen reputation, and connect people to the mission at the heart of our company: to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. I’m proud to lead an incredible global team that brings passion, creativity, and deep purpose to everything we do.”
This fall, Neptune said, he’ll become a full-time, tenure-track assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism and Media.
“I’ll be focusing on how organizations earn and sustain societal permission to operate and the consequences when they don’t,” Neptune said. “Equipping the next generation of leaders to navigate the increasingly complex intersection of trust, stakeholder accountability, and organizational value creation is both timely and critical.”
“In addition to teaching, through my consulting work, I’ll continue advising CEOs, C-suites, and boards on navigating societal change with clarity and courage and exploring new ways to bring my experience — and UNC Chapel Hill role — to bear across industry,” he continued.
Neptune’s responsibilities at Medtronic included corporate marketing, communications and branding, plus oversight of the Medtronic Foundation and Medtronic Labs. Neptune listed what he’s “most proud of from my time at Medtronic” as:
- “Transforming the communications function from a reactive, U.S.-centric team into a proactive global enterprise capability spanning communications, brand, and marketing organization.”
- “Integrating AI and data-driven methodologies into core communications and marketing functions, elevating performance marketing, content strategy, analytics, and impact measurement to world-class standards.”
- “Redefining the Chief Communications Officer+ role as a strategic C-suite business partner and impact driver, serving as a trusted advisor to the chairman and CEO”
- “Championing outside-in thinking, embedding stakeholder intelligence and performance data into decision-making to drive reputation and business results.”
- “Positioning the Medtronic Foundation and Medtronic Labs to deliver measurable impact in global health and societal leadership.
“Leaving a global industry-leading 100,000-strong organization like Medtronic is never easy,” he concluded. “But I do so with deep gratitude for the teammates and colleagues who made this journey so rewarding. Now, on to the next challenge.”
