UPDATED Feb. 19, 2016, with confirmation of Whitaker’s appointment.

AdvaMed, the national lobby for the medical device industry, confirmed that it tapped the chief operating officer at BIO, Scott Whitaker, to be its new CEO.

Whitaker is due to replace Steve Ubl, who left last year to take the reins at PhRMA, effective April 4.

Whitaker, the former chief of staff for the Health & Human Services Dept. under President George W. Bush, was 1st reported as the new AdvaMed chief by Politico.

“We are very pleased that Scott has agreed to lead AdvaMed at a time of unprecedented change in health care,” chairman Vincent A. Forlenza, whois also CEO of Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX), said in prepared remarks. “Medical technology companies are at the forefront of developing solutions that improve patient outcomes and enable the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care. However, continued progress in these areas depends on ensuring a strong innovation ecosystem. Scott has a proven track record as an association leader, and we believe he has the vision to set the course for AdvaMed’s future.”

“It is a tremendous privilege to join AdvaMed and represent such an innovative and life changing industry. Given the many health care challenges throughout the world, it is critical that we work together to create a policy and regulatory environment that will allow this industry to continue to discover, develop and deliver innovative medical technologies to patients. It is essential that patients everywhere have full access to the benefits of medical technology. I look forward to working with these amazing companies and telling the story of life changing innovation,” Whitaker added.