St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) mourned the passing of its longest tenured board member Thomas Garrett who died from multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
Garrett sat on St. Jude’s medical board for 34 years, having joined in 1979, just 3 years after the company was founded. He was "instrumental" in advising St. Jude through the appointment of more than 6 CEOs and continued to play a role in legal matters, according to a company statement.
"On behalf of the board of directors and the employees of St. Jude Medical, we extend our deepest sympathies to Tom’s family and friends and the many colleagues whose lives he touched," St. Jude chairman, president & CEO Daniel Starks said in prepared remarks. "For the past 3 decades, Tom has embodied the profound integrity and commitment to excellence that defines our industry. We thank him for the many contributions he has made to St. Jude Medical. He will be missed."
Garrett was most recently on St. Jude’s audit committee. During his tenure on the board he also worked as a self-employed business contractor, prior to which he was a director at Lifecore Biomedical and a member and managing partner of the law firm of Lindquist & Vennum PLLP in Minneapolis, Minn.
St. Jude plans to continue running the Thomas H. Garrett St. Jude Medical Scholarship Program, which was renamed last year in Garrett’s honor.
