Medtech personnel changes 2021 As medtech companies continued to drive innovation throughout the past 12 months, a number of high-level executives led the way.

Some of those companies and those executives opted for major changes over the course of 2021, though, with some high-profile moves from medtech giant to medtech giant.

Here are some of the biggest personnel moves in the medtech space in 2021:

1. Medtronic’s internal shuffle causes movement in every direction

At the end of 2020, Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) confirmed that it would reorganize its corporate structure, creating 20 operating units and expecting annual savings of up to $475 million in connection with the changes.

BD-Brooke-StoryAmid all the change, a number of personnel moves both in and out of the company came over the course of 2021. Among the changes was the big move of Medtronic’s former President of Pelvic Health and Gastric Therapies Brooke Story, who departed to become the worldwide president of BD’s Integrated Diagnostic Solutions.

Other departures included former VP of Investor Relations Francesca DeMartino heading to BD, former SVP of Strategy Mike Weinstein leaving for Caris Life Sciences, former SVP and President of Medtronic’s Cranial and Spinal Technologies segment Jacob Paul departing for Corin and former VP and GM of Medtronic’s Aortic business John Farquhar leaving for Heartflow.

Medtronic didn’t only see outgoing moves, though, as the company appointed former EVP of U.S. Supply Chain for Walmart, Greg Smith, as its EVP of Global Operations & Supply Chain. The company also announced that Jennifer Kirk would be its new principal accounting officer, global controller & chief accounting officer.

Late in the year, on Dec. 16., Medtronic also confirmed changes to its executive committee, with General Counsel & Secretary Brad Lerman and CMO & CSO Dr. Rick Kuntz both set to retire in 2022.

Lerman will retire at the end of January and Kuntz intends to retire in April upon the conclusion of Medtronic’s fiscal year. Succeeding Lerman will be new EVP, General Counsel & Secretary Ivan Fong.

2. Johnson & Johnson CEO steps down

alex gorsky Johnson & Johnson

Alex Gorsky

The leader of the medtech giant cited “family health reasons” when he announced that he would be stepping down from his position as CEO of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in August, having served in the role since 2012.

Gorsky will remain on as executive chairman, at which point 30-year J&J veteran and current Vice Chair of the Executive Committee, Joaquin Duato, will transition into the role of CEO. That move will become effective on Jan. 3, 2022.

3. Abbott’s former CEO retires from board chair spot

MilesWhiteAbbott

Former Abbott CEO Miles White [Image courtesy of Abbott]

Abbott (NYSE:ABT) Executive Chair & former CEO Miles D. White stepped down from the company’s board of directors on Dec. 13, bringing an end to a 38-year run at the Abbott Park, Illinois-based medtech company.

Following White’s retirement, CEO Robert B. Ford was elected as the board of directors’ new chair.

4. Titan Medical’s CEO resigns

On Dec. 1, Titan Medical (NSDQ:TMDI) announced that its President & CEO, David McNally, stepped down from those leadership roles, effective that day.

David McNally Titan

Titan Medical CEO David McNally [Image courtesy of David McNally]

The surgical robotics company’s former President & CEO also resigned from Titan’s board of directors. No reason was provided for his departure. Toronto-based Titan Medical appointed Chair of the Board Paul Cataford as interim president & CEO.

Anthony J. Giovinazzo will assume the role of lead independent director of the board. The Titan board plans to begin a search process in early 2022 to identify a permanent replacement for McNally.

In July, the company also appointed a new CFO — Stephen Lemieux — after Monique Delorme left the position. Delorme left the company, effective immediately, but remains on in an advisory capacity through March 2022 to aid with the transition process.

5. Stryker president & COO retires

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) President & COO Timothy Scannell announced his planned retirement in August, with plans to transition into a role as advisor to Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo.

Timothy Scannell Stryker

Timothy Scannell

The effective date of Scannell’s transition to advisor was Oct. 1, with Lobo taking on the position of president on that day, too. Scannell’s official retirement date from the company is currently set for March 31, 2023.

Scannell has been with Stryker since 1990, working through a number of roles before he was appointed as president and COO in July 2018.

6. A slew of leadership changes at BD

Among the biggest news at BD this year was the confirmation that the company intends to to spin off its Diabetes Care business as an independent, publicly-traded company during the first half of 2022. BD expects that spinoff to close in the second quarter of the 2022 calendar year.

Devdatt Kurdikar

Devdatt Kurdikar

With that major change came personnel moves, too, with Devdatt Kurdikar, the current worldwide president of BD Diabetes Care, set to become CEO of the recently named company — embecta — upon the completion of the spinoff.

Operating under Kurdikar, embecta’s leadership team will include Ginny Blocki as SVP of product management & global marketing, Tom Blount as SVP & president of North America, Shaun Curtis as SVP of global manufacturing & supply chain, Jake Elguicze as SVP & CFO, Ajay Kumar as SVP & chief human resources officer, Jeff Mann as SVP, general counsel & head of corporate development, Slobodan Radumilo as SVP & president of international and Colleen Riley as SVP & CTO.

BD made other moves, too, with the appointment of Dr. Joseph M. Smith as its new SVP & CSO and the naming of Francesca DeMartino — formerly the VP of investor relations at Medtronic — as BD’s SVP of investor relations.

7. Zimmer Biomet expands executive team

Nitin Goyal Zimmer Biomet

Nitin Goyal

In June, Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) confirmed the appointments of Wilfred van Zuilen as president of Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Dr. Nitin Goyal as chief science, technology, and innovation officer.

Goyal previously served as CMO and SVP of innovation and digital care delivery at rally health, part of UnitedHealth Group’s Optum business, while van Zuilen was the regional VP to Northwestern Europe at Medtronic. He has also held numerous leadership roles at Medtronic, Covidien, Novartis and Edwards Lifesciences.

The company did have a major outgoing move by the year’s end, too, with Chief Accounting Officer Carrie Nichol departing for a new, undisclosed job.

8. iRhythm CEO steps down

Mike Coyle iRhythm

Mike Coyle (Image courtesy of iRhythm)

iRhythm Technologies (NSDQ:IRTC) announced that President & CEO Mike Coyle resigned due to personal matters in early June, departing just about six months after he left Medtronic in December 2020 to take over as CEO of the AI-powered heart monitor developer in January.

CFO Douglas Devine took over as interim CEO while the search for a permanent replacement for Coyle was conducted. In September, the company announced that it had appointed former Dexcom COO Quentin Blackford as its new President & CEO. Blackford had been at Dexcom since joining the company in 2017 as CFO before moving to the COO position less than six months before leaving for iRhythm.

9. GE Healthcare tabs Integra chief as new CEO

Peter Arduini Integra GE Healthcare

Peter Arduini

In June, Integra LifeSciences (NSDQ:IART) confirmed that Peter Arduini would step down as CEO to accept a new role leading GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) as its CEO.

According to Integra, Arduini will step down at the end of 2021 to assume his position at GE Healthcare. Current President and CEO of GE Healthcare, Kieran P. Murphy, expressed his intention to retire in the same week that Integra announced Arduini’s departure for GE Healthcare. Arduini will be leading the company as it becomes a standalone from General Electric in 2023.

In October, Integra confirmed the appointment of former Barco CEO Jan D. De Witte to take over from Arduini by the end of the year. De Witte left Barco effective September 1.

10. Dexcom promotes Sylvain to CFO

Jereme Sylvain

Jereme Sylvain

In March, Dexcom (NASDAQ: DXCM) announced that it promoted Jereme Sylvain to become a new EVP & CFO at the continuous glucose monitoring company.

Sylvain joined Dexcom in 2018 and served as SVP of finance & chief accounting officer. He took over from Quentin Blackford who had been serving as both COO and CFO for the San Diego-based company.

11. Varian executives change gears as Siemens acquisition goes through

Dow Wilson Varian

Dow Wilson

Varian Medical Systems CEO Dow Wilson announced at the beginning of March that he would retire following the $16.4 billion acquisition of the company completed by Siemens Healthineers in April.

On the back of Wilson’s retirement announcement, CFO J. Michael Bruff decided to resign from the company to pursue other opportunities. SVP, Chief Accounting Officer & Corporate Controller Magnus Momsen took on the role on an interim basis following Bruff’s departure.

12. Butterfly Network picks new CEO ahead of going public

Todd Fruchterman Butterfly Network

Todd Fruchterman

At the beginning of the year, Butterfly Network (NYSE:BFLY) confirmed that CEO Laurent Faracci would step down ahead of the company’s $859 million SPAC merger that took the company public.

After Faracci stepped down, Dr. Todd Fruchterman took over as the handheld ultrasound technology developer’s president & CEO, effective Feb. 1.