Dive Brief:
- Medical device maker Stryker has named Timothy Scannell as president and chief operating officer, effective Aug. 1. The 28-year company veteran had been group president for the MedSurg and Neurotechnology businesses for nearly a decade.
- David Floyd, group president for Orthopaedics, will retire on June 30, 2019. He will serve as group president and adviser to Stryker Chief Executive Officer Kevin Lobo until his retirement, contributing to strategic growth projects and assisting with transitioning his responsibilities to new leaders.
- Stryker said it will have two new group presidents in its leadership structure. J. Andrew Pierce was appointed group president of MedSurg, and Spencer Stiles was named group president of Instruments, Neurotechnology and Spine.
Dive Insight:
Stryker last month took the unusual step of disputing it had held discussions with Boston Scientific about a potential acquisition of the company. Stryker’s denial of merger talks, made in an SEC filing, came after rumors of a possible deal were reported in the Wall Street Journal.
Nevertheless, the company has told investors it expects mergers and acquisitions to continue to drive sales growth and innovation.
Earlier this year, Stryker completed the purchase of Entellus Medical, a maker of minimally invasive treatments for various ear, nose and throat diseases. In June, it announced an agreement to acquire Swiss medical device company SafeAir AG.
The Kalamazoo Mich.-based company posted a 10% increase in net sales in 2017, to $12.4 billion. Organic sales growth of 7.1% in 2017 exceeded the average 4.2% growth rate of medtech industry competitors, according to data compiled by Stryker. The company has forecast 2018 organic sales growth in the range of 6.5% to 7.0%.
Scannell, in his new role as COO, will be responsible for driving growth and operating leverage in all of Stryker’s businesses while promoting globalization and collaboration across its commercial units, the company said.
