Boston Scientific Corporation (Boston Scientific) announced the retirement of Jim Tobin, president and chief executive officer (CEO), who will be succeeded by Ray Elliott, former CEO of Zimmer Holdings Inc. (Zimmer), effective July 13, 2009. Elliott has over 35 years of experience leading health care and consumer products companies. He was with Zimmer for 10 years, joining the company as president in 1997. He has served as chairman, president and CEO of Zimmer.
Prior to joining Zimmer, Elliott served as president and CEO of Cybex International Inc. He has also served as president and chairman of various divisions of Southam Inc., a communications group, and as group president of the food and beverage company John Labatt Ltd. He began his career in the health care industry with American Hospital Supply Corp. – now Baxter International Inc. – where he served for 15 years in sales, marketing, operations, business development and general management positions, leading to his appointment as president of all the Far East divisions, based in Tokyo. He has also served on a number of boards, including AdvaMed, where he was chair of its orthopedics sector. He was a member of the Boston Scientific board of directors from 2007 until earlier this year. In addition to serving as president and CEO of Boston Scientific, he will rejoin the board. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
During Elliott’s leadership of Zimmer, sales and market capitalization quadrupled. Sales increased from approximately $1 billion in 1997 to approximately $4 billion in 2007. Elliott oversaw taking Zimmer public in 2001, with an initial market capitalization of approximately $5 billion. At the time of his departure in 2007, the company’s market capitalization was more than $20 billion. In 2005 he was named Best CEO in America for Health Care (Medical Supplies and Devices), by Institutional Investor magazine.
We are delighted that Ray will be joining us as only the third CEO of Boston Scientific, said Nicholas. His long and proven track record in leadership positions has prepared him well for this role. Ray is an extremely capable leader with extensive experience running global health care companies. We have gotten to know Ray well as a leader and colleague in the industry, as well as from his service on our board. We are confident he offers the right combination of experience, results and talents for Boston Scientific going forward.
As chair of the search committee, I had the opportunity to review a number of strong candidates, and Ray stood out convincingly as our top choice, said Ernest Mario, Ph.D., a member of the Company’s board of directors. His experience and success leading large, complex, international companies – coupled with his specific expertise in medical devices – made him the clear selection to be Boston Scientific’s new CEO. We are very pleased that Ray will be assuming the leadership of the Company.
It’s an honor to follow Pete and Jim as the CEO of Boston Scientific, a company with great products and technologies, a rich pipeline creating substantial future growth potential, and of course, outstanding people, said Elliott. I look forward to leading the Boston Scientific team and building on the impressive tradition of delivering innovative medical solutions to patients and physicians. I am committed, as always, to creating value for them, our employees and our shareholders.
Ten years ago this month, I began my tenure as CEO of Boston Scientific, and two months from now, I will turn 65, said Tobin. Over the course of the past decade, we have built a stronger, more diversified company that is well positioned for the future. We have achieved this due largely to the support of our employees, customers and investors, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them. Now is an appropriate time for me to turn over the leadership of the Company to Ray Elliott, our new CEO. Ray is an outstanding choice, and he has my full and enthusiastic support. We will have a smooth transition, which will culminate with Ray taking over next month.
The board accepts Jim’s decision to retire with understanding and enormous gratitude, said Pete Nicholas, chairman of the board of Boston Scientific. Jim led Boston Scientific through a period of tremendous growth and diversification that transformed the Company. Thanks to his leadership and the efforts of thousands of Boston Scientific employees, our Company has strengthened its position as a worldwide leader in less-invasive medicine. More important, while Jim has been CEO, Boston Scientific has helped improve the lives of millions of patients. On behalf of the board, I would like to recognize and thank Jim for these and so many other accomplishments.