LONDON, UK: Smith+Nephew (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN) announced Dr Deepak Nath has been appointed as the Company’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), succeeding Roland Diggelmann, who will step down by mutual agreement.
Deepak will take up the role on 1 April 2022 and Roland will leave on 31 March 2022.
Deepak joins Smith+Nephew from Siemens Healthineers (2018-2022) where most recently he was President of the Diagnostics business segment responsible for $6 billion of sales and 15,000 employees.
During his time there he led a major programme to drive growth and margin expansion through improved execution and a strong results-focused culture.
Prior to Siemens Healthineers, Deepak held a number of senior roles at Abbott Laboratories Inc (2007-2017) spanning R&D, marketing, commercial and divisional leadership, rising to become President of Abbott Vascular and an Executive Officer of Abbott Laboratories.
At Abbott he significantly improved performance of the Vascular business and had a leadership role in the $28 billion acquisition of St Jude Medical.
Deepak also worked for Amgen (2004-2007), McKinsey and Company (2000-2004) and as a scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He holds BSc and MSc degrees in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Theoretical Mechanics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Since his appointment in 2019 Roland has navigated Smith+Nephew through the challenges presented by COVID whilst also building a stronger platform for future growth including increasing investment in R&D and launching multiple new products.
Most recently he led the process whereby the Board and management team developed our Strategy for Growth, with its focus on transforming Smith+Nephew to a structurally higher growth company.
Deepak and the Smith+Nephew management team will take forward the delivery of this transformation through increased productivity, improved commercial execution, and a continued focus on innovation.
Roberto Quarta, Chairman of Smith+Nephew, said: “On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to welcome Deepak as Smith+Nephew’s incoming CEO.
Deepak is a highly experienced leader with a track record of significant improvement in operations and execution at major global healthcare businesses.
He is joining us at an inflection point for the business and will bring his drive, experience and expertise to lead the team in delivering our Strategy for Growth at pace.
“I would like to thank Roland for his commitment and leadership during challenging times, and the important work he has done to ready Smith+Nephew for our next stage of development.”
Deepak Nath said: “Smith+Nephew is a great company with innovation at its core and a purpose of Life Unlimited, supporting patients around the world in returning to a healthy and fulfilled life.
I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to lead the business. I look forward to building on Smith+Nephew’s rich history and heritage and working with the team to take it to the next level of growth.”
Roland Diggelmann said: “It has been a privilege to lead Smith+Nephew. I would like to thank my colleagues across the business for their tireless efforts to support our customers and communities, and continue to deliver against the backdrop of COVID. I look forward to seeing the business go from strength to strength under Deepak’s leadership.”
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