St. Jude Medical's Starks Stepping Down As CEO
By Jof Enriquez,
Follow me on Twitter @jofenriq
St. Jude Medical’s top executive is retiring next year after 11 years at the helm of the Minnesota-based medical device company.
Daniel Starks, 61, currently chairman, president, and CEO of St. Jude Medical, will step down on Jan. 1, 2016, the Ledger-Enquirer reports. He has held all three positions since May 2004. Replacing him will be current COO Michael Rousseau, 59, who will also join the company's board of directors when he is promoted. Upon retirement, Starks will assume the newly-created position of executive chairman and will assist Rousseau on strategic decisions and perform oversight duties.
“St. Jude Medical’s mission is to transform the treatment of expensive epidemic diseases where medical device technology can improve patient care and reduce the costs of health care,” stated Starks in a press release. “Mike’s vision, expertise and proven track record at St. Jude Medical make him a natural choice for CEO. Today's announcement underscores our deep bench of talent and, together, we will ensure a seamless transition for the benefit of all St. Jude Medical stakeholders."
According to the announcement, Rousseau joined St. Jude Medical in 1999 as senior vice president of cardiac rhythm management (CRM) global marketing. He was promoted to group president in 2008, and then assumed the COO position in 2014.
“Over the past 16 years, I have had the privilege of working alongside Dan to change the company from being largely dependent on valves and CRM devices to being an industry leader with a diverse disease state management portfolio,” stated Rousseau in the release. “This is an exciting time for our industry, and I am highly confident in our ability to continue to deliver technologies that transform patient care in markets around the world.”
To that end, St. Jude has been aggressive in acquiring companies with new technologies to diversify its portfolio and propel future earnings.
In the release, Starks adds, "The progress we have made with our innovation-based growth program is becoming increasingly visible. We have demonstrated our ability to accelerate sales driven by our key growth driver programs, including CardioMEMS, our atrial fibrillation portfolio and our robust pipeline of neuromodulation products for chronic pain.”
In order to diversify beyond cardiac rhythm devices, St. Jude last year spent $450 million to fully acquire CardioMEMS and its first-of-its-kind, wireless, non-invasive, real-time monitoring implant called the CardioMEMS HF System for heart failure. More recently, St. Jude pushed further into heart failure management by acquiring Thoratec Corporation, a maker of left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) used for treating end-stage heart failure patients, for an estimated $3.4 billion.
Also, in April, St. Jude became the only medical device maker to offer radiofrequency ablation (RFA) spinal cord stimulation and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation therapy for chronic pain patients by purchasing Spinal Modulation Inc. and its Axium Neurostimulator System, a DRG stimulator for chronic pain.