Medtronic adds CFO from financial services giant Comerica

Medtronic ($MDT) has added Karen Parkhill as EVP and CFO. She was previously with financial services firm Comerica ($CMA), where she was vice-chair and CFO for 5 years. The move adds a woman to the upper echelons of Medtronic management; their ranks were almost entirely male after the Covidien merger--a fact FierceMedicalDevices noted in our most recent "Top Women in Medical Devices" special report. Parkhill started out as an investment banker at JP Morgan in 1992 and rose through the ranks to eventually become CFO of its Commercial Banking business. Her extensive finance background will serve her well at Medtronic--which currently is focused largely on financial engineering to preserve and consolidate its top spot as the largest medical devicemaker by far. More