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| Alexis Lukianov |
Alexis Lukianov has resigned as CEO of minimally invasive surgical spine player NuVasive ($NUVA) due to violations of the company's expense reimbursement and personnel policies. The amounts involved are said to be immaterial to the company's financial results. The allegations are a result of an independent investigation that was overseen by the NuVasive board.
He was with the company since 1999, when it was a venture-backed startup. Lukianov ushered NuVasive through a May 2004 IPO that raised $71.5 million. From those humble beginnings, the company now has a market cap of about $2.2 billion.
NuVasive shares were down about 1% on April 1 in early trading on the news of Lukianov's departure.
"His actions in this regard were not representative of the high standards by which NuVasive operates. We believe this leadership transition is appropriate and in the best interests of the Company and all of our stakeholders," NuVasive lead independent director Jack Blair said in a statement.
Greg Lucier, a NuVasive board member since 2013, has been appointed to serve as interim CEO and to replace Lukianov as Chairman of the board. He was the chairman and CEO of Life Technologies, which was acquired for $13.6 billion by Thermo Fisher Scientific ($TMO) in 2014.
"The company's strengths have enabled NuVasive to become the #3 player in the global spine market. Going forward, we will remain focused on market share-taking strategies that have been responsible for driving double-digit revenue growth," said Lucier in a statement. "At the same time, we will continue to leverage meaningful scale and efficiencies in our business, which are translating to both accelerated profit growth and strong free cash flow."
NuVasive also preannounced its first quarter 2015 revenue, which it expects will be more than $190 million. The company said it's on track for its 2015 profitability goals.
In February, NuVasive guided to 2015 revenue of about $810 million with 2015 GAAP EPS of $0.67 and non-GAAP EPS of about $1.10. That would improve on 2014 GAAP loss per share of ($0.36) with a non-GAAP EPS of $0.67.
- here is the release
- and coverage from The Wall Street Journal and Reuters