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| Robert Cascella |
Royal Philips ($PHG) has hired Robert Cascella to head up its imaging businesses, including the newly acquired assets from catheter-based imaging company Volcano. He was the former president and CEO of Hologic, where he held executive positions for about a decade.
Philips is in a state of management flux as it continues to restructure its business to focus on a combination of its former consumer and healthcare businesses into a focus on HealthTech and a divestiture of its lighting businesses. A sale as well as an IPO for its lighting assets are expected to help fund the transition to HealthTech.
Cascella will hold the title of EVP of Royal Philips. He succeeds Gene Saragnese, who will retire as of May 1.
"Rob has an impressive track record in value creation in the healthcare industry, with a strong focus on integrated solutions," Philips CEO Frans van Houten said in a statement. "He will bring a wealth of expertise in diagnostic imaging, together with deep customer insights at a crucial time for Philips, as we accelerate our transformation to become a global leader in HealthTech and shape the future of the industry."
Most recently, Cascella was appointed chairman of the board at women's health company DySIS Medical, which he joined in January 2014. He was still listed on the company's site as holding that position at press time. The startup had its own good news today--the UK's National Health Services's Cervical Screening Program has added the DySIS Colposcope to its guidelines.
Cascella was with Hologic from 2003 to 2013. Prior to that, he was a managing partner at CFG Capital, an investment bank specializing in healthcare. He was also COO and VP of Finance at 3-D breast ultrasound company NeoVision.
He will report directly to van Houten and will be the CEO of the Diagnostic Imaging business group, as well as oversee the Image-Guided Therapy business, which includes the acquired Volcano products, and the Ultrasound business. Philips acquired Volcano for $1.2 billion in February.
Philips sees advanced diagnostic imaging and image-guided therapies that are supported by clinical informatics as key to the future of healthcare.
"The company's tremendous history of innovation, its leading position in medical imaging and its customer-centric focus on the HealthTech opportunity will make it both an exciting and rewarding place to work," Cascella said of his new employer in a statement. He will be based in Andover, MA and Amsterdam.
Wall Street has remained somewhat skeptical of the HealthTech refocus since it was first announced on Sept. 23. After that, the stock took a deep dive but has recovered somewhat. Its shares remain off about 4% from prior to the announcement.
- here is the release