Baxter President and CEO José Almeida has announced his retirement, effective immediately, after nearly a decade of leading the medtech company.
The news comes just days after Baxter completed the sale of its Vantive kidney care unit through a $3.8 billion deal with the Carlyle Group that had been in the works since last summer. Plans to spin out the division into an independent company were first announced more than two years ago, in January 2023.
“It has been an immense honor to lead the exceptionally talented Baxter team, which is united by our mission and passionate about serving the more than 350 million patients who count on us every year,” Almeida said in a statement. “With the key elements of our broad strategic transformation complete, this is the right time for a new CEO to lead the company into its next chapter.”
Almeida first took the helm at Baxter in January 2016, after serving as president and CEO of Covidien, as part of a career in healthcare that has spanned more than 30 years. He will stay on at the company as an advisor through the end of October.
Baxter has tapped a headhunting firm to find a permanent successor, with plans to evaluate both external and internal candidates. In the meantime, the company’s board has tapped lead independent director Brent Shafer to be chair and interim CEO.
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Joe for his leadership and unwavering dedication to Baxter throughout his nine years of service,” Shafer said.
“Joe has guided the company through a period of significant evolution and portfolio repositioning, including the recently closed sale of its Kidney Care business, while navigating market challenges and evolving conditions,” he added. “Thanks to his leadership, today’s Baxter is better able to fulfill its mission of saving and sustaining lives while delivering increased value for patients, customers, employees and its many other stakeholders.”
Baxter also announced that it has elevated its medical product and therapies leader, Heather Knight, to chief operating officer. Knight has been in charge of the company’s largest business segment since 2023, after serving as president of the Americas region as well as the acute therapies, clinical nutrition and medication delivery units.
“Unifying leadership and oversight of operations across our three post-separation businesses is a natural step in our transformation, best positioning the company to capitalize on our segment operating structure and drive incremental growth through innovation,” Shafer said.
The company said it plans to report its quarterly and full-year earnings Feb. 20 and recommitted to its previous financial guidance—though it noted those goals do not account for the potential impact of the Trump administration’s new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. Baxter said it is “working to quantify the expected impact of these actions, as well as identify potential mitigation opportunities.”
Last year, regarding China—which is facing a 10% tariff this week—Almeida told investors that any levies would largely be related to raw materials, including computer chips. “But we do not specifically make products in China for the U.S.,” he said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call last November.
At the same time, Almeida said a slowdown in sales in China would not affect Baxter in the future after the divestment of its Vantive kidney care unit.
“It's remarkably different, the new Baxter versus the old Baxter,” he said.