Medtronic is shifting its C-suite after its cardiovascular portfolio lead and 11-year veteran Mike Coyle jumps ship at year-end to run wearable electrocardiogram maker iRhythm Technologies.
He will be replaced Jan. 1 by Medtronic long-termer Sean Salmon as executive vice president and president of the med tech giant’s cardiovascular portfolio. Salmon will also, however, continue on as EVP and president of Medtronic's diabetes operating unit.
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Salmon will “continue his role leading the diabetes turnaround,” Medtronic said, which is looking to boost its diabetes work, and comes a few months after it nabbed an approval for its digital insulin pump.
“With his new additional cardiovascular responsibilities, Salmon will oversee the cardiovascular operating units, ensuring appropriate capital allocation to optimize Medtronic's growth and profitability, overall business performance, and innovation designed to drive continued market expansion and increased share,” the company added.
Its CV portfolio includes heart valves, stents, ablation products and more. This had been overseen by Coyle, but he is now taking that experience to iRhythm, where as CEO he will help lead the medtech’s work on CV wearables, with a focus on atrial fibrillation, and its partnership with Alphabet’s Verily.
“We owe Mike a debt of gratitude for his significant contributions to Medtronic,” said Geoff Martha, Medtronic chairman and CEO. “He's played a vital role in our cardiovascular portfolio, including overseeing the development and launches of numerous disruptive and life-saving technologies. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Mike for his leadership and wish him every success.”
Salmon started back at Medtronic in 2004 and has experience of the unit, having served in senior management roles within cardiovascular, including leading the coronary and renal denervation, peripheral, cardiac surgery, and structural heart businesses. He only took on the diabetes role last year.
“I want to thank Geoff and the board for this opportunity, which allows me to have an even greater impact on improving more patients' lives,” added Salmon. “Over the past year, we've taken a number of bold steps to improve our Diabetes performance and competitiveness, including the appointment of a new leadership team, accelerating R&D investment, entering the smart pen market, and making significant progress on our customer-centric pipeline of products and services. Completing the turnaround in Diabetes remains a high priority for me.”