Baxter International Close to Hiring Outsider José Almeida as CEO
October 28 2015 - 4:10PM
Dow Jones News
Baxter International Inc. is close to hiring José Almeida as its
new chief executive, according to people familiar with the matter,
tapping an energetic deal maker to run the maker of dialysis
machines and medical products.
Mr. Almeida, who is 53 years old, was the chief executive of
Covidien PLC until January when he completed the sale of the
medical-supplies company. He is expected to be appointed Baxter's
chief as soon as this week, two of these people said. Mr. Almeida
didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The hiring of Mr. Almeida would culminate a monthslong search
for a successor to Robert Parkinson, Jr., who has headed Baxter
since 2004. Mr. Almeida's selection has been nudged along by
several of Baxter's biggest shareholders, some of the people
said.
The leadership change is a win for activist hedge fund Third
Point LLC, which owns nearly 10% of Baxter. When the fund disclosed
its stake in August, it said it was supportive of the CEO
transition. Munib Islam, a Third Point partner, who was named last
month to Baxter's board, is on the board committee overseeing the
search.
Baxter is poised to choose an outsider as its next leader
because there weren't any obvious internal prospects to succeed Mr.
Parkinson, one person familiar with the company said.
Mr. Almeida, who goes by the nickname "Joe," would take the helm
of Baxter in the wake of a major shift. The Deerfield, Ill.-based
company spun off its biopharmaceuticals business in July, a move
that leaves it focused on medical devices and technology.
Baxter, which has a market value of about $20 billion, sells
kidney-dialysis machines, drug-delivery systems and operating-room
drugs such as anesthesia. It still owns 19.5% of the new company,
Baxalta Inc., which is facing an unwanted takeover bid from Shire
PLC.
Mr. Almeida is no stranger to corporate slimdowns and
reshufflings. A mechanical engineer by training, the Brazil native
joined Covidien's predecessor, Tyco Healthcare, in 1995 as its
director of manufacturing and corporate engineering. He stayed with
Covidien when it was carved out of Tyco International Ltd. in 2007
via a three-way split, and later ran its medical-devices business
unit before becoming CEO in 2011.
In four years at the helm, he separated Covidien's generic-drug
unit and focused the company on medical devices and surgical tools.
Covidien was acquired this January by Medtronic Inc. for nearly $50
billion in cash and stock, a deal that earned Mr. Almeida a payout
of $54 million, according to a regulatory filing.
Mike Frazette, a former colleague of Mr. Almeida's at Tyco
Health, described him as a "very results oriented and a high energy
kind of guy."
Mr. Almeida wants to be a CEO again, because he relishes "the
chance to really build something and to compete on a large scale,"
said Bill Hawkins, a longtime acquaintance who led Medtronic until
2011. "He has had the taste of success and wants to do it
again."
While running Covidien, Mr. Almeida tapped into international
expertise for research and development by building an R&D
center in China, Mr. Hawkins recalled. "One of his hallmarks was
the way he approached building a global enterprise and the
willingness to take risks," Mr. Hawkins said.
Following Covidien's sale, Mr. Almeida was hired by Carlyle
Group this May as an operating executive in the global health care
group at the private-equity firm. He is currently a director at EMC
Corp., Analog Devices Inc. and State Street Corp.
Write to Liz Hoffman at liz.hoffman@wsj.com and Joann S. Lublin
at joann.lublin@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 28, 2015 15:55 ET (19:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024