Boston Scientific chairman and co-founder to retire in May; CEO will replace him

Tim Casey | | Cardiovascular Business | Patient Care

Boston Scientific chairman Pete M. Nicholas will retire at the company’s annual meeting in May, the company announced on Feb. 25. CEO and President Michael F. Mahoney will become chairman when Nicholas retires.

Nicholas and John Abele founded Boston Scientific in 1979. Nicholas has served on the board of directors since then.

“The company is in an excellent position under Mike’s leadership, and with the support of a strong and dedicated board and an outstanding worldwide team of dedicated employees, the company remains poised to continue its current trajectory of successful growth,” Nicholas said in a news release. “This transition is an exciting and forward-looking one for the entire company, and I know it will further enhance the ability of Boston Scientific to continue to serve patients and strengthen its high performance both as an innovator and leader.”

Boston Scientific also announced that current director Edward J. Ludwig, former CEO and chairman of Becton, Dickinson and Co., will become the company’s lead independent director following the annual meeting. Ellen M. Zane, the former CEO of Tufts Medical Center, will become a director on April 15.

Meanwhile, directors Ernest Mario, PhD, and N.J. Nicholas, Jr. also will retire from the board following the annual meeting. Nicholas, Jr., who is Pete Nicholas’s brother, joined the board in 1994. Mario joined the board in 2001.

“Under Pete’s leadership, Boston Scientific has become a leading global healthcare corporation serving 22 million patients each year, and we are deeply indebted for his decades of service and love of the company,” Mahoney said in a news release. “Nick’s and Ernie’s leadership have also helped us build and sustain the company’s momentum, and their efforts have resulted in a stronger company and more effective and diverse board. We truly look forward to welcoming Ellen, whose history of patient-centric healthcare leadership will help Boston Scientific continue to deliver meaningful innovation to our patients and physicians.”

Tim Casey,

Executive Editor

Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.

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