CryoLife Brings in Medtronic Executive to Serve as President and CEO

Atlanta, Ga.-based CryoLife Inc. has appointed James Patrick (Pat) Mackin, age 47, as president and CEO. Mackin is expected to be appointed to the company’s board of directors after his employment begins.
 
Steven G. Anderson will continue to serve CryoLife as its president and CEO until Mackin’s employment begins and then continue as its executive chairman.
 
“We are excited to have Pat Mackin join us as our CEO and president,” said Anderson. ”We believe he is an ideal leader for CryoLife given his strong background in cardiac and vascular medical devices and broad international sales and marketing experience. In addition, Pat’s accomplishments, professionalism and commitment to excellence complement the culture, mission and values of CryoLife perfectly. I am confident that Pat will bring significant value as we continue to execute on our growth strategy and, personally, I am greatly looking forward to working with him.”
 
“In CryoLife, I found the right combination of culture, innovation and a shared long-term vision,” said Mackin. “The company is in a strong position to continue building on its leadership in cardiac and vascular surgery with its existing products, new product pipeline and continued business development activity. I look forward to contributing to the growth strategy and I am excited by the opportunity to become part of a great team and feel privileged to join the CryoLife family as we work together to deliver great solutions to the marketplace.”
 
Mackin joins CryoLife from Medtronic Inc., where he most recently served as president of Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management, the company’s largest operating division. He is a highly respected professional with more than 20 years of medical device industry experience.  At Medtronic, he previously held the positions of vice president, Vascular, Western Europe and vice president and general manager, Endovascular Business Unit.
 
Prior to joining Medtronic in 2002, Mackin worked for six years at Genzyme Inc. serving as its senior vice president and general manager for the Cardiovascular Surgery Business Unit and, earlier, as director of sales, Surgical Products division. Before joining Genzyme, he spent four years at Deknatel/Snowden-Pencer Inc. in various roles and three years as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army.
 
Mackin received and MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.
 
CryLife makes implantable living human tissues for use in cardiac and vascular surgeries.