NuVasive Reorganizes Top Executive Spots and Responsibilities

San Diego, Calif.-based spine firm NuVasive Inc. continues to make changes in its executive ranks.

In May, the company named a new chairman and CEO following the departure of long-time head Alex Lukianov, who stepped down earlier in the year after he failed to comply with company reimbursement and personnel policies.

According to the company, the latest changes will create a “world-class leadership team to drive NuVasive’s next phase of growth and success as the innovation pioneer in spine.” The new appointments include current NuVasive executives along with recent hires.

“Our ability to accelerate our growth, continue to take market share in the global spine market, meet the needs of our customers and generate value for our shareholders has never been stronger,” said Gregory T. Lucier, chairman and CEO of NuVasive. “With this incredibly dynamic leadership team and new roles and responsibilities defined, we can move even faster to deliver game-changing innovation, expand globally, drive operational efficiencies and inspire our ‘A-Player’ share owners to be the best they can be.”

NuVasive’s executive leadership team, reporting directly to Lucier, includes:

• Pat Miles, president and chief operating officer (COO): Miles has been with NuVasive for 14 years. In 2015, he was appointed president and COO, responsible for leadership and management of NuVasive’s global products and services, as well as operational duties, including customer fulfillment, manufacturing, supply chain management and quality engineering. As COO, Miles leads NuVasive’s Global Operations, Product Development and Marketing Services teams, which combine the company’s development and operational expertise within one organization. Most recently, he has overseen the launch of Integrated Global Alignment, or iGAT, a proprietary, procedurally integrated, digital platform of specialized products designed to help surgeons achieve more precise spinal column alignment.

• Matt Link, president, U.S. Commercial: Link joined NuVasive in 2006. He most recently served as the company’s president, U.S. Sales and Service. In this role, he led the strategic integration of the U.S. sales and service functions. With that integration complete, the company is renaming its U.S. Sales and Service diviion  U.S. Commercial to better reflect NuVasive’s broad efforts to integrate sales, service and specialized customer marketing programs. Link now will focus on driving greater sales force efficiencies and the further development of NuVasive’s commercial strategies.

• Quentin Blackford, executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO): Blackford has served as chief financial officer of NuVasive since 2014. He joined the company in 2009 as corporate controller and has more than 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry. During his tenure, Blackford has been responsible for all elements of the company’s finance, accounting and investor relation functions, including the development of the Company’s financial strategic planning and analysis.

• Jason Hannon, executive vice president, international and general counsel: Hannon assumes the role of executive vice president, international, from Russell Powers, who continues to serve as an executive vice president and a member of the executive leadership team at NuVasive and will focus on NuVasive’s expansion into greater China. Hannon has extensive experience at NuVasive in the areas of corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory and legal. He joined the company in 2005, most recently serving as executive vice president, corporate development and general counsel. In his new role, Hannon will be responsible for NuVasive’s business and commercial operations outside of the United States, including leading the company’s international expansion opportunities.

• Carol Cox, executive vice president, strategy, corporate development and external affairs: Cox has more than 20 years of senior level experience in cross-functional corporate roles in the healthcare sector. She joined the company in 2014, most recently serving as executive vice president of corporate affairs and human resources. In her new role, Cox will be responsible for leading NuVasive’s corporate development and mergers and acquisitions strategy, leveraging communications, investor relations and government affairs channels in support of the company’s strategic priorities, and creating a corporate marketing and brand team.

• Pete Leddy, Ph.D, executive vice president, human resources and corporate integrity: Leddy assumes leadership of the company’s human resources, compliance, regulatory and facilities functions after serving as a member of NuVasive’s board of directors since 2011, from which position he has resigned in connection with the appointment announced today. Leddy brings to this newly created role more than 25 years of senior level global human resources experience with Dell, Taylor Made, PepsiCo, Life Technologies and Doubletree Hotels. Leddy’s extensive experience includes successfully implementing and leading best-in-class human resources strategies that drove operational excellence and several major employee and cultural transformation initiatives.

In addition, NuVasive has begun a search for a chief information officer, a newly created role, and a new general counsel to replace Hannon, both of whom would also be part of the executive leadership team and report to Lucier.

NuVasive offers a spine portfolio of more than 90 unique products developed to improve spine surgery and patient outcomes. The company’s principal procedural solution is its Maximum Access Surgery, or MAS, platform for lateral spine fusion.