Baxter Appoints Leader of International Operations

Baxter Appoints Leader of International Operations

Ludwig Hantson didn’t have to look too far for his next job. The former Novartis North America pharma CEO is now overseeing international operations at Baxter International Inc. Hantson, a Ph.D., left Novartis in mid-April as the company tweaked its U.S. pharmaceutical operations, creating four new business units focusing on primary care; multiple sclerosis; psychiatry/neuroscience; and respiratory/transplant/infectious disease. The changes reduced the number of full-time jobs by 383, mostly in headquarters-based functions.

Hantson started his new job as Baxter’s corporate vice president and president, International, on May 3. Based in Deerfield, Ill., Baxter makes treatments for hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma and other chronic and acute medical conditions.

Hantson, 47, spent nine years at Novartis working in various senior management positions, heading the company’s U.S. specialty pharmaceuticals business and its European pharmaceuticals operations before being named CEO, pharma for North America in 2008.

He joined Novartis in 2001 from Janssen Pharmaceutica (a Johnson & Johnson company), where he spent 13 years in various roles within the marketing and clinical research and development departments. Hantson began his healthcare career at Smith & Nephew in Belgium.

Hantson received a doctorate in motor rehabilitation and physical therapy from the University of Louvain in Belgium.

Medtronic Hires Human Resources Executive

Medtronic Inc. has named Caroline Stockdale as senior vice president of human resources. She reports to Medtronic Chairman and CEO William A. Hawkins.

Stockdale, who assumed her new role on April 30, oversees the company’s worldwide human resources network and supervises various functions including global talent initiatives, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, and compensation and benefits. More than 40,000 people in 120 countries work for Medtronic, according to a news release.

In addition to her duties in the company’s human resources department, Stockdale also will serve on Medtronic’s executive committee.

Stockdale has worked as a human resources executive in the United States and Europe at several companies, including New York, N.Y.-based Warner Music Group, American Express Financial Advisors (now Ameriprise, based in De Pere, Wis.) and GE Capital Corporation. Most recently she was vice president of revenue cycle operations for Chicago, Ill.-based Accretive Health Inc., a privately-held company that helps hospitals manage their revenue with services related to patient registration, health insurance verification, treatment coding, bill preparation and collections.

Stockdale is a qualified chartered accountant in the United Kingdom and a Six Sigma black belt.

Secant Medical Beefs Up its Management Team

Secant Medical LLC is undergoing a growth spurt.

Less than a month after expanding its manufacturing capacity (see Industry News, page 69), executives at the Perkasie, Pa.-based biomedical textiles manufacturer added to its management team. In a formal news release, officials announced the hiring of Kenneth Ross as business development director, Tony J. Troiano as Lean “champion” and Joan M. Anthony as marketing manager.

In his new position, Ross will handle accounts in the soft tissue and general surgery device market. He joined Secant from Dew Technologies Inc., a Fairborn, Ohio-based implant manufacturer that was acquired by TriMas Corporation in August 2007. Executives with TriMas—a Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based manufacturer of spinal and trauma implant products—expected the merger to give the firm access to new markets.

Ross spent seven years in senior-level positions at Dew Technologies. Prior to that, he worked for Architects Associated Inc., a Dayton, Ohio-based full-service architectural firm, and DePuy Orthopedics Inc. (a Johnson & Johnson company) in Warsaw, Ind.

Troiano has more than a decade of experience in manufacturing and transactional continuous improvement, manufacturing operations, and product and process design in various organizations. He was a project manager at The Vanguard Group, an investment management company; and an engineer for Whirlpool Corporation.

Secant officials hired Troiano to develop and implement a Lean manufacturing program at the company. He spearheaded such projects at the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center in Philadelphia, Pa., and Samsung Electronics.

As marketing manager, Anthony will supervise all marketing, communications, and business development support programs. She spent more than a decade with Hewlett-Packard Company gaining experience in marketing programs management, product marketing, integrated marketing communications, customer relationship management, direct and web marketing, and closed-loop demand generation.

Secant’s recent expansion efforts are part of the company’s long-term strategy to tap into the lucrative tissue engineering market. Industry experts predict the total market for tissue engineering—including heart valve repair and replacement; musculosketetal bone and ligament repair and replacement; and urologic bladder slings—will surpass $11.5 billion by 2016.