MacMillan Resigns

Stephen MacMillan, the dean of orthopedic executives, has resigned immediately as Chairman, President and CEO (CPCEO) of Stryker Corporation.

The bombshell announcement was made on February 8, during the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in San Francisco, California. The reason cited in the company announcement was that he had resigned for “family reasons.” The news was met with some skepticism by journalists in the press room at the Academy. But without any previous signs that MacMillan was under any kind of pressure from investors or regulators, we have to assume the reason for the sudden departure is as given and we wish Mr. MacMillan and his family all the best.

MacMillan leaves just as the company reported that net sales for the year rose 13.5%. That exceeded the lower single-digit sales growth reported by the orthopedics industry as a whole.

Curt Hartman, vice president and chief financial officer, has been named interim chief executive officer and William U. Parfet, lead independent director, becomes non-executive chairman. The Board has begun a search for a permanent successor to Mr. MacMillan and will consider both internal and external candidates.

“The Board is thankful for Steve’s leadership over the past nine years as the Company has continued to grow in the midst of a difficult economic period, ” said Parfet. “We understand and support his decision to step down for family reasons and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

“Stryker is fortunate to have a strong and deep executive leadership team, and we are pleased that Curt Hartman has agreed to step into the interim CEO role, ” Parfet added. “The Board is excited about the Company’s strategic direction and our commitment to delivering double-digit adjusted per share earnings growth.”

“It has been an enormous privilege to have led Stryker during this period of important change and growth, ” said MacMillan, “As I look ahead to the next chapter in my life, I remain confident that the team will continue to execute Stryker’s strategy with distinction and that the Company will enjoy continued success in the future.”

We at OTW will miss the CPCEO’s quarterly banter with analysts and the baseball metaphors that caused us to write that we think he really wanted to be manager of the Kalamazoo Kings who play at Homer Stryker field.

All the best Mr. Chairman.