Executive Shifts at Exactech

Several executive moves are underway at Gainesville, Florida-based Exactech, Inc.

Darin Johnson, the current Senior Vice President of Extremities at Exactech, is now the company’s new President and CEO. Johnson joined the company in 2002 and has risen through the ranks. He succeeds David Petty, who has become Vice Chairman of the Exactech board of directors. Co-founders Bill Petty, M.D., current Co-Executive Chairman, and his wife Betty Petty, current Vice President of Administration and Corporate Secretary, have retired from the company.

Johnson told OTW that in his first few months as CEO he is focused on connecting with surgeon customers, engaging with Exactech’s employees and global sales organization, refining top management’s focus and crystallizing the company’s innovation strategy.

“I am passionate about winning as a team and have ensured that Exactech has an all-star lineup leading our organization. I’m strongly committed to our Reconstruction business and am thrilled that John McDaniel has accepted my invitation to lead this business unit as Senior Vice President. John is a 30-year veteran of the orthopaedics industry. I know he is the ideal leader to take this business segment to the next level because of his outward focused commitment to our customers,” Johnson told OTW. “I am also pleased to promote Chris Roche to Vice President of Extremities. Chris has been my partner for 17 years driving our extremities growth and he and the team will continue our momentum with this fast-growing segment. He will provide excellent continuity for the Extremities team and customers.”

“Continuing to expand our technology portfolio is a top priority,” according to Johnson. “We will drive our technology development efforts under the continued leadership of Sharat Kusuma, M.D., Medical Director and Vice President of our Advanced Surgical Technologies business unit. I am honored to partner with these proven leaders and the rest of our passionate team to help Exactech reach its full potential.”

Johnson who joined the company in 2002 and after several other executive level positions was named Senior Vice President of Extremities in 2018. According to the company, “Johnson was the original leader of the Equinoxe shoulder product line at Exactech, which has become the company’s most successful segment. He has built and led cross-functional, global teams of orthopaedic surgeons, product managers, engineers and sales professionals. Prior to joining Exactech, Johnson spent five years in the investment banking industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and studied Economics at Oxford University.”

John McDaniel, a member of the Exactech team since February 2018, was formerly Vice President of E&D for a strategic engineering team. In January 2020, John was made Senior Vice President of Reconstruction. McDaniel has 30 years of experience in manufacturing, product development, business development and marketing. He was formerly at Biomet where had a series of leadership roles.

“Exactech is poised for growth in the hip and knee market,” John McDaniel told OTW. “The combination of our implant lines with new and exciting technologies will allow us to give surgeons an incredible array of options for treating their patients at the individual level. Our reconstruction business unit is loaded with talented engineers and marketing professionals, and we are excited to work with thought leaders to take our hip and knee business to the next level.

Chris Roche, an engineer at Exactech since 2003, has designed and brought to market numerous medical devices, including the Equinoxe Platform Shoulder System. Roche earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Mercer University, a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Kentucky and a master’s in business administration from the University of Florida. Roche has penned his name to 70 manuscripts, seven book chapters and one ASTM testing standard; he has presented on more than 240 occasions.

Chris Roche commented to OTW, “I’m proud to be a long-standing member of this amazing extremities team. With our strong clinical data and robust product pipeline, we are well positioned to continue our momentum.”