Wright Medical Group N.V. Announces Organizational Changes to Further Drive Long-Term Growth and Profitability
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, Jan. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Wright Medical Group N.V. (NASDAQ: WMGI) today announced organizational changes to further drive the company’s long-term growth and profitability, which support its vision to be the first choice in Extremities and Biologics.
Robert Palmisano, president and chief executive officer, stated, “Wright Medical is quickly becoming a $1 billion high-growth medtech company that is built to win in the fast-growing Extremities and Biologics markets. As we continue to grow and progress, there is a need to better align our team to support long-term revenue growth, profitability and day-to-day execution. At the same time, we must stay strategically focused to maintain our technology differentiation and leadership positions. It is with these goals in mind that I am creating two new executive vice president positions, reporting to me, to advance our global commercial focus and to further transform our global business processes.”
The following organizational changes are effective immediately:
Kevin Cordell, Wright’s current president, U.S., is being promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president, chief global commercial officer. Mr. Cordell joined Wright in 2014 and has more than 25 years of experience as a global medical technologies commercial leader with extensive experience leading direct sales forces. During his tenure at Wright, he was responsible for the successful integration of the U.S. commercial teams following the Tornier merger and optimizing the commercial sales and incentive structure in the U.S. upper and lower extremities and biologics business to drive growth. Mr. Cordell’s experience in market development and commercial operations will be key as Wright further extends its leading position in the U.S. Extremities and Biologics markets and focuses on driving growth and penetration in International, particularly in emerging markets. In this role, he will lead global commercialization, including sales, marketing, product research and development, surgeon education and clinical research. In conjunction with Mr. Cordell’s new role, Peter Cooke, currently president, international, will assume the role of president, emerging markets, Australia and Japan, and Steve Wallace, currently vice president of upper extremities marketing, will be promoted to president, international. Both positions will report to Mr. Cordell.
Lance Berry, Wright’s current senior vice president and chief financial officer, is being promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president, chief financial and operations officer. Mr. Berry is a long-tenured, proven Wright executive with more than 15 years of industry experience, including extensive knowledge of the company’s operations, systems and processes. During the last several years, Mr. Berry has led several successful initiatives to improve the company’s gross margin and reduce inventory, as well as lead the divestiture and carve-out of the company’s hip and knee business and the successful execution and integration of the company’s merger with Tornier. His position is critical as the company focuses on further transforming and optimizing global business operations and driving cost and process improvements. In this role, he will be responsible for global finance and accounting, operations, quality, regulatory, information technology, strategy and corporate development.
Palmisano concluded, “With significant opportunities ahead, these organizational changes will allow for further alignment of our cross functional organizations with a stronger and sharper focus on long-term growth and profitability, including a greater emphasis on the emerging market opportunity. I am looking forward to working with Kevin and Lance in their new leadership roles and am confident that these appointments, along with our other organizational changes, will further bolster our ability to capitalize on the growth opportunities in front of us and accelerate our market performance.”
Wright Medical to Present Today at J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
Wright’s management will present today, January 7, 2019, at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time. A live audio webcast of the conference presentation and the Q&A session, along with the accompanying presentation materials, will be available on Wright’s corporate website at www.wright.com, under the “Investors” link. The presentation materials, as well as the reconciliations of its non-GAAP financial measures, will be posted prior to the presentation as soon as practicable after the issuance of this press release. The audio webcast and accompanying presentation materials will be archived on this site under the “Investor Presentations” link following the conference.
Internet Posting of Information
Wright routinely posts information that may be important to investors in the “Investor Relations” section of its website at www.wright.com. The company encourages investors and potential investors to consult the Wright website regularly for important information about Wright.
About Wright Medical Group N.V.
Wright Medical Group N.V. is a global medical device company focused on extremities and biologics products. The company is committed to delivering innovative, value-added solutions improving the quality of life for patients worldwide. Wright is a recognized leader of surgical solutions for the upper extremities (shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand), lower extremities (foot and ankle) and biologics markets, three of the fastest growing segments in orthopaedics. For more information about Wright, visit www.wright.com.
™ and ® denote trademarks and registered trademarks of Wright Medical Group N.V. or its affiliates, registered as indicated in the United States, and in other countries. All other trademarks and trade names referred to in this release are the property of their respective owners.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release includes forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “could,” “may,” “will,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” “guidance,” “future,” other words of similar meaning and the use of future dates. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, statements about the company’s growth outlook and the anticipated impact of the above-described organizational changes on the company’s anticipated future financial performance. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Each forward-looking statement contained in this release is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others, failure to achieve the anticipated benefits of the above-described organizational changes, failure to achieve anticipated financial results, failure to achieve the anticipated financial benefits of the recent Cartiva acquisition, unanticipated clinical performance issues with Cartiva products or the introduction of competitive products with clinical performance attributes that are superior to Cartiva products, failure to achieve wide market acceptance of the Cartiva products due to clinical, regulatory, cost, reimbursement or other issues, the failure of the company’s 2017 U.S. sales force additions to achieve expected results, delay or failure to drive U.S. lower extremities or biologics sales to anticipated levels; continued supply constraints; failure to integrate the legacy Wright and Tornier businesses and realize net sales synergies and cost savings from the merger with Tornier or delay in realization thereof; operating costs and business disruption as a result of the merger, including adverse effects on employee retention and sales force productivity and on business relationships with third parties; integration costs; actual or contingent liabilities; adverse effects of diverting resources and attention to providing transition services to the purchaser of the large joints business; the adequacy of the company’s capital resources and need for additional financing; the timing of regulatory approvals and introduction of new products; physician acceptance, endorsement, and use of new products; failure to achieve the anticipated commercial sales of our AUGMENT® Bone Graft and other new products; the effect of regulatory actions, changes in and adoption of reimbursement rates; product liability claims and product recalls; pending and threatened litigation; risks associated with the metal-on-metal master settlement agreement and the settlement agreement with the three settling insurers; risks associated with the subsequent metal-on-metal settlement agreements and ability to obtain the additional new insurance proceeds; risks associated with international operations and expansion; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; other business effects, including the effects of industry, economic or political conditions outside of the company’s control; reliance on independent distributors and sales agencies; competitor activities; changes in tax and other legislation; and the risks identified under the heading “Risk Factors” in Wright’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 filed by Wright with the SEC on February 28, 2018 and subsequent SEC filings by Wright, including without limitation its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2018 filed with the SEC on November 8, 2018. Investors should not place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. Investors are encouraged to read Wright’s filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of the date of this release, and Wright undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. Wright’s business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those referenced above. Investors, potential investors, and others should give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties.
Investors & Media:
Julie D. Dewey
Sr. Vice President, Chief Communications Officer
Wright Medical Group N.V.
(901) 290-5817
julie.dewey@wright.com
