"The challenge in 2015 is to preserve and put us in a position to transform health care. We're not going to transform health care in one year, this is a longer-term vision and goal of ours."
About Martha: A native of Pittsburgh, Martha graduated from Penn State in 1992 and went directly to General Electric, where he stayed for 19 years. He worked 15 years in GE's financial services division before becoming a managing director in GE Healthcare. That's where he met the future CEO of Medtronic, Omar Ishrak, who was then CEO of GE Healthcare Systems. Ishrak came to Medtronic in June 2011, and Martha followed him two months later.
Personal file: Martha's 20th wedding anniversary is coming up next year, and he and his wife have two teenage kids. A former hockey captain at Penn State, Martha has stayed active with the team, serving on the development council that raised money to elevate the Penn State Nittany Lions to NCAA Division I status in 2012.
What's big in 2015: Medtronic Inc. is in the process of acquiring surgical supplier Covidien PLC in a $44 billion deal. Martha's job as chief integration officer is to manage the combination of a $17 billion company with a $10 billion company without jeopardizing the therapy innovation or strong stock performance of either company.
Final word: "We feel like, if we do this right and bring these companies together and preserve the momentum they have, and the things that make each company very strong, that we'll be in a position to help drive and be a leader in the transformation of health care around the world."
JOE CARLSON
