Olympus Appoints Former Medtronic Executive Bob White as New CEO

AoOlympus Announces Appointment of Former Medtronic Executive Vice President Bob White as New CEO, Effective June 1, 2025.At the Olympus shareholders' meeting held in June 2025,Bob White will also be nominated as a candidate for the board of directors.

Bob White will succeed Yasuo Takeuchi, who became the interim CEO after Stefan Kaufmann resigned in October 2024 due to alleged involvement in purchasing banned substances. Takeuchi had led the company for over four years before handing over the reins to Kaufmann in 2023.

Olympus Evaluation

"We are pleased to announce the appointmentBob White assumes this critical leadership role. He has accumulated extensive experience across several renowned institutions in the medical technology field. I look forward to welcoming this leader, who brings broad knowledge and professional expertise to the company. Over the course of his career,Bob White has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership in driving transformative growth and strategic initiatives. It is truly exciting to see him bring his deep expertise and profound insights to Olympus.

---Yasuo Takeuchi, Current CEO of Olympus

Resume of the New CEO

Bob White previously worked at Medtronic for 14 years until he left last year during the company's restructuring. When Medtronic exited the ventilator market, it eliminated the position of Executive Vice President and President of its Medical Surgical business. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President and President of the Asia-Pacific region, and earlier in his career, he worked at Covidien.

During his tenure at Covidien, White held positions such as President of Emerging Markets and President of Respiratory and Monitoring Solutions. Medtronic acquired Covidien in 2014 for $43 billion. His professional experience also includes work at GE Healthcare, Merge Healthcare, and IBM's healthcare division.

Due to Medtronic's decisionTermination of the ventilator business and merging the remaining operations of the patient monitoring and respiratory interventions business units into a single operating unit. Therefore, last yearBob White was MedtronicDismissal, due toTermination without fault. For this, Medtronic...Bob White paid $3.2 million in severance compensation. This included nearly $1.6 million in two years' salary compensation, an equivalent amount for the two-year target bonus conversion payment, and $61,259 to continue his health and dental insurance benefits for the next two years.

Speech by the New CEO

"I am deeply honored and grateful for the trust bestowed upon me by the Board and the Nomination Committee. Olympus stands out with its market-leading solutions, cutting-edge technology, and exceptional talent. I look forward to contributing my experience to the company’s continued success and growth. The profound Japanese cultural heritage of this enterprise, its outstanding product quality, and unwavering commitment to meeting the needs of doctors and patients have long been a source of great admiration for me."

---Bob White