Dive Brief:
- Resmed has revamped its leadership team, creating new heads of product, marketing and revenue, and announced the departure of two executives.
- The respiratory device manufacturer is promoting three people to fill the new roles, effective immediately. Rob Douglas, Resmed’s president and chief operating officer, and Urvashi Tyagi, chief technology officer, will leave their posts in January but will continue as consultants for about one year.
- Resmed disclosed the changes two weeks after cutting 5% of its workforce and stopping certain projects to trim its operating costs and focus on profitable growth.
Dive Insight:
Resmed has benefited from Philips’ recall of sleep apnea machines and ventilators, which took its main competitor off the market for years. However, Philips is now returning to some markets. Resmed CEO Mick Farrell told investors on an earnings call last month that “we're competing directly with our competitor that was out for their recall ... and meeting and beating them head-to-head,” but the company is making changes nonetheless.
The first set of changes focused on reducing costs, with Resmed laying off staff and stopping projects that Farrell said “were not working out as well as we thought.” Now, the company is overhauling its leadership team and adopting a new operating model to accelerate long-term growth.
Resmed has added dedicated leadership in product, revenue and marketing to its global executive team. Justin Leong, previously president of Asia and Latin America, has taken up the chief product officer role. Katrin Pucknat has transitioned from president of Germany to chief marketing officer. Mike Fliss, formerly vice president of North America sales, has filled the chief revenue officer position.
“We will measure the success of our new operating model through increased product velocity, increased vigilance on long-term profitable revenue delivery, and increased brand engagement with stakeholders,” Farrell said in a statement explaining the changes.
Resmed’s digital health technology product organization, an area where the company is spending more, will report to Leong. Lucile Blaise, current president of sleep and respiratory care, will transition to a new role as senior vice president of strategy and business development, reporting to the Chief Strategy Officer Hemanth Reddy.
Two executives are leaving the company. Douglas, who joined Resmed in 2001, will retire at the start of next year but continue as a special advisor to the CEO until the end of 2024. Tyagi is also leaving the company and will continue as a consultant until the end of next year.
