• DaVita (El Segundo, California) said that its former chief medical officer Charles McAllister, MD, will retire effective April 1. McAllister stepped down as CMO in July 2007, and has since served as CMO emeritus. McAllister served as CMO for DaVita since 2000. "Of my major accomplishments, I'm especially proud of being given the honor to work with many colleagues, nurses, dieticians and others I was able to learn from them all," said McAllister. "As I retire from my executive career, I plan on working in the not-for-profit sector with the disadvantaged and underserved." DaVita specializes in kidney care services for those with chronic kidney failure

• Commissioner William Kovacic has assumed the role of chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (Washington). On March 26, President Bush announced his intention to designate Kovacic to serve as chairman upon the departure of Deborah Platt Majoras. Kovacic has served as a commissioner at the agency since January 2006, following his nomination by the president and confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Kovacic said, "I look forward to working with my fellow Commissioners and the FTC's staff to advance an active agenda that will preserve competition and protect American consumers."

• Tom Shea has been named senior VP of manufacturing operations for NxStage Medical (Lawrence, Massachusetts). Most recently, Shea was Jabil Incorporated's global business unit manager. NxStage makes dialysis products.

• Olympus (Center Valley, Pennsylvania) said that Mark Gumz, president/COO of the global company's wholly owned subsidiary in the U.S. since January 2000, has now added CEO to his title. The company said that Gumz is the highest-ranking official in the Americas and the first American to be appointed CEO of any Olympus entity. He will retain his positions as president of Olympus America, Olympus Canada, Olympus Imaging America and Olympus Medical Equipment Services America. He also continues to oversee the operations of Olympus Latin America. Olympus makes opto-digital solutions for healthcare, life science and consumer electronics.