A Medical Device Daily

Zimmer Holdings (Warsaw, Indiana) reported that Ray Elliott has informed the board that he plans to retire in the first half of 2007 from his positions as president/CEO of the company, but will continue to serve in those roles until his official retirement.

Elliott will remain as chairman for at least one more year.

The board said it has hired Spencer Stuart, the global executive recruiting firm, to assist with the search for a successor. It said the search will include both internal and external candidates, with a transition expected to occur during the first half of 2007.

“After serving nearly 25 years as a company president, it is time for others to take over the day-to-day leadership of Zimmer,” Elliott said. “My decision provides the opportunity to serve, in the future, on other corporate boards, and to advise both private equity firms and investment banks on medical device-related strategy and transactions.”

“We are grateful and indebted to Ray Elliott for his extraordinary service to Zimmer,” said John McGoldrick, chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee of the board. “He has guided the company exceptionally well through a period of unparalleled growth.

“Among his accomplishments include the original turnaround, the spin-off to a public company, the completion and integration of critical acquisitions and the development of many new products and services that have added substantially to shareholder value. The board is especially pleased that Ray will remain as chairman and that Zimmer will continue to benefit from his experience and knowledge of the global orthopedics market.”

Elliott served as president/CEO and chairman of Zimmer from its inception as a public company in 2001, when Bristol-Myers Squibb spun it off. Prior to that, he served as president of Zimmer from 1997 to 2001.

Zimmer manufactures reconstructive and spinal implants, trauma and related orthopedic surgical products.