Business & Tech

It's First Week on the Job for New Medtronic CEO

He's only the second outsider to lead the company.

To mark the first day of work for on Monday, MedCity News took a look at his background, noting that he is only the second leader of the Fridley-based corporation to come from outside the company:

Ishrak, 55, was born in a place as far away from Minnesota in culture and climate as is humanly conceivable: Bangladesh. With the ascension to the Medtronic top job, he becomes the only non-Caucasian CEO among his counterparts at 19 other Fortune 500 companies that call Minnesota home. ...

Ishrak is deeply interested in global markets. While some believe that medical devices for developing markets like China and India will likely be low-end products to address basic needs of access and affordability, Ishrak appears to believe that price considerations will not compromise innovation.

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MedCity News includes a video from GE Healthcare Systems, his previous employer, showing Ishrak in Bangladesh, and links to YouTube where there are more glimpses to be found of the new Medtronic head (see one recent one with this post).

The Star Tribune also takes note of the occasion in a blog post, quoting a Medtronic spokesman on in his first weeks Ishrak will "immerse himself in our businesses, our customers, our culture and most importantly, with our global employees.”

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And if you're wondering:

Is Ishrak also making his home in Fridley, where every weekend there are open houses galore and reasonable real-estate deals abound?

Last time we asked Medtronic they didn't know, but we'll ask again and update here.

UPDATE: Ishrak announced his arrival via the Twitter account @MedtronicCEO, the St. Paul Pioneer Press noted:


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