Another change at the helm of Smith & Nephew (SN.) as it has been announced that Namal Nawana will step down from the board and his position as chief executive on 31 October 2019. His successor, Roland Diggelmann, former boss of Roche Diagnostics, will take up the reins on the following day.
The news triggered a sharp fall in the share price as Mr Nawana had only taken charge of the medical technology group in May 2018. He had previously played a key role in the sale of Alere Inc to Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) for $5.3bn (£4.1bn), prompting speculation that he was being brought in to oversee a rationalisation programme.
Mr Nawana “substantially transformed the business with a new strategy, purpose and culture”, according to group chairman, Roberto Quarta, but given the relatively brief tenure it’s difficult to imagine that he would have been able to put in place every reform he thought necessary.
