Leadership GEOFFREY S. MARTHA

Geoff Martha is firmly establishing Medtronic as the undisputed global leader in healthcare technology.

Geoff Martha is firmly establishing Medtronic as the undisputed global leader in healthcare technology. As chairman and CEO, Geoff leads the $30 billion company and its 90,000 employees in pursuit of fulfilling the Medtronic Mission to use technology to improve human welfare. He is recognized as one of healthcare’s most driven and innovative executives — ranking in Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare in 2020 and listed as the #1 CEO in healthcare technology by the Healthcare Technology Report in 2021.

The Medtronic Mission — to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life — has inspired its researchers and engineers to create some of the most meaningful medical technologies in the history of healthcare: a pacemaker the size of a vitamin pill, the world’s first hybrid closed-loop diabetes pump, neurostimulators for pain and brain disorders, and more.

Under Geoff’s leadership, Medtronic is putting the ‘tech’ in medtech, leveraging the latest advances in cutting edge technology to transform healthcare, including manufacturing processes, robotics, data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Recognizing the power of partnerships and innovative collaborations, Geoff has accelerated Medtronic’s strategic acquisitions, boldly pursued novel R&D funding models, and embraced new ways to partner across industries and global borders.

Geoff assumed his current role as CEO in April 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic rocked communities around the world. As part of his commitment to lead with purpose, Geoff quickly mobilized the company and took action to help global healthcare professionals and partners continue to treat patients and protect themselves. In addition to accelerating the development of remote solutions, he made the unprecedented move to open source the company’s intellectual property, making proprietary ventilator designs available to manufacturers around the world. The move helped address growing global demand for ventilators, resulted in new partnerships, and broke down barriers across industries to enhance care. In 2021, the Ireland-U.S. Council awarded him with the Global Achievement Award to recognize his role in overseeing Medtronic’s significant contributions to the fight against the pandemic.

FORTUNE Magazine named Medtronic among the top 15 companies for its 2020 “Change the World” list, recognizing its swift efforts during the pandemic, and listed the company on its list of Most Admired Companies in 2021 and 2022. During Geoff’s tenure as CEO, Medtronic has also placed #11 on DiversityInc’s 2021 Top 50 Companies for Diversity; Drucker Institute’s 2020 Management Top 250 list; and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, as one of the world's leading companies in sustainability.

Since joining Medtronic in 2011, Geoff has remained an ardent supporter of Medtronic-sponsored philanthropic and diversity initiatives. He is a member of the Medtronic Foundation Board of Directors and serves as Medtronic’s Executive Sponsor to FIRST Robotics. Geoff also led the Medtronic African Descent Network - an internal resource group focused on recruitment, engagement, retention, and development for employees of African descent.

Prior to becoming CEO of Medtronic, Geoff held various leadership roles on the company’s executive committee, including SVP, Strategy and Business Development; Chief Integration Officer; and Executive Vice President, Restorative Therapies Group. Notably, he led the acquisition and subsequent integration of Covidien, the largest acquisition in the history of the medical technology industry. Before joining Medtronic, Geoff spent 19 years in a variety of business development, strategic marketing, and sales management roles at GE Healthcare and GE Capital.

Geoff is an active member of the global business community, sitting on the Business Roundtable, the Business Council, and on the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council. In 2021, he served as co-chair of the Taskforce on Health and Life Sciences for B20, a G20 engagement group. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Asia Society, a leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the board of directors for the Minnesota Business Partnership.

Passionate about socio-economic issues, Geoff serves on the Board of Directors for two Minneapolis-based nonprofit organizations: Children’s HeartLink, which provides access to care for children around the world with congenital heart defects, and the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ), a community collaborative that works to end generational poverty and build a culture of achievement so low-income children of color graduate college and are career-ready. He is also part of OneTen, a coalition of cross-industry leaders committed to breaking down systemic barriers for Black Americans.

Geoff received a bachelor’s degree in Finance as a member of the Scholar’s Program from Pennsylvania State University, graduating with highest honors. He was captain of the Penn State men’s hockey team and later inducted into its Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2016, the University awarded him the Penn State Hockey Distinguished Alumni Award. He is also a member of Penn State’s College of Liberal Arts Development Council.

Follow him on Twitter (@GeoffMartha) and LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/geoff-martha).