Olympus Corporation, a global leader in MedTech dedicated to enhancing health and safety worldwide, has appointed Bob White as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
This leadership change is a key step in accelerating Olympus’s ongoing transformation in the medical technology sector.
The Board of Directors unanimously selected White, previously Executive Vice President and President of the Medical Surgical Portfolio at Medtronic, to succeed Yasuo Takeuchi, the current Director, Representative Executive Officer, President, and CEO of Olympus. White will be nominated for election to Olympus’s Board of Directors at the upcoming General Meeting of Shareholders in June 2025.
White’s recent role at Medtronic involved overseeing the Medical Surgical Portfolio until April 2024. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President and President for Medtronic’s Asia Pacific region, managing operations across APAC and Japan from Singapore. His leadership experience also includes senior positions at Covidien, where he was President of Emerging Markets and President of Respiratory and Monitoring Solutions. Throughout his career, White has driven multiple innovation initiatives, led R&D programs, and managed complex mergers and acquisitions, maintaining close ties with physicians and market needs.
Before Medtronic, White held leadership roles at GE Healthcare, Merge Healthcare, and IBM’s Healthcare Division. His extensive MedTech career has been marked by a strong commitment to transforming healthcare delivery and improving patient outcomes globally.
The selection process involved a rigorous, comprehensive search facilitated by a top executive search firm and overseen by Olympus’s Nominating Committee and Advisory Search Committee since November 2024. After evaluating a strong slate of internal and external candidates, White was chosen for his exceptional skills and vision to guide Olympus through its next phase, including quality enhancement and regulatory compliance.
White holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Cleveland State University and an MBA in finance from Case Western Reserve University in the United States.
