ResMed Names New CEO; Continues Awareness Campaign of Sleep Disordered Breathing
Effective Jan. 1, 2008, Kieran T. Gallahue will be promoted to Chief Executive Officer and will join ResMed's board of directors. Gallahue, who joined ResMed in January of 2003 as president and COO of the Americas, has pushed the awareness of sleep disordered breathing in both the medical community and the public.
ResMed offers a multimedia presentation of Understanding Sleep Disordered Breathing on its Web site at www.resmed.com. by clicking under "Patients."
With most people currently suffering from sleep disordered breathing currently undiagnosed, ResMed has been one of the leaders in public awareness of this serious medical condition. Left untreated, sleep apnea and other forms of sleep-disordered breathing can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, congested heart failure and stroke.
Gallahue, 44, will succeed Dr. Peter C. Farrell, 65. As of Jan. 1, 2008, Dr. Farrell will relinquish his position as CEO, but will continue serving as executive chairman of the Board until June 30, 2008, when he will become non-executive Chairman.
"Since joining ResMed in 2003, Kieran has demonstrated strong leadership qualities," said Dr. Farrell. "He has been instrumental in improving our operational execution, targeting our research and development efforts, focusing our commercial teams to better serve patients and customers, while strengthening the depth of our management. He has earned the respect of our employees and customers. He has the full support of myself and the Board, and is the right person to succeed me as ResMed's CEO."
"Since founding the company in 1989, I have been passionate about the need to increase awareness of sleep-disordered breathing among both the public and the medical community, as well as the need to increase understanding of the deleterious consequences of the disease if left untreated," Dr. Farrell continued. "As chairman, I intend to remain significantly engaged in the company's mission and strategy."
Gallahue joined ResMed in January 2003 as president and COO of the Americas. He was named president and chief operating officer ResMed Global, in September 2004. Before joining ResMed, Gallahue served as president of Nanogen Inc., a San Diego-based DNA research and medical diagnostics company. In his earlier career, he also worked for Instrumentation Laboratory, Procter & Gamble and the General Electric Company. Gallahue holds a BA degree from Rutgers University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
This article originally appeared in the September 2007 issue of HME Business.