Irvine-based Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), the most valuable publicly traded company in Orange County, today announced Michael A. Mussallem will retire as chief executive in May.
Mussallem will be succeeded by Bernard Zovighian, currently corporate vice president and general manager for Edwards’ Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Therapies (TMTT) business. Zovighian will assume the role of president, effective Jan. 1, until he becomes CEO at the company’s annual meeting in May. Mussallem plans to continue as chairman.
“It has been a special honor and privilege to lead our team at Edwards Lifesciences for more than 20 years in their immense contributions to helping and advancing care for millions of patients around the world,” Mussallem, who recently turned 70, said in a statement.
Shares of the medical device maker of heart valves were little changed at $72.80 and a $45 billion market cap.
For more on the executive changes at Edwards, see the Dec. 19 print edition of the Business Journal.
