Top management at Baxter’s soon-to-be-spun-off CardioVascular Group in Irvine ultimately decided to reach into the unit’s colorful past for a name they hope will have a bright future.
Officials chose to call the new company Edwards Lifesciences Corp., after Miles “Lowell” Edwards, an electrical engineer credited for inventing the first heart valve (along with an Oregon surgeon) and also founding Edwards Laboratories. Edwards’ company was purchased by American Hospital Supply Corp., which in turn was acquired by Deerfield, Ill.-based Baxter International in the mid-1980s.
Baxter’s cardiovascular unit is a $1 billion operation with 5,800 employees worldwide that is slated to become a stand-alone public company in June or July. It will be the second-largest medical-device maker headquartered in Orange County, behind Fullerton-based Beckman Coulter Inc.
Baxter group vice president Michael Mussallem announced the name to a crowd of 1,400 employees at a recent celebration complete with air cannons blasting confetti and an airplane towing a banner bearing the new moniker.
Mussallem, 47, will become chairman and CEO of Edwards Lifesciences.
The new name was chosen by Mussallem and other top managers after a review of thousands of possibilities, including 3,800 submitted by Baxter CVG employees around the world, the company said.
(It turned out 132 people had included the Edwards name in their suggestions. Computer-generated names such as Cordiant, Innovita, E-2 and Miracor did not make the final cut.)
Officials announced one more change: the company address. Instead of 17211 Red Hill Ave., the company will be getting its mail at One Edwards Way,Irvine will rename a street adjacent to the facilities.
But there’s more business to take care of in the next few months before it all becomes official. The company still has to clear some forms with the SEC and the IRS. And it’s in the process of adding 100 more corporate and other positions, including a general counsel, and attracting additional board members. Currently, there are four board members: Mussallem; David Pyott, president and CEO of Irvine-based Allergan Inc.; Vernon R. Loucks Jr., retiring chairman of Baxter International; and Philip M. Neal, president and CEO of Avery Dennison Corp.
In the meantime, Mussallem is concentrating on making sure the transition is a smooth one for employees and customers: “My role is to help our whole team reach its goals,and to make it a good place to work, with good products and a great stock to own.” n
