Medtronic Names New Senior VP of Global Operations and Business Services

Medtronic plc has appointed Mark Ploof as senior vice president of Global Operations and Business Services, effective Oct. 31. He will serve on the company’s Executive Committee and be responsible for leading Medtronic’s Global Operations, Information Technology, Facilities & Real Estate and Medtronic Business Services functions, which include the company’s ongoing Covidien acquisition integration efforts.
 
Ploof succeeds Gary Ellis, who previously announced plans to retire from the company later this fiscal year after a 27-year Medtronic career. As part of a planned succession, Ellis will remain on the Medtronic Executive Committee and work with Ploof to ensure a smooth transition.
 
“Mark brings a diverse range of experiences to the Medtronic leadership team as well as a relentless focus on creating operational excellence, value creation and business growth,” said Omar Ishrak, Medtronic chairman and CEO. “It is an exciting and transformational time for Medtronic, and I am confident in Mark’s ability to help us deliver against our strategic business priorities. From his broad knowledge of operations to his expertise in assessing and identifying opportunities to operate at scale and generate margin expansion, Mark’s vast experiences in a multitude of industries will bring fresh thinking and leadership to our organization.”
 
Ploof worked with Cerberus Capital Management portfolio companies to drive margin expansion, efficiency and value creation efforts in a variety of operations, industries and roles. He brings a track record of assessing, diagnosing and remediating opportunities to capture value and institute new operational and service delivery models to operate efficiently at scale. His business development background at GE and Cerberus companies included creating and executing company integration plans and programs, including facility and supply chain consolidations, shared services and centers of excellence creation and organizational development and alignment efforts.  
 
Ploof joins Medtronic from YP LLC, where he most recently served as the chief customer experience officer. As a member of YP’s operating leadership team, Ploof oversaw centralized and field service management, quality and operational enablement, and business intelligence. He also served as the company’s chief restructuring officer, focused on YP’s spin-off from AT&T. Under his leadership, YP established and drove significant shareholder returns and significantly improved customer engagement and satisfaction scores.

“I’m excited for this opportunity with Medtronic and to play such a vital role in helping the company achieve its mission around the world,” said Ploof. “I am particularly pleased to join the men and women of Medtronic in these functional areas who are driving business performance and efficiencies in their work, and I know that we will play an instrumental part in helping Medtronic realize its operational and financial goals in the coming years.”
 
Ploof has also held senior leadership roles in finance, supply chain, business development and sourcing in Cerberus portfolio companies and at General Electric, where he established a track record of establishing large scale operating models that generated meaningful efficiencies and value creation. Ploof has a bachelor of business administration degree in management from Pace University.
 
Medtronic plc, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is among the world’s largest medical technology, services and solutions companies. The firm employs more than 88,000 people worldwide, serving physicians, hospitals and patients in approximately 160 countries.