ZOLL Medical Names New CEO

ZOLL has appointed Eric Knudsen as its new CEO, effective April 1. He’ll succeed Jon Rennert, who has served as ZOLL’s chief executive for the past 10 years and will assume the executive board chairman role.

Rennert became CEO of ZOLL in 2016, after serving as president of the company’s largest business unit for eight years. Under Rennert’s leadership, ZOLL expanded its reach as a global leader in external defibrillation, pioneered novel solutions for patients with serious cardiopulmonary and respiratory conditions, and significantly broadened its portfolio of products.

“As a global leader in medical technology, ZOLL is continually looking for ways to expand our business and reach more patients in need,” Rennert said. “Eric has played a unique role in developing our growth strategies and driving our expansion, and I am confident he will lead ZOLL to even greater growth and success.”

Knudsen has nearly 30 years of experience in the medtech industry, with deep expertise in business development and corporate strategy. He led ZOLL’s Corporate Development team for six years and was responsible for investing in strategic relationships and acquiring more than a dozen new technologies.

For the past four years, Knudsen was President of ZOLL Itamar, a division of ZOLL focused on the diagnosis of sleep disorders. Knudsen led the division through significant growth and a dramatic increase in profitability.

Before joining ZOLL in 2013, Knudsen held leadership positions in international sales, marketing, and manufacturing partnerships at Covidien (now Medtronic), Aspect Medical Systems, and LeMaitre Vascular. He earned MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College.

“I am honored to become ZOLL’s next CEO,” Knudsen stated. “ZOLL has a long legacy of innovation and clinical excellence, and today our medical devices, software, and related services are used worldwide to diagnose and treat patients suffering from serious cardiopulmonary and respiratory conditions. We will continue to lead with our commitment to patients and customers and our passion for improving outcomes and helping save lives.”

ZOLL, an Asahi Kasei company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and cardiac monitoring, circulation enhancement and CPR feedback, supersaturated oxygen therapy, data management, ventilation, therapeutic temperature management, and sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment, ZOLL provides technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, and lay rescuers improve patient outcomes in critical cardiopulmonary conditions.

Since its foundation in 1922 with ammonia and cellulose fiber businesses, the Asahi Kasei Group has consistently grown through the transformation of its business portfolio to meet the evolving needs of every age. With 50,000 employees worldwide, the company contributes to a sustainable society by providing solutions to the world’s challenges through its three business sectors of Healthcare, Homes, and Material. Its healthcare operations include devices and systems for critical care, products and services for the manufacture of biotherapeutics, and specialty pharmaceuticals.