CONMED Corporation Board of Directors Expands by Two

CONMED Corporation announced that LaVerne Council and Barbara Schwarzentraub are joining its Board of Directors. Schwarzentraub joins the board immediately, and Council is joining the board as of Dec. 1.
 
“LaVerne and Barb are outstanding additions to our board,” commented Mark Tryniski, chairman of CONMED’s Board of Directors. “They both bring a wealth of global executive leadership experience and proven track records developing and implementing strategies across global organizations while driving shareholder value. Their impressive backgrounds and focus on execution will make them vital contributors in guiding CONMED’s growth.”
 
“We are thrilled to welcome LaVerne and Barb to our board of directors,” said Curt R. Hartman, president and CEO of CONMED. “We are excited to benefit from their valuable counsel as we continue to execute on growth opportunities that will benefit our customers, shareholders, and employees.”
 
Council is the national managing principal, Enterprise Technology Strategy & Innovation for Grant Thornton LLP. She served as the senior vice president and general manager for MITRE Corporation from 2017 through 2018 and as the assistant secretary for Information & Technology and chief information officer for the United States Department of Veteran Affairs from 2015 through 2017. Council was the CEO of Council Advisory Services LLC from 2012 through 2015 and served as the corporate vice president and global chief information officer for Johnson & Johnson from 2006 through 2011. Prior to that, she served in a number of roles of increasing responsibility at DELL Inc., most recently as the global vice president Information Technology, Global Business Solutions and Development Services.
 
Council earned her MBA from Illinois State University and her bachelor of business administration in computer science from Western Illinois University.
 
Schwarzentraub has been with Caterpillar Inc since 1990 and currently serves as a director and divisional chief financial officer for Global Information Services Division. From 2016 through 2017, Schwarzentraub was the director of Caterpillar’s Global Component Manufacturing and Supply Chain, having previously served as the director of Caterpillar’s Parts Distribution and vice president of Caterpillar Logistics Services Inc. from 2010 through 2016. She also served as the director of Global Finance Transformation from 2006 through 2010. Prior to these roles, Schwarzentraub held a number of positions of increasing responsibility within Caterpillar, including Six Sigma deployment director, manager of FP&A, Process Improvement manager, and various accounting positions.
 
Schwarzentraub earned her MBA and bachelor of science degree in accounting from Bradley University.
 
CONMED is a medical technology company that provides surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures. The company’s products are used by surgeons and physicians in a variety of specialties, including orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery, thoracic surgery and gastroenterology.