In November 2018, NuVasive appointed J. Christopher Barry to succeed Gregory Lucier as CEO.
Since then, he has spearheaded the spine device company through four quarters of consecutive revenue growth and led several products to commercialization.
Here are six things to know about NuVasive's CEO:
1. In his first quarter at the helm, Mr. Barry led the company to a 6.3 percent fourth quarter revenue growth to $288.3 million year-over-year.
2. Under Mr. Barry's leadership over the past year, NuVasive posted impressive back-to-back revenue growths. In 2019, second-quarter revenues increased 3.7 percent in year-over-year to $292.1 million, third-quarter revenues were up 7.2 percent to $290.8 million and fourth-quarter revenues rose 7.6 percent to $310.4 million.
3. In 2019, he led the launch of NuVasive's Pulse system, which is designed to feature several technologies to assist spine surgeons in adopting more efficient and less disruptive surgical methods. The platform creates a "seamless, optimized OR workflow, while addressing a broad range of clinical challenges," according to Mr. Barry.
4. In February, NuVasive projected full-year revenue growth of 4 percent to 6 percent, however that is likely to be impacted by the spread of the novel coronavirus. This year, NuVasive's primary growth drivers are "continuing to lead in lateral spine surgery, further innovation in targeted spine segments and achieving scale in key global markets to drive value and deliver on our long-term commitments," according to Mr. Barry.
5. Before joining NuVasive, he served as senior vice president and president of Surgical Innovations, a business unit that produces $5.5 billion in annual revenue and was acquired by Medtronic in 2015. In the role, he was responsible for providing strategic direction to more than 14,000 employees in 79 countries, which included 10 manufacturing sites and several research and development facilities.
6. In total Mr. Barry has 22 years of experience in the medical device industry, including 16 years at Covidien, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before Covidien was acquired by Medtronic in a $40 billion deal in 2015, he served as president of advanced surgical technologies, where he led global strategy, product portfolio and U.S. commercial teams for the $3.2 billion global business unit.