Linvatec Falls Further Under Darling

Not too good. Actually, hasn't he been here for over 6 years? I thought it was early 2008 he was hired. The situation with this company is only getting worse. I can't even believe all these stories of Arthrex and Stryker taking existing Linvatec business, across the whole country. Lot's of business Linvatec should be able to keep. In most of the situations the reps/distributors are doing everything they can to at least hold onto existing business. It just doesn't make any sense. Nobody at corporate seems to care.

 

You are correct - JD came to Linvatec in May of 2008 - sad day indeed. Lack of leadership, inability to convince Utica to consider truly investing in the company. Here's a six year review:
1 - massive turnover in personnel especially with those who knew the business
2 - shut down Santa Barbara - move production to Mexico
3 - shut down the integrated O.R. business - unable to now compete in those accounts that want one vendor for booms and equipment.
4 - reduce research investment for new product
5 - has not hit sales revenue in every year JD has been at Linvatec
6 - lost reputation as a video vendor - no new camera system in over 7 years
7 - misguided purchase of Viking - how's that working out.....see above comment
8 - mismanaged MTF business model -

Yeah, great company.....NOT.....

 

Truth is that getting canned with a nice severance/retainer check was the best thing that ever happened to the folks affected by JD in the above list. I've heard every one of them is in a better place and making more money. The only thing you have to know about JD is that he's out for himself. The VOCE guys should string him up, but they'll probably allow him to keep his RSUs and he'll retire a wealthy, but petty little man.

 

Amen, and good riddance, even though I think it is to late to save this company

 

Joseph Corasanti Steps Down as CEO

Founder Gene Corasanti Retires

Independent Board Member Curt Hartman Appointed Interim CEO

Charles Farkas Appointed to Board of Directors

Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call Moved to 8:30 AM Eastern Today

UTICA, N.Y., July 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CONMED Corporation (Nasdaq:CNMD) today announced that Joseph Corasanti is stepping down as Chief Executive Officer, President and a member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. The Board has appointed Curt Hartman, an independent director of CONMED and the former Interim CEO and CFO of Stryker Corporation, as Interim Chief Executive Officer. In addition, after nearly 44 years of service to CONMED, founder Eugene Corasanti has decided to retire from the Board and as an employee, effective immediately.

 

Re: Linvatec Falls Further Under Darling: Info per VOCE

Well well well......here's some background on the "interim" CEO from the second letter to the board from VOCE Capital:

But there were also real doubts raised about their qualifications and fitness to serve. Alere’s examination of Mr. Hartman’s tenure at Stryker, and his qualifications for Board service, was exacting and thusly summarized: “Senior executive experience mostly as a financial officer, with CEO operating experience limited to eight months as interim CEO, no public company board service.” And: “After 22-year track record with Stryker, and eight months as interim CEO, Stryker board passed over Hartman for full-time job in favor of another internal candidate with 18 months tenure at Stryker.”4

Yet that was only the beginning. Alere also said:

In addition, sources disclosed that Mr. Hartman was the subject of multiple allegations of sexual harassment during his tenure at Stryker and that these allegations were settled confidentially for substantial monetary payments. Specifically, we learned that three sexual harassment claims against Mr. Hartman were settled by Stryker, including one after he ceased to be interim CEO, and we believe that these events may have been a factor contributing to Mr. Hartman being passed over for the full-time CEO position.5

Alere didn’t just float these charges as a trial balloon, nor whisper them behind closed doors; it was confident enough to publish them in a press release and then file it with the SEC. Why would a sophisticated, publicly-traded company have made such salacious allegations which, if untrue, could be defamatory and could result in significant liability and punitive damages – unless it believed it had a firm basis for making these statements? Moreover, we note that Alere’s nominees included Mr. Hartman’s previous boss, former Stryker CEO Steve MacMillan, who would have been in possession of the facts supporting such allegations. Neither Coppersmith nor Mr. Hartman ever specifically refuted the charges leveled by Alere, and we understand Mr. Hartman never pursued legal action against Alere.6 We further note that a core member of ConMed’s current advisory team – the firm of Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher – also represented Alere in the proxy contest against Coppersmith and placed their name at the bottom of the public communications which leveled the allegations to which we refer above.

In fact, Voce interviewed Mr. Hartman as a potential nominee for our slate of directors and passed him over for the role. Our decision was based on two factors. First, we were (and still are) troubled by the gravity, and specificity, of the unrebutted allegations that Alere raised against him. Second, Mr. Hartman, who has been unemployed since his termination from Stryker in October 2012, made clear to us that he was pursuing board seats as a source of income and was interested in being appointed as ConMed’s CEO if we were successful in electing directors. We felt it would be a conflict of interest to nominate a director whose personal agenda differed from that of the shareholders’; specifically, we feared that Mr. Hartman’s focus on long-term board service, and his hopes of landing a lucrative senior management role, might compromise his independent judgment in evaluating various strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the Company, even if the latter might maximize shareholder value; and we were concerned that his evaluation of potential management changes might also be colored by his own desires or needs.

* * *

 

JD is going... going... GONE???!!

 

he has been seen in Largo the past couple of days, what's up with that?

 

Probably getting his kitchen remodeled.

 

What in the world has happened to this once "leading" company. Even way back under Zimmer Management, it was pumping out products, adding consultants, securing relationships with key sports centers, growing its salesforce and expanding marketshare in both US and International markets? Why did that all fall apart and what happened to those people?

Where did it go wrong? Is it worth reviving ...or selling?

 

"Where did it go wrong? Is it worth reviving ...or selling?"

Conmed.

 

What happened to those people? Most of us who were reorganized out of a job or driven out by the latest upper management crew. When I left the new management didn't even understand orthopedics or the products Linvatec offered, yet they were advising Joe about what we needed to do to grow the business.

 

If you look at what became of Biometric after it was purchased by private equity in 2007, that's what Linvatec will be, only without the size or diversity of portfolio. ConMed will not exactly be a train wreck like Bovie, but it'll be so far away from COV or Erbe that it might as well be. Endoscopy is fully commoditized and is not an attractive target for anyone except possibly Olympus or Pentax if they're looking to add more general GI devices. Surgical Products is nothing anyone but private equity would want.

It's gone too far down the road now. It's irredeemably afoul of what a growth company should be.

 

Biometric = Biomet

Frigging autocorrect