Waters names new chief executive officer

Waters has announced the appointment of Christopher O'Connell as its new president, chief executive officer and member of its board of directors.

Mr O'Connell will join the company from Medtronic and will take up his new post in September 2015. He has been hired as the successor to the retiring Douglas Berthiaume, who will retain his position as chairman of the firm's board.

During his 21 years at Medtronic, Mr O'Connell has held a variety of leadership positions, most recently as president of its restorative therapies group. He was responsible for providing overall strategic direction and operational management of the group's five divisions.

Thomas Salice, lead director at Waters, said: "Through the process of getting to know him, we found a leader who reflects Waters' core values in addition to being an extremely motivated, thoughtful and engaging person."

The company also took the opportunity to pay tribute to Mr Berthiaume, who helped Waters to achieve a 35-fold increase in share value since he led the effort take the company public in November 1995.

It now employs approximately 5,000 people worldwide, operating in 27 countries.