Baxter International Inc. is losing its top leader. The company announced that Chairman/President/CEO José (Joe) E. Almeida is immediately retiring from his three executive roles but will serve in an advisory capacity through Oct. 31. Neither the company nor Almeida provided a reason for his sudden retirement.

Almeida assumed his roles at the company in January 2016, following more than three decades of contributions to the healthcare industry. Under his leadership, Baxter evolved its strategic positioning, reorienting the company toward higher-growth end-markets. This strategic shift has most recently centered on the simplification of the business through the divestment of certain non-core assets and the implementation of a new operating model to accelerate innovation and deliver value. During Almeida’s tenure, the company has also been widely recognized as a socially responsible and sustainable business and as an employer of choice.

“It has been an immense honor to lead the Baxter team, which is united by our mission and passionate about serving the more than 350 million patients who count on us every year. With the key elements of our broad strategic transformation complete, this is the right time for a new CEO to lead the company into its next chapter,” Almeida stated.

Baxter’s Board of Directors has appointed lead independent director Brent Shafer as chair and interim CEO and has recruited a leading search firm to begin the hunt for Almeida’s permanent replacement. The board will evaluate external and internal candidates. In conjunction with his appointment, Shafer is stepping down from his role as lead independent director, and will be succeeded by Director Nancy Schlichting.

“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Joe for his leadership and unwavering dedication to Baxter throughout his nine years of service,” Shafer said. “Joe has guided the company through a period of significant evolution and portfolio repositioning, including the recently closed sale of its Kidney Care business, while navigating market challenges and evolving conditions. Thanks to his leadership, today’s Baxter is better able to fulfill its mission of saving and sustaining lives while delivering increased value for patients, customers, employees and its many other stakeholders. I look forward to supporting Baxter’s important work in service of its mission and working closely with the board to identify the permanent CEO.”

Shafer has been Baxter’s lead independent director since February 2023. Before joining the company’s Board in May 2022, Shafer was chairman and CEO of Cerner Corporation from 2018 to 2021. He has worked in the healthcare industry for four decades, holding a number of senior leadership roles at Koninklijke Philips NV, Hillrom, GE Medical Systems, Hewlett Packard’s Medical Products Group, and Johnson & Johnson. He also serves on the boards of Tactile Systems Technology and Veracyte.

Schlichting has served as a director since December 2021. She joined the board following Baxter’s $10.5 billion acquisition of Hillrom, where she had previously served as a director. Schlichting is the retired president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, a non-profit health care organization, serving from June 2003 to January 2017. She joined Henry Ford Health System in 1998 as senior vice president and chief administrative officer, and was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer from 1999 to 2003, and president and CEO of Henry Ford Hospital from 2001 to 2003. Schlichting currently serves as a director of Walgreens Boots Alliance and Encompass Health; a trustee of Kresge Foundation and Duke University; and vice-chair of the Duke University Health System Board.

In addition to announcing Almeida’s retirement, Baxter appointed Heather Knight as executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO), effective immediately. As COO, Knight will be responsible for the company’s daily business operations, including global sales, marketing, R&D, supply chain, and medical and regulatory affairs. She will report directly to the interim CEO and will also serve as interim group president, Medical Products & Therapies.

“Unifying leadership and oversight of operations across our three post-separation businesses is a natural step in our transformation, best positioning the company to capitalize on our segment operating structure and drive incremental growth through innovation,” Shafer said. “Heather’s decades of operational expertise and leadership and deep knowledge of the global commercial, operational, medical and regulatory landscape will continue to serve our patients, customers and Baxter well going forward.”

In 2023, Knight was named to lead the company’s largest segment, Medical Products & Therapies, which she continues to lead on an interim basis. From 2021 to 2023, she served as president of Baxter’s Americas region and the company’s Acute Therapies, Clinical Nutrition and Medication Delivery business units. She joined the company in 2019 as general manager, U.S. Hospital Products. Throughout her 30-year career in the healthcare industry, Knight has held numerous roles in general management, global upstream and commercial capacities at companies including Medtronic, Covidien, Tyco Healthcare and Kendall. She currently serves as a director of Waters Corporation.

“I’m excited to assume this new role within Baxter, expanding my focus on operational excellence and performance execution across our organization,” Knight commented. “Every day I am driven by our mission, and I am inspired by the opportunity we have before us to further advance Baxter for the benefit of patients and healthcare professionals around the world.”

The company completed the sale of its Kidney Care business to Carlyle on Jan. 31. Baxter expects results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2024 to be aligned with the continuing operations guidance previously provided in the company’s third-quarter 2024 earnings announcement. The company remains committed to its previously announced 2025 financial objectives of 4% to 5% operational sales growth and approximately 16.5% adjusted operating margin. The adjusted operating margin guidance does not currently include any impact from the recently announced U.S. tariffs to be implemented on imports from Mexico, Canada and China.

Every day, millions of patients, caregivers and healthcare providers rely on Baxter’s diagnostic, critical care, nutrition, hospital and surgical products used in patient homes, hospitals, physician offices and other care sites. With products, digital health solutions and therapies available in more than 100 countries, Baxter’s employees worldwide are now building upon the company’s rich heritage of medical breakthroughs to advance the next generation of transformative healthcare innovations.