Dr. John Laird Joins Medtronic as VP and CMO for Its Peripheral Vascular Health Operating Unit

August 12, 2021—Medtronic announced that John R. Laird Jr, MD, will join the company as Vice President (VP) and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) supporting the Peripheral Vascular Health operating unit at Medtronic.

Dr. Laird is an interventional cardiologist at Adventist Heart and Vascular Institute in St. Helena, California. Dr. Laird will continue to practice at Adventist Health in addition to his work with Medtronic.

According to the company, Dr. Laird, who has been a practicing interventional cardiologist for more than 30 years, will provide medical leadership and serve as a strategic advisor for arteriovenous, carotid, deep venous, embolization, peripheral vascular, and superficial venous therapies in Peripheral Vascular Health. He will also provide counsel on the company’s expanding clinical research portfolio and partner closely with physician advisors, clinical researchers, and regulatory bodies around the world.

“As a physician caring for patients with vascular disease over the past 30 years, nothing has been more impactful or gratifying to me as helping to prevent a major amputation or dramatically improving the quality of life for patients with symptomatic vascular disease,” commented Dr. Laird in Medtronic’s announcement. “We have made great strides, yet there is so much more we can do to improve vascular care.”

Dr. Laird continued, “In working with a mission-driven organization like Medtronic, I look forward to making an impact to help drive meaningful medical device and healthcare technology innovations to patients around the globe. Despite its prevalence, more than 80% of vascular disease patients go undiagnosed or untreated. In partnership with our clinical advisors and the talented Peripheral Vascular Health team at Medtronic, I truly believe we have an even greater opportunity to help to enhance diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with vascular disease.”

Dr. Laird will report to Dave Moeller, President of the Peripheral Vascular Health operating unit, which is part of the Cardiovascular portfolio at Medtronic.

“We could not be more excited to welcome Dr. Laird to Medtronic,” commented Mr. Moeller in the press release. “Peripheral Vascular Health is one of the most complex operating units within Medtronic, addressing many different vascular disease states treated by several specialties within medicine. We are honored that Dr. Laird will bring his clinical, medical, and scientific knowledge and expertise to help us bring our therapies, diagnostics, and solutions to patients.”

Medtronic noted that Dr. Laird is an internationally renowned interventional cardiologist who has served as the National Principal Investigator for 14 multicenter trials of new device therapies. These clinical trials have included a broad array of new technology, including drug-coated balloons, self-expanding nitinol stents, covered stents for iliac artery use, atherectomy devices, and devices for chronic total occlusion.

He has published more than 200 articles and abstracts in peer-reviewed medical journals, as well as more than 15 book chapters.

Dr. Laird is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, American College of Cardiology, and Society for Cardiac Angiography and Intervention. He is one of the founding board members of VIVA, Vascular Interventional Advances Physicians.

Dr. Laird is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and earned his medical degree at Albany Medical College of Union University in Albany, New York. He completed an internal medicine residency at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, and completed fellowships in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.