Boston Scientific Appoints Joe Fitzgerald as Next COO

Boston Scientific has appointed Joe Fitzgerald as its next Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective 1 January 2027.

In the role, Joe will assume responsibility for overseeing global operations, commercial business units and regions. The appointment will re-establish the COO position at Boston Scientific, as the medtech manufacturer pursues international expansion.

“Joe’s deep knowledge of our business and markets, strategic leadership and strong track record of execution make him well-suited for this role,” states Mike Mahoney, CEO of Boston Scientific.

Coinciding with Joe’s appointment is a critical restructuring of the organisation’s operating model. The company will introduce three reportable segments headed by incumbent Boston Scientific executives: Interventional Therapies under Lance Bates, Rhythm Solutions under Nick Spadea-Anello and MedSurg under Stephen Morse. 

The new framework represents a fundamental shift from product-centric business units to a model aligned with clinical delivery pathways, allowing for a smarter allocation of capital as the company globally scales. 

“These changes reflect the scale and breadth of our business today and the opportunities ahead,” says Mike.

From cardiovascular leader to global operator 

Joe’s COO appointment is the culmination of a 36-year tenure at Boston Scientific, allowing him to draw on extensive institutional knowledge as he oversees global commercial execution. 

With executive experience across the enterprise’s Neurovascular, Electrophysiology, Endovascular and Rhythm Management units, his company trajectory crosses multiple divisions. 

He will advance to the COO role from his current position as Executive Vice President of one of Boston Scientific’s most strategically significant segments: its Cardiovascular division, which generated 60% of total revenue in 2025.

Joe took the role in 2022. Under his stewardship, the division grew rapidly, with reported Cardiovascular sales increasing around 73%, owing in part to a series of strategic acquisitions.

M&A represents a keystone of Boston Scientific’s Cardiovascular growth strategy, with several major acquisitions and investments made during Joe’s tenure:

• Silk Road Medical – added transcarotid artery revascularisation (TCAR) technology to Boston Scientific's portfolio, strengthening its position in stroke prevention and vascular intervention.
• Bolt Medical – developers of a laser-based ablation platform, reinforcing the company’s push into the rapidly expanding electrophysiology market.
• SoniVie – added renal denervation technology targeting hypertension, giving Boston Scientific another potential cardiovascular growth platform.
• Penumbra – a proposed US$14.5bn acquisition announced in January 2026, which would expand the company’s reach into treatments for strokes and pulmonary embolism.
• MiRus – a US$1.5bn investment in May 2026 saw Boston Scientific acquire a 34% stake in the surgical implant developer, alongside an option to acquire its investigational SIEGEL TAVR business for an additional US$3bn.

The Penumbra acquisition is particularly significant. As Boston Scientific’s highest-capital acquisition in two decades, it offers the company a foothold into a high-growth segment where it previously lacked a presence. 

“The acquisition of Penumbra will provide scaled entry into mechanical thrombectomy and neurovascular,” writes Stephen Morse on LinkedIn, adding that these areas make up “key strategic adjacencies” for Boston Scientific.

As COO, Joe will bring his experience in Cardiovascular strategy as he oversees the integration of Penumbra into Boston Scientific’s new global Interventional Therapies segment. 

Long-term growth demands a restructuring 

Boston Scientific’s new architecture will redistribute and streamline its legacy business unit, representing a strategic pivot as the company works to secure global growth.

Boston Scientific is pursuing this expansion through both internal innovation and expansion into adjacent markets, while targeting category leadership. 

The new structure gives each segment a clearer global identity while placing them under a single operating leader, which could prove crucial as the company’s international workforce and clientele expand. 

“The new operating model will create greater capacity to focus on our long-term growth priorities,” explains Mike.

He adds that the structure will enable Boston Scientific’s units to “remain close to our customers and their patients.”

As the company’s portfolio continues to expand, the restructuring will allow the company to consolidate investments that underpin its broader cost-efficiency programme as it targets US$500m in annual run-rate cost savings by the end of 2029.

With a streamlined structure, expanded portfolio and veteran operational leadership, Boston Scientific enters its next growth chapter positioned to scale its clinical impact globally.

Boston Scientific – key partners

Mayo Clinic

CEO: Gianrico Farrugia | HQ: Rochester, Minnesota

Mayo Clinic is an academic medical centre and research organisation, with a broad clinical and scientific focus spanning cardiovascular medicine, oncology and other specialties. Boston Scientific has maintained a decade-long collaboration with Mayo to identify unmet patient needs and develop solutions across multiple areas. Current work includes interventional cardiology, oncology and endoscopy, connecting Boston Scientific product development with frontline clinical expertise.  

Bittium

CEO: Petri Toljamo | HQ: Oulu, FInland

Bittium specialises in secure communications and medical technologies, including ECG monitoring systems. Its subsidiary Bittium Biosignals has worked with Boston Scientific since 2018 to develop and supply customised wireless ECG devices. Under a renewed 2025 agreement worth approximately US$30–45m, Bittium supplies devices used in Boston Scientific's US remote cardiac monitoring services, supporting long-term and mobile arrhythmia monitoring. 

Samsung

CEO: TM Roh & Young Hyun Jun | HQ: Suwon, South Korea 

Samsung is a global technology company spanning consumer electronics, semiconductors and digital health. Its healthcare activities include wearable devices and digital health technologies designed to support monitoring outside traditional clinical settings. Boston Scientific and Samsung have collaborated on digital-health initiatives, including exploring ways to connect cardiovascular care with consumer technology and remote monitoring.