Smiths Group appoints JehanZeb Noor as CEO of medical division

Noor, who will be part of the company's Executive Committee and report to CEO Andy Reynolds Smith, will take up the role on 1 July. He will oversee the separation of Smiths Medical, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2020.

Noor joins the group from sterile packaging producer Amcor, where he led the healthcare North America business and global sales for the medical division. Smiths said that during his three-year tenure at Amcor, Noor drove a "significant" improvement in margin and revenue growth and led the integration of a major acquisition.

Before that, he was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he worked for nine years. Smiths said Noor has "a deep understanding" of the MedTech supply chain, operations, distribution, product development and regulatory approval processes

CEO Andy Reynolds Smith said: "I look forward to working with JehanZeb as we continue building a strong, sustainable future for Smiths Medical and progress the separation of the business from Smiths Group.

"I am confident that JehanZeb's intimate understanding of the MedTech industry combined with his strong track record of effective leadership, delivering growth and enhanced performance will make him a great success."

RBC Capital Markets said: "This seems a sensible appointment. However, it will unlikely provide a sudden change in fortunes for a medical business that underperformed relatively at the H1 report and has not grown organically in the last decade.

"The focus will likely be on creating a more positive outlook ahead of the demerger supported by new product launches. Our underperform rating reflects our view that while management action is slowly improving performance, the growth still lags behind many of our coverage and that our sum-of-the-parts is only slightly above the current share price even with the medical business valued in line with Siemens Healthineers."