Boston Scientific co-founder Peter Nicholas to step down a year ahead of plan

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) co-founder and chairman Peter Nicholas said today that he’ll step down a year earlier than planned, amid a shakeup on the medical device maker’s board.

Longtime directors Ernest Mario and N.J. Nicholas Jr., Peter Nicholas’s brother, are also planning to step down, the Marlborough, Mass.-based company said. Boston Scientific said it also nominated former Tufts Medical Center CEO Ellen Zane for a spot on the board.

President & CEO Mike Mahoney is due be named chairman after the company’s annual meeting April 15.

“The company is in an excellent position under Mike’s leadership, and with the support of a strong and dedicated board and an outstanding worldwide team of dedicated employees, the company remains poised to continue its current trajectory of successful growth,” Nicholas said in prepared remarks. “This transition is an exciting and forward-looking one for the entire company, and I know it will further enhance the ability of Boston Scientific to continue to serve patients and strengthen its high performance both as an innovator and leader.”

“These changes represent a major milestone in the history of the company, as Pete’s dedication, passion and commitment were instrumental in bringing the benefits of interventional medicine to patients in need. Under Pete’s leadership, Boston Scientific has become a leading global healthcare corporation serving 22 million patients each year, and we are deeply indebted for his decades of service and love of the company,” Mahoney added.

“Nick’s and Ernie’s leadership have also helped us build and sustain the company’s momentum, and their efforts have resulted in a stronger company and more effective and diverse board,” he said. “We truly look forward to welcoming Ellen, whose history of patient-centric healthcare leadership will help Boston Scientific continue to deliver meaningful innovation to our patients and physicians.”

Peter Nicholas’s retirement comes a year ahead of the plan announced in January 2015, when he said he wouldn’t stand for re-election at the 2017 annual meeting.

Nicholas, who led the company for 20 years as CEO, founded Boston Scientific with John Abele in 1979. Abele resigned from the Marlborough, Mass.-based company in 2011, but Nicholas has had daily involvement up to this day.

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