Smith & Nephew to name ex-Alere chief exec Nawana as CEO

Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) is slated to announce tomorrow that it has tapped former Alere (NYSE:ALR) CEO Namal Nawana as its new chief executive officer, according to a report from Sky News.

The company has been searching for a replacement since last October, when current head Olivier Bohoun announced plans to retire from the corner office.

Bohoun announced his retirement plans after having been diagnosed with a “highly treatable” type of cancer in February 2016, but said he planned to stay at the reins while undergoing treatment, including chemotherapy.

Australian-native Nawana took over as CEO at Alere in 2014 after founder and then-CEO Ron Zwanzinger stepped down. Zwanzinger received criticisms for his leadership after he spiked an initial public offering for its BBI Diagnostics unit a month before leaving.

Nawana had previously served as COO of the company, and before joining Alere had held various leadership positions with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) over a 15-year tenure.

During his time at the head of Alere, Nawana helped guide the company through its $5 billion acquisition by Abbott (NYSE:ABT), which closed last October.

Smith & Nephew could be looking to Nawana to help head a takeover effort there as well, according to the report from Sky News, which claims that the company could be a target for acquisition from rivals Stryker (NYSE:SYK) and Johnson & Johnson.

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