MARTHA
Geoffrey
Chief Executive Officer of Medtronic
Organization: Medtronic
Profession: Chief Executive Officer
Biography
Martha Geoffrey is firmly establishing Medtronic as the undisputed global leader in healthcare technology. As chairman and CEO, Geoff leads the $32 billion company and its 90,000 employees in pursuit of fulfilling the Medtronic Mission to use technology to improve human welfare. Since becoming CEO in 2020, he is regularly recognized as a driven and innovative executive, including as a top CEO in healthcare technology by the Healthcare Technology Report and as one of Modern Healthcare’s most influential people in healthcare.
Career
The Medtronic Mission — to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life — has inspired its researchers and engineers to create some of the most meaningful medical technologies in the history of healthcare: a pacemaker the size of a vitamin pill, the world’s first hybrid closed-loop diabetes pump, neurostimulators for pain and brain disorders, and more.
Under Geoff’s leadership, Medtronic is leveraging the latest advances in cutting edge technology to transform healthcare, including manufacturing processes, robotics, data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Recognizing the power of partnerships and innovative collaborations, Geoff has accelerated Medtronic’s strategic acquisitions, boldly pursued novel R&D funding models, and embraced new ways to partner across industries and global borders.
Geoff assumed his role as CEO as the COVID-19 pandemic rocked communities around the world. As part of his commitment to lead with purpose, Geoff quickly mobilized the company and took action to help global healthcare professionals and partners continue to treat patients and protect themselves. In addition to accelerating the development of remote solutions, he made the unprecedented move to open source the company’s intellectual property, making proprietary ventilator designs available to manufacturers around the world. The move helped address growing global demand for ventilators, resulted in new partnerships, and broke down barriers across industries to enhance care. In 2021, the Ireland-U.S. Council awarded him with the Global Achievement Award to recognize his role in overseeing Medtronic’s significant contributions to the fight against the pandemic.
FORTUNE Magazine named Medtronic among the top 15 companies for its 2020 “Change the World” list, recognizing its swift efforts during the pandemic, and listed the company on its list of Most Admired Companies in 2021 and 2022. During Geoff’s tenure as CEO, Medtronic has also placed #10 on DiversityInc’s 2022 Top 50 Companies for Diversity; Drucker Institute’s 2020 Management Top 250 list; and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, as one of the world's leading companies in sustainability.
Since joining Medtronic in 2011, Geoff has remained an ardent supporter of Medtronic-sponsored philanthropic and diversity initiatives. He is a member of the Medtronic Foundation Board of Directors and serves as Medtronic’s Executive Sponsor to FIRST Robotics. Geoff also led the Medtronic African Descent Network ― an internal resource group focused on recruitment, engagement, retention, and development for employees of African descent.
Prior to becoming CEO of Medtronic, Geoff held various leadership roles on the company’s executive committee, including SVP, Strategy and Business Development; Chief Integration Officer; and Executive Vice President, Restorative Therapies Group. Notably, he led the acquisition and subsequent integration of Covidien, the largest acquisition in the history of the medical technology industry. Before joining Medtronic, Geoff spent 19 years in a variety of business development, strategic marketing, and sales management roles at GE Healthcare and GE Capital.
Geoff is an active member of the global business community, sitting on the Business Roundtable, the Business Council, the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, as well as the U.S.-China Business Council’s Board of Directors. In 2021, he served as co-chair of the Taskforce on Health and Life Sciences for B20, a G20 engagement group. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Asia Society, a leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the U.S. in a global context. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the board of directors for the Minnesota Business Partnership.
Passionate about socio-economic issues, Geoff serves on the Board of Directors for several nonprofit organizations including Children’s HeartLink, which provides access to care for children around the world with congenital heart defects, the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ), a Minneapolis-based community collaborative that works to end generational poverty and build a culture of achievement so low-income children of color graduate college and are career-ready, and the YMCA of the North, which works to nurture the potential of every child and teen, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to become healthier, more confident, connected and secure. He is also part of OneTen, a coalition of cross-industry leaders committed to breaking down systemic barriers for Black Americans.
Education
Geoff received a bachelor’s degree in Finance as a member of the Scholar’s Program from Pennsylvania State University, graduating with highest honors. He was captain of the Penn State men’s hockey team and later inducted into its Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2016, the University awarded him the Penn State Hockey Distinguished Alumni Award. He is also a member of Penn State’s College of Liberal Arts Development Council.