Dive Brief:
- Deerfield, Illinois-based Baxter International named John Rogers, most recently CFO of the medical tech firm Smith+Nephew and previously CFO of advertising firm WPP, as its next CFO, according to a securities filing and press release Wednesday.
- Rogers’ first day of work is expected to be Oct. 1 but is “contingent upon you seeking the proper visa and/or work permits to enable you to legally work in the United States for Baxter,” according to an Aug. 18 offer letter included in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing.
- As part of the transition, the medical device company company’s CEO Andrew Hider will temporarily step in to serve as interim CFO in place of Anita Zielinski, who will leave the company Sept. 15 to join Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health as chief accounting officer in November. In addition to serving as Baxter’s temporary finance chief after outgoing CFO Joel Grade stepped down in March, Zielinski is also the company’s CAO and controller.
Dive Insight:
Rogers, 58, is joining a company that has been grappling with a number of restructuring initiatives, including shrinking its manufacturing footprint and divesting from its Kidney Care businesses, according to the company’s 2025 10-K filed Feb. 12.
In the most recent quarter, the company’s net income rose 38% to $126 million from $91 million in the year-earlier period on net sales that rose 5% to $2.96 billion in the quarter ended June 30.
Hider said Rogers would help the company address its current challenges.
“John is a proven global finance executive with extensive operational expertise and a successful track record leading complex transformation initiatives,” Hider said in a statement in Wednesday’s release. “He is an ideal fit for Baxter as we continue to stabilize the business, strengthen our balance sheet and drive a culture of continuous improvement.
The CFO seat is based in Deerfield and is not remote, and Rogers is to relocate there once he obtains authorization to work in the U.S. If he lacks authorization by the first day, he will work from Baxter’s offices in the U.K. “pending the relevant visa and authorization to work in the United States,” according to the filing.
