Originally Published MX July/August 2005

COVER STORY

Sometimes the perspective of an executive leading a multinational corporation with diversified interests can be very different from the views of company leaders that are more directly attached to specific product areas. At Abbott (Abbott Park, IL), the task of keeping such a diversified business strategy in balance is the responsibility of Miles D. White, chairman and CEO.

White joined Abbott in 1984 and served in a variety of executive roles, including senior vice president of diagnostics operations and executive vice president of the corporation, on his way to election to the Abbott board of directors in 1998. Since taking over as chairman and CEO in 1999, White has demonstrated the value of his longtime experience with the company, initiating a reshaping of the company's medical product emphasis in order to further corporate growth. Below, White offers his own perspective on Abbott's "strategic transformation" to meet the needs of the medtech marketplace.