Julie Sawyer Montgomery will become the CEO of Danaher on Oct. 1, the company said Monday. She has led Danaher’s diagnostics business, where she helped triple operating profit during her tenure and oversaw the recent acquisition of Masimo.
Montgomery most recently was executive vice president for diagnostics, a business she helped grow from about $6 billion in revenue in 2017 to about $11 billion today. During that time, operating profit also roughly tripled.
Sawyer Montgomery led the company’s $9.9 billion acquisition of Masimo, which closed in June, as well as the pending acquisition of StatLab. She joined Danaher in 2017 to head commercial operations and R&D for Beckman Coulter Diagnostics and became its president in 2020.
Danaher acquired Beckman Coulter in 2011. Sawyer Montgomery has nearly 25 years of experience in healthcare, commercial operations, and R&D.
According to the report, her appointment as CEO does not signal a shift in strategy more in favor of diagnostics. Analyst Casey Woodring said management indicated that it feels what Montgomery has done in leveraging the power of the Danaher platform in Diagnostics can be applied effectively to other areas of the business.
Danaher also operates biotechnology and life sciences segments, in addition to diagnostics. The analyst noted that Sawyer Montgomery has been at Danaher long enough to understand the company’s culture and operational rigor, while the Diagnostics business she has been running has arguably been the best performing segment within Danaher since she took the helm.
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Blair’s departure, after six years as CEO, is part of a longstanding succession process, Woodring added. Blair will become a senior adviser to the company until March 31, 2027, to help with the transition.
This transition compares to similar leadership changes in the industry, where a deep understanding of the company’s culture and operations has been key to a successful handover. In such cases, the ability to apply lessons from one segment to others has been essential to success.
As Sawyer Montgomery prepares to take the helm, she will likely draw on her experience in diagnostics to inform her approach to other areas of the business, including AI ultrasound technology and life sciences. The company’s statement suggests that her appointment is seen as a way to build on the success of the diagnostics segment, rather than a shift in strategy.
Danaher’s diagnostics business has been a strong performer under Sawyer Montgomery’s leadership, and the company will likely be looking to build on this momentum in the coming years.
With her experience and understanding of the company’s culture, Sawyer Montgomery is well-positioned to lead Danaher into its next phase of growth.
