Invacare removes President and CEO following poor financial results and supply chain challenges
Mobility equipment manufacturer Invacare has announced the removal of President and CEO Matthew Monaghan from its executive leadership team following a decline in net sales for the second quarter of 2022.
Ohio-based Invacare also ended Monaghan’s role as chair of the board, but said that he will remain on the board as a director.
Invacare said in a news release that it had made the changes to advance its business transformation initiatives, address supply chain challenges and “strengthen its financial performance”.
Invacare named Geoffrey Purtill as interim president and CEO to replace Monaghan, whose departure from his role as chair, president and CEO was effective on 28 August.
The board of directors commenced a search to identify and appoint a permanent CEO.
“After careful consideration, the board determined that now is the right time for a change in leadership to oversee the successful execution of Invacare’s business transformation,” commented Cliff Nastas, Invacare’s lead independent director.
“We welcome Geoff who has distinguished himself throughout his tenure with Invacare. The board has full confidence that he has the right skillset and industry experience to lead the company through this transition as we search for a permanent successor who can accelerate the achievement of our objectives. We thank Matt for his years of service. We look forward to having Geoff advance our strategic initiatives.”
Purtill held the role of Senior Vice President and General Manager, EMEA and APAC, since December 2021, having previously led Invacare’s global strategy efforts. Before that, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Asia Pacific for 11 years and had prior experience with Johnson & Johnson and Nestle.
In addition to Purtill’s appointment, Michael Merriman was appointed as a director and named non-executive chair of the board. Merriman previously served on the company’s board and served as chair of its audit committee from 2014 to 2018. He will also serve on the company’s strategy committee and, as independent chair, succeeds Nastas as lead independent director.
Merriman’s time as a director of Invacare came between 2014 and 2018. He served as an operating advisor for private equity firm Resilience Capital Partners and is currently a director of Nordson Corporation and Regis Corp.
“We are excited to welcome Mike Merriman back to the board and know that his leadership, financial and business management acumen and experience in transforming underperforming businesses will be invaluable to the board as we transform Invacare,” said Nastas.
Invacare manufactures and distributes non-acute medical equipment including wheelchairs, mobility scooters, walkers, pressure care and positioning and respiratory products.
Three weeks ago, Invacare reported net sales of US$189 million for the second quarter of 2022, a 16.3 per cent decrease compared to the same period last year. The company, however, reported sequential growth of 4.7 per cent in mobility and seating products, driven by increased adoption of its product portfolio. Matt Monaghan said at the time that the corporation was “working dilgently” to increase output and convert order backlog into sales.
In the second half of 2022, Invacare stated that it expects an improvement in its financial figures, driven by gross profit improvements with increased effectiveness of pricing actions and restructuring benefits, partially offset by continued higher input costs.
Given the continuing supply chain challenges, however, the company said that it has suspended its full year 2022 financial guidance.
