Tornier Names Interim Officers as CEO retires

Douglas Kohrs has retired from his position as president, CEO and executive director of Tornier N.V., an orthopedic company based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with U.S. headquarters in Bloomington, Minn. According to the company, his departure was on good terms, and he will remain as a consultant through May.

Taking his place as interim president and CEO is David H. Mowry. Non-executive director Kevin C. O’Boyle was appointed interim vice chairman to serve as a liaison between Mowry and the company board.

Tornier’s Chairman Sean D. Carney expressed gratitude to Kohrs for his six years with the company and added, “Doug was instrumental in bringing Tornier public, leading the recent acquisition of the OrthoHelix business and expanding our international footprint, core capabilities and the innovation pipeline.”

“I have greatly enjoyed my tenure with Tornier, and am proud to have had the opportunity to work with a fantastic team in growing the company to be one of the most prominent providers of orthopedic solutions,” said Kohrs. “I have great confidence in the skills and talent of Dave and rest of the management team and their ability to continue to execute on the strategy we have laid out together.”

The company’s stock fell 7 percent on Nov. 13, the day after the announcement. However, the stock price has since recovered.

“As we look ahead to the next phase of Tornier’s growth, we are pleased Dave has agreed to take on additional responsibility to lead the company with the rest of the management team,” Carney said of Mowry. “Dave’s experience in the industry and specifically with Tornier provides confidence that he will continue to drive forward the strategic growth plans we have been executing.”

The company is on track for projected growth: Tornier signed a $135 million deal in August to acquire Medina, Ohio-based OrthoHelix Surgical Designs Inc., and Tornier’s first three quarters of 2012 have shown small improvements over last year’s comparable quarters. The company has revised its financial outlook for 2013 based on potential sales generated by OrthoHelix.

Mowry joined Tornier in July 2011 as chief operating officer, bringing 23 years of medical device industry experience in various engineering and management assignments to the table. Prior to Tornier, Mowry served as senior vice president and president of the neurovascular business of Covidien plc, and the same position at ev3 Inc. prior to its acquisition by Covidien. He earned a B.A. in engineering from the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

O’Boyle has served as a director of Tornier since June 2010. He has served various positions at Advanced BioHealing Inc., which was acquired by Shire plc in May 2011, including senior vice president, chief financial officer (CFO), and senior vice president of business operations. Previously, between 2003 and 2009, O’Boyle served as CFO of NuVasive Inc. He also currently sits on the board of GenMark Diagnostics Inc., a molecular diagnostics company. O’Boyle is a certified public accountant and received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y., and completed the executive management program at the University of California Los Angeles, John E. Anderson Graduate Business School.

Tornier designs and manufactures devices for joint replacement and soft-tissue repair.