• Push-out Score determined
• After less than three and a half years in the position
• Thanks and good wishes for Wright
• Todd Newton taking over temporarily
• Search for a successor
• Wright kept it short and said 49 words

(exechange) — Marietta, Georgia, September 6, 2022 — This news came shortly after Labor Day. Tim Wright, chief executive of MiMedx, leaves. As announced by MiMedx Group Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, Timothy R. (Tim) Wright has left his post as chief executive officer at the placental biologics company, after less than three and a half years in the role, effective September 3, 2022.

MiMedx will undertake a search for a successor.

Tim Wright’s duties as CEO will be taken over temporarily by K.Todd Newton, a former Chief Executive Officer at Apollo Endosurgery, Inc., as interim Chief Executive Officer.

Already a director

Newton is already a director of MiMedx. Generally speaking, most director-turned-CEO appointments occur following a sudden resignation of the outgoing CEO and signal a lack of preparedness on the company’s part to groom internal talent. Directors-turned-executives represent a blend of outsider and insider.

They don’t have the constraints of a pure insider when it comes to leading painful changes or making unpopular decisions, and they have more company knowledge than a pure outsider.

Having been a director, Newton understands the expectations and dynamics of the board and has knowledge of MiMedx’s organization, risk-management practices and strategy.

“Accelerate our performance”

MiMedx did not give an explicit reason for Tim Wright’s departure from the CEO post. M.Kathleen Behrens, Chairperson of MiMedx’s Board, said: “As we work to accelerate our performance, renew our focus on execution and capitalize on the significant opportunity within our Wound Care & Surgical and Regenerative Medicine & Biologics Innovation businesses, the Board has determined now is the right time for MiMedx to transition leadership of the Company.”

Precise information regarding Tim Wright’s future plans was not immediately available.

“Termination of his employment”

MiMedx said: “Mr. Newton replaces Timothy R. Wright, who served as MiMedx’s CEO since May of 2019.”

MiMedx further said: “On September 3, 2022, the board of directors of MiMedx Group, Inc. (the “Company”) appointed K. Todd Newton, a current director of the Company, as the Company’s interim Chief Executive Officer to replace Timothy R. Wright effective immediately.”

Pursuant to the terms of the Letter Agreement between the Company and Wright, dated as of April 8, 2019, Wright also ceased to be a member of the board of directors effective upon the termination of his employment as Chief Executive Officer.

Share price decline since September 2021

The announcement follows a decline in MiMedx Group Inc.’s share price of 77% since September 2021.

In the position of CEO since 2019

Tim Wright became CEO of the Company in 2019.

Timothy R. Wright, joined the Company as its Chief Executive Officer on May 13, 2019.

Wright has more than 30 years of executive experience in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical devices industries.

Prior to joining the Company, Wright was a founder and partner at Signal Hill Advisors, LLC, a consulting practice, from 2010 to May 2019.

Wright served as President and Chief Executive Officer of M2Gen Corp., a privately held cancer and health informatics company, between July 2017 and September 2018.

Before that, Wright served as Executive Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions, Strategy and Innovation for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (“Teva”), a pharmaceutical company specializing in generic medicines, from April 2015 until August 2017.

Before joining Teva, Wright was the founding partner of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Drug Development Institute.

Wright also served as Chairman, Interim Chief Executive Officer and a director of Curaxis Pharmaceutical Corporation (“Curaxis”), a pharmaceutical company specializing in the development of drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and various cancers, from July 2011 to July 2012.

Curaxis had been experiencing financial difficulties prior to Wright’s tenure and, as a result, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2012.

Wright was appointed president of Tyco healthcare Imaging and Pharmaceuticals businesses in 2007, and worked with other executives to spin out of Tyco International forming Covidien.

He restructured the Imaging and Pharmaceuticals business, divesting Mallinckrodt Baker, and then prepared the company’s IPO. Later, Covidien was acquired 2014 by Medtronic for $42 billion.

From 1984 to 1999, Wright held executive roles at DuPont Pharma and DuPont Merck, where he served as brand champion of the company’s organ transplantation and plasma volume expansion businesses, and eventually became global Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Business Development, as well as President of DuPont Merck, Canada and Senior VP DuPont Merck, Europe heading up Marketing and Business Development.

Wright has been a director of Agenus, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company, since 2006 and its lead director since 2009.

Wright also serves as Chairperson of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Drug Development Institute, serves as director of The Ohio State Innovation Foundation and sits on The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy Dean’s Corporate Council, and over his career, has served on boards of directors for companies in North America, Europe and Asia.

Wright earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing from The Ohio State University.

Push-out Score determined

The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding Tim Wright’s move on a scale of 0 to 10.

exechange reached out to MiMedx and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.

Read the full story in the exechange report 37.2022 ($).