Arthur D. Collins, Jr.

Arthur D. Collins, Jr.
Arthur D. Collins, Jr.
Born	Lakewood, Ohio
Occupation	Advisor; Former Chairman & CEO of Medtronic, Inc.
Predecessor	William W. George
Successor	William A. Hawkins

Arthur D. Collins, Jr. is the retired Chairman of the Board of Medtronic, Inc., and formerly served the Company as President and Chief Executive Officer. In addition to his Board of Directors positions, he currently serves as a Senior Advisor to Oak Hill Capital Partners.

Family background

Art Collins was born in 1947 in Lakewood, Ohio. He was the first of Dr. Arthur D., Sr. and Irene Collins’ three children. His father, a physician, and his mother, a registered nurse, introduced him to the medical profession at an early age. As a young boy, when he was not playing football, basketball or baseball, he would tag along as his father made weekend rounds to see patients at the hospitals where he practiced. Even though he decided not to follow in his father’s footsteps, Collins never lost his passionate interest in medicine, the people who practiced it, and in the patients who ultimately received care.

Educational background

Collins attended the public school system in Rocky River, Ohio and graduated as a National Honor Society member in 1965. He received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Doctor of Laws honorary degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is a member of the Alpha Chapter of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Collins also holds a Master of Business Administration Degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he was a member of the undergraduate faculty. He was cited by The Wall Street Journal as one of Wharton’s three “most famous” MBA graduates, and he has returned to the Philadelphia campus often to give lectures and convocation addresses to the MBA class.^[1]

Work experience

Collins joined Oak Hill Capital Partners as a Senior Advisor in April, 2009. In this capacity, he consults across Oak Hill Capital's private equity portolio, providing advice and expertise in a variety of areas. Oak Hill Capital manages in excess of $8 billion of private equity capital and over $20 billion of investment capital. In addition, instead of writing a book on leadership that many had expected he would, he has penned a series of children's stories under the title The Adventures of Archibald and Jockabeb. The first books in the series were published in 2012.

Collins assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Medtronic, Inc. in April, 2001 and became Chairman of the Board in April, 2002. He retired from Medtronic in September, 2008. He was elected Chief Operating Officer and member of the Board of Directors in 1994 and President in 1996. He joined the company in 1992 as Corporate Executive Vice President and President of Medtronic International with responsibility for all Medtronic operations outside the United States.

Medtronic is the largest medical technology company in the world with revenues annualizing over $15 billion. During Collins’ tenure at Medtronic, revenue and earnings per share grew at annual compound growth rate in excess of 15 percent, while the company’s market capitalization increased from about $4 billion to about $60 billion. Mr. Collins was cited repeatedly by Institutional Investor as the top CEO in the medical technology industry. Doing business in more than 120 countries, Medtronic’s employment currently is about 40,000. In addition to having one of the most impressive records of sustained, superior financial performance, Medtronic is annually cited as one of the 100 Best Companies To Work For In America by Fortune Magazine. Medtronic also is continually cited as one of the most admired companies in industry and has been singled out for its strong corporate governance and commitment to philanthropy and community involvement.

Collins joined Medtronic from Abbott Laboratories where he had been Corporate Vice President with responsibility for Abbott's worldwide diagnostic business units since 1986. He began his 14-year career with Abbott in 1978 as Manager of Corporate Planning and Development and moved to the Diagnostics Division a year later where he subsequently held a number of general management positions in the United States and Europe. He was elected a corporate officer in 1989.

Before joining Abbott, Collins served as a naval officer from 1969 to 1973. After completing Officer Candidate School as a Distinguished Naval Graduate, he served as an officer on board a destroyer and was qualified as Officer of the Deck. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Full Lieutenant. From 1974 to 1978, Collins was a consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton in Chicago. While as Booz, Allen, he conducted major assignments in the areas of business strategy development, marketing, organization planning, financial analysis and financial systems design.^[2]

Activities as an author

After retiring from his full-time job, Collins wrote a series of books for older children and young adults under the title of The Adventures of Archibald and Jockabeb.^[3] The books chronicle the amazing adventures of two young brothers, Archibald and Jockabeb, as they grow from twelve and eleven years old into their mid-teens. During travels that take them deep into the Amazon River rainforest, to two Caribbean islands, above the Arctic Circle, to the not-so-exotic independent Chinese territory of Hong Kong, and to Australia's outback, as well as several other mysterious locations in the United States, the boys meet a number of characters – some human, and some not, but all unforgettable. The books have been illustrated by Collins’ niece,^[4] who is an award-winning artist.

Board, civic and community activities

Collins serves on the Board of Directors of Alcoa, Inc., The Boeing Company,^[5] Cargill.^[6] and U.S. Bancorp.^[7] He is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.^[8] He also was a previous Chairman of AdvaMed, the medical technology industry association, and has served on the boards of numerous civic organizations. He recently was a member of the President’s Export Council and the Department of Commerce Advisory Panel on Measuring Innovation. He splits his time between Naples, Florida, Chicago, Illinois, and Colorado's Vail Valley. He has two adult daughters and the family remains active in a number of community and volunteer activities.

Thoughts on leadership and growth

Collins co-hosted CNBC’s Squawk Box and has testified before Congress on a number of key healthcare policy issues. He also has represented the industry in policy discussions and negotiations in many countries outside the United States.

In an interview with Wharton@Work, Collins discussed five principles that should be considered by aspiring leaders. They were:^[9]

Articulate and act as a role model for your organization’s mission, making it a call to action for employees while fostering a strong and sustainable corporate culture.
Formulate and effectively communicate the corporate vision, strategy, and goals—and then allocate necessary resources and ensure that plans are in place to achieve the stated objectives.
Set realistic short and long-term expectations that balance stretch and achievability—and then deliver on your commitments.
Encourage change and innovation, while promoting quality and continuous quality improvement—as Jim Collins said, “Good enough never is.”
Ensure that capable employees are hired, developed, rewarded, retained, and encouraged to work together as a team—always remembering that employees are a company’s most precious and valuable resource.

He shared some of his thoughts on the subject in a byliner he wrote in October, 2003 for CEO Magazine entitled GROWTH COMPANIES PLAY OFFENSE TO WIN – IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD.^[10]

Gallery

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arthur D. Collins, Jr..

Medtronic, Inc, Executive Bio and Photo
The Wharton School, Keynote Speaker Bio

Preceded by William W. George	CEO of Medtronic 2001 – 2007	Succeeded by Bill Hawkins

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