Wright Medical Group, Inc. has induced Daniel Garen to take over the organization’s beleaguered compliance program and immediately become Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of the company.
Garen has a lot of experience in implementing and managing corporate compliance programs, according to the company announcement on January 30. To induce Garen to join the company, the Compensation Committee of the company’s board approved the grant of a stock option to purchase up to 50, 000 shares of the company’s common stock for the current trading price (around $17 per share).
The management of the company’s compliance program is getting public scrutiny as former senior employees terminated during the compliance program have sued the company, charging mismanagement of the program. Garen replaces Lisa Michels, the company’s previous compliance officer, who was also removed from her position several months ago and left the company.
Robert Palmisano, Wright’s new president and CEO noted that the organization has made “significant improvements” to the company’s compliance policies and procedures “over the past several months.”
Garen has more than 10 years of corporate legal experience. He has held senior compliance officer positions with Siemens Corporation and Bayer Healthcare. In addition, Garen served as Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Counsel from October 2007 to August 2010 at Siemens Healthcare Sector US, and he most recently held the position of Vice President, Healthcare Policy and Clinical Affairs until January 2012 at Siemens Healthcare Sector US.
Garen holds a juris doctor degree and a master of laws in health law from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. He is a member of the Illinois Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, the Federal Supreme Court Bar, the American Health Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association and the Health Care Compliance Association.
The chair of the board’s Nominating, Compliance and Governance Committee, John Miclot, said Garen’s experience will be a great asset to the management team and “reflects our continued commitment to adhere to government laws and regulations.”
Palmisano added that Wright has been and “continues to be committed to running our business in a manner consistent with the highest ethical standards…We look forward to continuing to enhance this critical area or our business under Dan’s leadership.”
Wright is operating under an extended Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey and continues to report to a federal monitor.
