Perhaps best known as the president of Stryker Corporation’s global large joint business and its milestone purchase in 2013 of robotics pioneer MAKO Surgical for $1.65 billion before he left in 2019, Stuart Simpson is now THINK Surgical, Inc.’s new president and CEO.
Now, after a 24-year career at Stryker, Mr. Simpson has decided to join Fremont, California-based robotics pioneer, THINK Surgical, Inc. as president and chief executive officer. THINK Surgical is a private med tech company whose core system is the TSolution One system—the only total joint replacement robot featuring an open implant platform.
Since leaving Stryker in 2019, Mr. Simpson served as executive chairman for Breg, Incorporated and, notably, executive chairman for SurgAlign, the spin-off from RTI Surgical which is innovating a remarkable holographic vision technology for spine surgeons. Notably, Surgalign announced recently that they were granted key patent in artificial intelligence. SurgAlign’s stock price jumped 50% following that announcement.
Over his 24 years at Stryker, Simpson was responsible for U.S., Europe, and Asia, as president of Stryker’s Joint Replacement Division. Simpson was one of the key leaders who moved Stryker into the brave new world of robotic assist systems for joint replacement surgery. During Simpson’s time at Stryker, he also helped the company increase its organizational capabilities and customer satisfaction through implementing strategies focusing on digital data and bundled payments.
THINK Surgical chairman of the board Mannami Shuzo said of Simpson, “Stuart is renowned for creating and implementing industry-leading commercial practices across the orthopedics landscape.” Shuzo continued, “His innovative thinking and global experience in medical device and healthcare with a reputation for achieving tangible results will be invaluable to THINK as we focus on our commercial strategy. He brings a mix of strong experience and leadership that will empower the growth and continuous innovation of THINK.”
Simpson expressed his excitement about joining the THINK Surgical team. He said, “THINK’s potential for commercial growth is enormous and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead this effort.” He continued, “I am particularly excited by THINK’s industry leading technology with its active robot capability and open implant platform. The value proposition for customers, especially implant flexibility, will be the foundation of THINK’s growth.”
