Smith & Nephew has appointed Namal Nawana as CEO. He will join the company and be appointed to the board as an executive Director on 7 May 2018.

Most recently, Namal was CEO of medical diagnostics company Alere, where he led the successful turnaround of this global business and oversaw its $5.3 billion acquisition by Abbott in 2017. He joined Alere as COO  in December 2012.

Prior to Alere, Namal spent more than 15 years at Johnson & Johnson, primarily in its Medical Devices & Diagnostics segment, in a number of progressively senior commercial leadership roles across markets including in the USA, Asia and Europe. In 2011 he became worldwide president of DePuy Synthes Spine, where he oversaw a transformation programme including substantial margin improvement and the integration of Synthes following its acquisition in 2012.