FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Oct. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, today announced the appointment of Patrick Kaltenbach as executive vice president and chief technology officer, and the promotion of Dave Hickey to executive vice president and president, Life Sciences segment, both effective January 1, 2021.

Kaltenbach, 57, will be responsible for continuing to drive the company's category innovation strategy and leading all research and development (R&D) activities, including executing the current innovation pipeline and developing the future product portfolio.

"Patrick has distinguished himself throughout nearly three decades in R&D management and business leadership, making him an ideal candidate to continue our drive toward category innovation in alignment with our strategy to Grow, Simplify, and Empower," said Tom Polen, CEO and president of BD. "In his time at BD, Patrick has been a thoughtful and enterprising leader, bringing a strong external orientation to help inform our strategy and best position BD to drive growth. He has done outstanding work accelerating the R&D pipeline and unlocking value in the Life Sciences segment, most recently working to ensure our Life Sciences team was well positioned to support the world's response to COVID-19 through a portfolio of innovative diagnostics solutions."

Kaltenbach joined BD as president of the Life Sciences segment in May 2018, after serving as senior vice president of Agilent and president of their Life Sciences and Applied Markets Group, where he was directly responsible for the majority of Agilent's instrumentation and software portfolio. Previously, Kaltenbach steered Agilent's largest R&D group, directing all aspects of R&D strategy and leading teams of engineers and scientists across multiple sites. He started his career in R&D as an engineer with Hewlett-Packard Co., where he went on to hold multiple senior management roles in R&D. Kaltenbach holds an advanced degree in Precision Engineering from Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences in Karlsruhe, Germany.  

As CTO, Kaltenbach will also oversee the company's recently launched "Innovation and Growth Fund" to advance BD's strategy and increase investments in priority R&D programs that accelerate growth.

John DeFord to retire

Kaltenbach succeeds John DeFord in the chief technology officer role. DeFord, who joined BD through the 2017 acquisition of C. R. Bard, Inc., recently announced his intention to retire at the end of the calendar year.

"John's impact over his 35-year career goes well beyond 'what' he delivered, but 'how' he did it: With a deep understanding of our customers and their challenges and an unwavering commitment to quality, talent development, and inclusion and diversity," said Polen. "We are thankful for his countless accomplishments and the significant impact he's made at BD and throughout patient care around the world."

DeFord will continue to serve as an advisor and technical and scientific consultant for BD upon his retirement.

Dave Hickey promoted to executive vice president and president, Life Sciences segment

Succeeding Kaltenbach as executive vice president and president of the Life Sciences segment is Dave Hickey, 57, who currently serves as worldwide president of the Integrated Diagnostics Solutions business. As president of the Life Sciences segment, Hickey will oversee the Biosciences, Preanalytical Systems and Diagnostics Systems businesses worldwide.

"I'm confident Dave is the right successor to lead the Life Sciences segment at this critical time for the industry and for public health," said Polen. "Throughout nearly 30 years of experience in the life sciences field, Dave has consistently delivered high performance and he has proven himself as an empathetic, passionate and transformative leader of customer-centric teams. Dave's leadership in the Diagnostics space has been on full display during the pandemic, as his team rallied around our purpose and delivered innovative laboratory and point-of-care COVID-19 testing solutions in record time."

Hickey joined BD in 2014 as vice president and general manager for the Clinical Microbiology business and was promoted to president of the Diagnostics Systems business in 2016. Prior to BD, Hickey spent 22 years with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics in multiple positions of increasing responsibility. Hickey began his career as a clinical biochemist in the United Kingdom.

Both Kaltenbach and Hickey will report to Polen.

About BD

BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of health care by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD and its 65,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians' care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers' capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to health care. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com. 

SOURCE BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)