AdvaMed Names Former Exec as President

AdvaMed’s Ubl: Hitting the ground running.

Industry association AdvaMed (Washington, DC) has selected Stephen J. Ubl as its new president and CEO. Current AdvaMed chairman Art Collins, chairman and CEO of Medtronic Inc. (Minneapolis), made the announcement of Ubl’s appointment in the middle of July. Ubl succeeds Pamela Bailey, who left the organization in March of this year to head the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA; Washington, DC).

Ubl formerly served as AdvaMed’s executive vice president for government relations from 1998 until last year, when he left to form his own healthcare consulting firm, Ubl Health Solutions LLC (Washington, DC). That firm became defunct upon Ubl’s acceptance of his new position.

In making the announcement, Collins cited Ubl’s “rare combination of policy depth and political acumen that has earned bipartisan respect on Capitol Hill and among policymakers. Steve’s knowledge of the medical technology industry, along with his demonstrated leadership and successes on the legislative and regulatory fronts, makes him the ideal person to lead AdvaMed into the future.”

Collins led a three-person search committee that included past AdvaMed chairman Dennis N. Longstreet, company group chairman of Johnson & Johnson Inc. (New Brunswick, NJ), and chairman-elect Edward J. Ludwig, chairman and CEO of Becton Dickinson and Co. (Franklin Lakes, NJ).

In commenting on the process of selecting a new president for AdvaMed, Collins said that the committee used the services of Leonard Pfeiffer & Co. (Washington, DC), a national search firm that helped to identify a list of approximately 50 candidates. The list was eventually narrowed down to a handful of “top contenders,” but, according to Collins, Ubl was the only candidate who had the overall skill set and experience the association was seeking in a leader.

Collins: Immediate benefit.

“Steve has extensive knowledge of the medical technology industry, a belief in and high-energy commitment to AdvaMed’s mission, and the universal respect and regard of key constituent groups, including medical manufacturers, policymakers, regulatory agencies, congressional leaders, physicians, patient groups, insurance firms, and the end-user healthcare community,” said Collins. “In essence, we knew that Steve could hit the ground running and the association could immediately benefit from his knowledge and expertise.”

Ubl’s selection as president and CEO received the unanimous approval of AdvaMed’s board of directors.

Commenting on his appointment, Ubl said, “I’m honored that the board has entrusted me with representing medical technology innovators who are saving and improving millions of people’s lives every day. I look forward to leading AdvaMed during this time of important changes in medical technology and healthcare policy. AdvaMed members are at the forefront of developing advances needed by patients and our health system—technologies for disease prevention and management, personalized medicine, device and drug integration, and health information systems, to name a few. I am eager to explain the remarkable benefits of these medical technologies to people both inside and outside the beltway.”

Ubl is a graduate of St. Cloud State University (St. Cloud, MN). He began his work on Capitol Hill as a special assistant to Senator Charles Grassley (R–IA), and was subsequently vice president for legislation at the Federation of American Hospitals (Washington, DC) before assuming his previous position with AdvaMed in 1998.

With 1300 members, AdvaMed is the world’s largest association representing manufacturers of medical devices, diagnostics, and medical information systems.