Memorandum
Yesterday, Insulet unexpectedly announced a new President and CEO, Mr. Patrick Sullivan, effective immediately. The announcement shared surprising news that 13-year CEO Duane DeSisto is retiring – this caught us off guard, given Mr. DeSisto’s leadership of Insulet since 2001. DeSisto was known for getting things done at the company – establishing a very successful first to market, first generation patch pump, putting together a very impressive team, developing a widely-awaited second generation pump, establishing several valuable partnerships, and getting Insulet to profitability, among other important strides. Mr. Sullivan brings over 30 years of executive leadership experience to Insulet, though none specifically in diabetes: 13 years as CEO of the women’s health-focused Cytyc Corporation (where revenue rose from $4 million to $750 million in that time), one year as Executive Chairman of Hologic (acquired Cytyc in 2007 for $6.2 billion), five years as CEO Constitution Medical Investors, and most recently Managing Director of Aton Partners; he graduated from the United States Naval Academy and Harvard Business School. His M&A experience stands out and we'll be interested to see where the Insulet board and Mr. Sullivan take Insulet. The press release announcing the change reiterated its 2Q14 revenue guidance for the full year, though expects to record a charges of $8-$10 million in 3Q14 and $3 million in 4Q14 related to non-cash stock-based compensation and equity awards. This leadership change follows the appointment of Mr. Patrick Ryan as Insulet’s Chief Operating Officer in January, replacing Mr. Charles Liamos (Insulet's COO since 2010). We assume Mr. Sullivan was brought on to lead the company as it evolves to a more advanced stage; Mr. DeSisto certainly had an impressive run, where, although he didn’t always please everyone with every opinion he voiced, the financial and strategic results always spoke for themselves. While M&A clearly represents an area of expertise for Mr. Sullivan, we hope that Insulet stays independent unless it can find a larger company that truly deserves to be its parent. Thank you to Mr. DeSisto for leading Insulet so expertly into this era of individualized care; we look forward to watching Mr. Sullivan enter the world of diabetes and hope he is a fast learner.