Joel Grade Joins Baxter as Executive Vice President and CFO

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) has announced the appointment of Joel Grade as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He will report to Baxter’s Chairman, President, and CEO, José (Joe) E. Almeida, with his role effective from October 18, 2023. Brian Stevens, who has been serving as the interim CFO since May 31, 2023, will transition back to his previous position as Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer, and Controller.

Mr. Almeida expressed confidence in Joel Grade, stating, “Joel is a seasoned global financial executive with decades of deep operational and broad business experience as well as a proven record of results-driven impact. I am confident we will benefit from Joel’s leadership as we continue to advance the transformational actions announced earlier this year to help fuel enhanced growth, innovation, and value for the patients, clinicians, investors, and numerous other stakeholder communities that depend on us. I’d also like to thank Brian for serving as our interim CFO; we’re grateful for his contributions during the transition and look forward to his continued leadership in Baxter’s Finance organization.”

Mr. Grade expressed his enthusiasm about joining Baxter, stating, “I’m very excited to join Baxter, an industry leader with a rich history, compelling future, patient-centric mission, and best-in-class talent. The opportunity to contribute to Baxter’s ongoing transformation and make a meaningful difference for our many stakeholders is both motivating and well aligned with my experience in driving scale across large organizations and successfully executing against a company’s strategic objectives.”

Mr. Grade, aged 53, joins Baxter after a distinguished 25-year career at Sysco, a global food service leader with fiscal-year 2023 sales exceeding $76 billion. His experience spans various financial, commercial, and executive leadership roles. His recent position at Sysco was as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, and he previously held roles such as Executive Vice President and CFO, Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Accounting Officer, and Senior Vice President of Foodservice Operations.

Mr. Grade holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance with a specialization in international business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA in finance, strategy, and marketing from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

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