Varian Announces Succession Plan after Integration into Siemens Healthineers

By News Release

 

Chief executive officer Dow Wilson will retire after more than 16 years at the helm of Varian after the successful integration of the company with Siemens Healthineers AG. Chris Toth, president and chief operating officer of Varian, will become CEO of the Varian business segment of Siemens Healthineers and will report directly to Dr. Bernd Montag, chief executive officer of Siemens Healthineers. Wilson has agreed to serve as a special advisor to Siemens Healthineers. The transaction is expected to occur in the first half of this year.

"It has been a privilege to serve Varian as CEO for nearly a decade," said Wilson. "We have made incredible advances in the fight against cancer, and our transformational combination with Siemen Healthineers will bring us even closer to achieving our vision of a world without fear of cancer. Working alongside such a talented, dedicated team has been the highlight of my career, and I am confident that under Chris' leadership, Varian will continue to increase its patient impact and build on the strong foundation we have established together. I will always be an ardent supporter of Varian, and look forward to following along from the sidelines and seeing all that this team accomplishes in the years to come."

Wilson led Varian as CEO since 2012. According to the company, Varian achieved double-digit growth and created 4,000 jobs over the last five years.

"I'm honored to lead Varian as we enter this new exciting chapter with Siemens Healthineers," said Toth. "It's incredible to see how Varian has evolved and grown since I first joined over 20 years ago – all while staying true to our relentless belief that we can beat cancer. As we move forward, I'm confident that the passion and unwavering commitment to Varian's mission that Dow has inspired among the entire team will continue to propel our company to even greater success in the future."

In August 2020, the companies announced an agreement that Siemens would acquire all shares of Varian for approximately USD 16.4 billion. Siemens announced its exit from the radiation oncology market in 2011 and stopped manufacturing linear accelerators on January 1, 2012, only to return nearly a decade later with the Varian acquisition.