Jose Almeida

Jose Almeida has served as Chairman and CEO of Baxter International since 2016, leading a global medical products company through significant strategic transformation. Baxter's products span IV solutions and infusion therapy, parenteral nutrition, surgical care, patient monitoring (through the $10.5 billion Hillrom acquisition), and renal care (dialysis products and home peritoneal dialysis). Almeida's most consequential recent decision was the planned separation of Baxter's Kidney Care business into a standalone public company (named Vantive). This spin-off would leave Baxter as a more focused acute care, surgical products, and patient monitoring company with a higher growth profile and better margins. The Hillrom acquisition added connected care and patient monitoring capabilities that complement Baxter's acute care products. His key decisions involve executing the Vantive separation, integrating Hillrom's connected care platform, managing supply chain challenges (Baxter's IV solutions faced shortages), debt reduction from the Hillrom acquisition financing, and margin improvement.