Under Mike Kaufmann, Cardinal Health Makes Headway On 2019 Priorities

Under CEO Mike Kaufmann, Cardinal Health is making headway on its fiscal 2019 priorities.

The Dublin, Ohio-based company provides medical products and services to hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide, and operates the largest network of radiopharmacies in the U.S.

Cardinal Health has approximately 50,000 employees in 46 countries, and ranks among the top 25 on the Fortune 50. The company says it serves nearly 85% of U.S. hospitals, more than 6,700 labs with more than 53,000 laboratory products, more than 26,000 pharmacies, more than 10,000 specialty physician offices and clinics, and nearly 3 million patients with more than 45,000 home healthcare products.

“We see exciting opportunities for Cardinal Health, as well as significant work to be done to best position the company in an evolving industry landscape to deliver the greatest value for our investors, customers, communities and employees,” Kaufmann wrote in the company’s last annual shareholder report.

Priorities for the fiscal year include actively evaluating Cardinal Health’s portfolio and business mix; evaluating upstream and downstream elements of its pharmaceutical model; stabilizing the Cordis cardiology and endovascular business that it bought from Johnson & Johnson in 2015 and positioning Cordis for growth; integrating the “patient recovery” products and service business that it bought from Medtronic in 2017; and becoming “laser focused” on the company’s cost structure.

“We are committed to approaching our cost structure and operations diligently and responsibly,” Kaufmann wrote. “This includes creating a culture in which every manager is asking what we should do versus what we could do, and what we should spend versus what we could spend. Using various tools and analytics, we plan to deliver more than $200 million in annualized savings by fiscal 2020. Simply put, we are intensely focused on each dollar we spend.”

So far this year, Cardinal Health has made significant progress on these strategic priorities, Kaufmann said in the company’s fiscal second-quarter earnings call in February.

“While we still have a lot of work to do, there is much to be excited about,” he said. “We have made significant progress, improving execution, sharpening our portfolio, getting after cost and strengthening our leadership team.”

A nearly 29-year veteran of Cardinal Health, Kaufmann became CEO and a board director in January 2018. He has served in a wide range of leadership positions across operations, sales and finance, with his most recent role as CFO. During his tenure, Kaufmann was instrumental in orchestrating key activities such as the joint venture with CVS Health that formed Red Oak Sourcing and the creation of Fuse, the Cardinal Health technology innovation center, the company writes on its website.

Kaufmann also serves as executive sponsor of the Cardinal Health Women’s Initiative Network. His support of women leaders in healthcare led to the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association naming Kaufmann as its 2012 “Honorable Mentor” and the Institute for Women’s Leadership awarding him the 2014 “Guys Who Get it Award.”

He’s No. 15 on Chief Executive and RHR International’s CEO1000 Tracker, a ranking of the top 1,000 public/private companies

Headquarters: Dublin, OH

Age: 56

Education: Bachelor’s, Ohio Northern University

First joined company: 1990

Prior to joining Cardinal Health: Arthur Andersen

Named CEO: 2017