Whyte Miles (Miles White)

Whyte Miles (Miles White)

Biography

Miles White is an American businessman. Born in Minneapolis (Minnesota, USA) and raised in Las Vegas. He graduated from Stanford University.

1978: Consultant to McKinsey

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford in 1978 and an MBA two years later. White then took a job as a consultant at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in Chicago, and while the work was fascinating, the young man wanted something more.

1984: Starts at Abbott Laboratories

Miles White joined medical device manufacturer Abbott Laboratories in 1984, at which company he took the position of sales director in the diagnostics department, and four years later he was asked to lead a division in the Asia-Pacific region. Then the 33-year-old top manager refused the prestigious post for family reasons, but after another 10 years White was elected the new CEO of Abbott, and in April 1999 White became the chairman of the Abbott board.

Prior to becoming CEO of that company in 1998, he changed several leadership positions, including serving as senior vice president of the diagnostic business and executive vice president. Miles White, who took over Abbott at the age of 43, became the youngest executive in a major company in the health care industry at the time.

After coming to the management of Abbott, Miles White was able to settle several proceedings with the authorities related to fraudulent actions of the company in the areas of health care and marketing. Abbott paid fines and compensation of several hundred million dollars.

2016: $15m purchase of Abbott Laboratories shares

In mid-November 2016, it became known that Miles White increased his stake in Abbott Laboratories by 15%. Thus, the CEO showed his confidence in the company and its strong position on the stock exchange.

According to the BioSpace portal, citing materials published on the website of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, White acquired a stake in Abbott worth about $15 million, as a result of which the head's stake in the company's share capital increased from 2.7 to 3.1 million shares.

By the end of 2015, the CEO had 1.4 million shares in Abbott. In July 2016, Mile White bought the company's securities worth about $45.5 million.

By the close of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, November 16, the value of one Abbott share was $39.95, and the market capitalization exceeded $59.7 billion.^[1]

2018:20 years in charge of Abbott

2018 marked 20 years since Miles White took charge of Abbott. He is considered one of the most experienced and authoritative top managers in his industry. White's tenure in leadership positions is one of the longest in health care. He has a reputation as an experienced strategist who is not afraid to take bold steps. One such solution was to split Abbott Laboratories in 2013 into two public structures, one of which - Abbott - focused on manufacturing medical products and the other, AbbVie, on research pharmaceuticals.

Miles White

Many found the move extravagant, but time showed that White's decision was correct. If before the separation of the company, the cost of Abbott was about half of the capitalization of Pfizer and Merck, then at the beginning of 2018, the joint capitalization of Abbott and AbbVie reached about $260 billion, which is significantly higher than competitors in $217 and $156 billion.

Analysts also recognize White's authority: Barron's has included him in the list of 30 best top managers in the world for 9 consecutive years.^[2]

2019: Resignation as Abbot CEO

On November 13, 2019, Miles White announced his resignation as CEO of Abbott after 21 years in charge of one of the world's largest medical device manufacturers. He will officially resign in March 2020, and his place will be taken by the president and chief operating officer of the company, 46-year-old Robert Ford. Read more here.

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