Smith+Nephew (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN), the global medical technology company, announces the appointment of Ajay Dhankhar, PhD, as Chief Corporate Development & Strategy Officer, effective today. Ajay will report to Chief Executive Officer Deepak Nath and join the Smith+Nephew Executive Committee. 

As both a senior management consultant and investment banker, Ajay has advised CEOs and Boards at some of the world's leading healthcare companies, helping deliver substantial shareholder value. 

Ajay’s experience includes 25 years with McKinsey & Company where he was a Senior Partner and held multiple leadership roles including Global Head of Strategy across all industries, Global Head of Strategy and M&A for Life Sciences and Global Head of Life Sciences R&D. 

Following that, Ajay served as a Managing Director in the Financial Advisory Healthcare Group of Lazard Ltd (NYSE: LAZ) where he was the Global Head of Medical Technology, Diagnostics and Tools. More recently, Ajay founded and led Bluish Capital, a strategy and financial advisory firm focused on deploying growth capital to support high quality, recently FDA approved assets.

Ajay has bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Computer Science from Angelo State University, and both a master’s degree and a doctorate in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University. 

Deepak Nath, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Ajay’s unique blend of scientific rigor, strategic insight, business development, integrations, and operational excellence, combined with his entrepreneurial leadership style, makes him exceptionally well-suited to help shape our future. We are pleased to have him join our leadership team at this exciting time for the company.”

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About Smith+Nephew
Smith+Nephew is a portfolio medical technology business focused on the repair, regeneration and replacement of soft and hard tissue. We exist to restore people’s bodies and their self-belief by using technology to take the limits off living. We call this purpose ‘Life Unlimited’. Our 17,000 employees deliver this mission every day, making a difference to patients’ lives through the excellence of our product portfolio, and the invention and application of new technologies across our three global business units of Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine & ENT and Advanced Wound Management.

Founded in Hull, UK, in 1856, we now operate in around 100 countries, and generated annual sales of $5.8 billion in 2024. Smith+Nephew is a constituent of the FTSE100 (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN). The terms ‘Group’ and ‘Smith+Nephew’ are used to refer to Smith & Nephew plc and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context requires otherwise.

For more information about Smith+Nephew, please visit www.smith-nephew.com and follow us on X, LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook.

Forward-looking Statements

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