The chief technology officer position is newly created, and Sainath will lead the Orangeburg, S.C.-based polymer extrusion and catheter manufacturing company’s efforts to accelerate innovation and leverage the advanced capabilities of its component and contract manufacturing platforms.
“We are making significant investments in research and development, and it’s exciting to have one of the industry’s top innovators lead us into the future,” CEO Paddy O’Brien said in a news release. “Suresh has a wealth of experience and expertise across med device design, emerging technologies, and developing next-gen catheter solutions. I’m confident his leadership over R&D will further strengthen our commitment to innovation and excellence and reinforce our value as a strategic supplier to customers.”
Sainath has over two decades of experience in catheter design, prototyping, manufacturing and assembly in original equipment manufacturing and medical device companies globally. He was previously Zeus’ general manager and senior vice president of catheter solutions. He joined the company in 2021 when CathX Medical, the company he founded and led, was acquired by Zeus. Sainath has held numerous engineering roles at AdvancedCath and Tactx Medical.
“Innovation has been at the core of Zeus since day one. I’m honored to work with a highly talented team of researchers, material scientists, and engineers, and look forward to collaborating with customers to help solve their challenges. With a dedicated focus on developing end-to-end catheter solutions using the most advanced technologies and the highest quality components, we can help streamline our customers’ supply chain by increasing speed to market, lowering costs, and reducing risks throughout a product’s lifecycle,” Sainath said.
Leadership shifts and a recent sale
The latest executive appointment comes a few weeks after CEO O’Brien took over the corner office. O’Brien was worldwide president of BD’s Peripheral Intervention. He also held management positions at Bard from 2001, rising to the position of global marketing VP by the time of the company’s December 2017 acquisition by BD. O’Brien replaced Steve Peterson, who joined Zeus as SVP of global sales and marketing in 2017 and was promoted to president in 2018 and CEO in 2020.
Zeus also recently closed its sale to private equity firm EQT, which said it hired O’Brien after an extensive search. EQT and Zeus have not released the purchase price or other deal terms. Bloomberg reported in December that the deal valued Zeus at $3.4 billion, citing unidentified “people with knowledge of the matter.”
Since its founding in 1966, Zeus has pioneered the design, development, and extrusion of fluoropolymer tubing for medical devices and select industrial applications. The Orangeburg, South Carolina–based company has eight facilities across the U.S. and one in Letterkenny, Ireland, with roughly 2,400 employees serving more than 300 customers in more than 100 countries. Its customers include leading medical device manufacturers, contract device manufacturing organizations and more.
