The Reconstruction of Zimmer

Long the market leader in orthopedics, Zimmer has seen itself leap-frogged by companies formed out of the recent wave of consolidation in the orthopedic industry. Free of its long-time pharmaceutical parent, Bristol-Myers Squibb, through the largest spin-off in health care history, Zimmer is looking to capitalize on its independence to get into high growth market segments the company was previously precluded from entering, such as spine and biologicals. Despite not being a player in the fastest-growing segments of orthopedics, spine and sports medicine, Zimmer has been consistently producing outstanding financial results, benefiting in part from investors' current strong support of orthopedics as a whole. In this interview, Zimmer's chairman and CEO, J. Raymond Elliott discusses how the company plans to utilize innovative approaches including direct-to-consumer advertising and minimally-invasive techniques and devices to drive Zimmer back to prominence.