Stryker names operating chief Spencer Stiles to succeed Kevin Lobo as CEO in January

Stryker said on Tuesday that Spencer Stiles, its president and chief operating officer, will become chief executive on Jan. 1, succeeding Kevin Lobo, who has led the medical device maker since 2012 and will become executive chair of its board.

Lobo stays chief executive through Dec. 31. Stiles, 50, will join the board at the same time, expanding it to 11 members from 10, the company said in a securities filing. Sheri McCoy, the board's lead independent director, called the move "the culmination of a comprehensive, long-term succession planning process."

An insider takes over

Stiles has spent 27 years at Stryker, starting in its endoscopy business in 1999. From 2019 he ran the orthopaedics group, which includes joint replacement, trauma and the company's digital and robotics technology, with added responsibility for international regions and acquisitions strategy. He became president and chief operating officer in January. The company credits him with leading the purchase of Wright Medical and the separation of its spinal implants business.

That background makes the handover a continuity choice rather than a change of direction. Stiles already oversees much of the day-to-day business, and Lobo will remain on the board as executive chair.

What Lobo built

Lobo joined Stryker in 2011 as a group president and became chief executive in October 2012, adding the role of board chair in July 2014. Over his tenure annual sales roughly tripled, from $8.7 billion in 2012 to what the company describes as more than $26 billion this year. Stryker completed more than 60 acquisitions under him, including Mako, whose robotic arm is used in joint replacement surgery.

Pay for the new roles

As executive chair, Lobo keeps his $1.55 million base salary and $2.33 million bonus target but will not receive new stock awards, according to letter agreements filed with the announcement. Stiles' base salary rises to $1.32 million in January, with a bonus target of 150% of salary. The board's independent directors will be asked in February 2027 to approve a stock award for him worth about $14.2 million, 60% in performance-based shares and 40% in options.

Shares well below last year's high

Stryker shares fell about 3% in morning trading and were down 1.9% at $279.91 at 1:55 p.m. ET, according to cnbc.com market data, while the S&P 500 was up 0.7%. That gives the company a market value of about $107 billion. The stock is about 29% below its 52-week high of $392.55, set in October 2025, and about 5% above the low of $267 it touched on Sept. 11.

The business itself has been recovering from a cyber incident. In the second quarter, sales rose 9.4% to $6.6 billion and organic sales, which exclude currency moves and acquisitions, rose 9%. Lobo said at the time that the company had made "significant progress in our recovery from the cyber incident." Stryker narrowed its 2026 outlook to organic sales growth of 8.3% to 9.3% and adjusted earnings of $14.95 to $15.10 a share.

The company reports third-quarter results on Oct. 29, the last quarterly report before Stiles takes over.