Stryker CEO and Hip Replacements
Stryker's CEO Stephen MacMillan was on Squawk Box this morning talking about the President's speech and Stryker's recent boost in profitability. He looked like a nice guy, he really did. I was on the treadmill so I did not get what prompted the joke but in response to something Joe Kernen said, MacMillan said that next time he would bring with him a really good hip replacement (or words to that effect).
The comment underscored to me how in the world of big business, litigation is just one piece of a very large puzzle. I would think MacMillan would be a little more sensitive about the fact that just a few years ago they had to recall Stryker hip implants to the point where he wouldn't have thought it a joke. But Stryker has settled most of those cases and clearly moved past it.
I don't know what my point is, really. I'm not even saying the joke was inappropriate. The whole thing just struck me as odd.
