Chairman Makov Rises to the Given Imaging Challenge

The appointment of Israel Makov as chairman at Given Imaging Ltd.. (GIVN) came as a surprise to me. As far as I could ascertain from the rumors that I heard, Makov had been offered jobs at larger and perhaps far more prestigious companies in terms of media profile than Given Imaging.

But knowing the company and Makov as I do, this has all the elements needed to attract a manager of his stature to Given Imaging, an appointment which would probably look to the bystander as a step down compared with the company he recently left. Makov has looked for challenges throughout his management career, and he will most certainly find one in his new post at Given Imaging. There can be no doubting that he knows how to tackle challenges, and his tenure at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) is proof of this.

Given Imaging is one of the most organized and efficient companies in Israel's high-tech industry, and it has done something that someone unfamiliar with the medical world will find difficult to understand. It introduced a new product and persuaded health trusts and insurance companies to recognize it - rather than working through one of the healthcare giants - and that is a tremendous achievement. Essentially, Given Imaging has created its own new business niche in the medical device field, and it is the leader in it.

The challenge facing Makov is clear - He will aim to deliver for Given's shareholders what he delivered for Teva's shareholders, and also what he once delivered for the owners of the privately-held Interpharm. In other words, he will work to achieve a significant business breakthrough, and to expand Given Imaging's own niche. I noticed that also joining Makov on the Given Imaging board is Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (ELRN) chairman and IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. deputy chairman Arie Mientkavitch, and I also saw that outgoing chairman Doron Birger will remain on the board. I have no idea whether or not Makov knows all these people (I assume that he does), but with a team like this and with him at the head, the sky's the limit.

Also on the board is James Cornelius, one of the most prolific managers in the healthcare industry; the man who founded Guidant Corp. and then sold it to Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX), and who was recently appointed CEO at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY), one of Teva's rivals. Cornelius was previously one of the leading managers at Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), another staunch rival of Teva since time immemorial.

Another former Guidant director, Michael Grobstein, is also on the Given Imaging board. Grobstein held a number of senior management roles at Ernst & Young, and he and Cornelius both joined the board in 2001. Also on the Given Imaging Board are Galil Medical chairman Chen Barir, and Prof. Anat Loewenstein, a international expert on opthamology and an adviser to several medical device companies focusing on this field of medicine.

For Makov, a board like this together with the current management team headed by Nachum (Homi) Shamir represents the dream team. I understand now why he joined Given Imaging, rather than Comverse or Tnuva, for example. It certainly wasn't for the pay - the money will come if the challenge is realized. Makov sees in Given Imaging tremendous business potential and a team that can help him take the company forward.

Disclosure: The author invests in various equities and may have a personal holding in the stock of companies named.

GIVN 1-yr chart:

Published originally by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2006. Republished on Seeking Alpha with full permission.