Cindy Kent
Vice President, General Manager, Gastro/Urology Therapies
Medtronic, Inc.
Minneapolis, Minn.
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As vice president and general manager of the Gastro/Urology Therapies business for the Neuromodulation Division of Medtronic Inc., Cindy Kent heads a team that educates physicians and their patients about alternative therapies when others fail to produce desired results. ?Since the topics of urinary and fecal incontinence are so taboo, most patients don?t even mention them to their physicians. Our goal is to bring these conditions out of the dark and let patients and physicians know that there are other treatment options when more conservative treatments fail,? she explains. She also has profit and loss responsibility for the half-billion-dollar global medical technology business unit, including development of the global strategic and annual operating plans and cross-functional investment priorities such as research and development and clinical.
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Kent joined Medtronic in 2007 after 15 years in manufacturing, human resources and sales and marketing positions at Eli Lilly and Co. The same year, she was one of 50 emerging leaders awarded the U.S. German Marshall Fellowship to represent the country in an exchange of ideas and best practices with officials in Germany, Turkey, Slovakia and Belgium. A sought-after mentor and speaker, Kent addressed the Medical Device and Diagnostic Sales & Marketing Executive Conference in 2011 and was named a 2013 Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin and River Valleys. She is passionate about mentoring, coaching and developing others, and continues to spend a significant amount of her time in that role. ?So many people have so richly and graciously mentored me over the years and I hope to be that same example and role model to others coming through the pipeline,? she says.
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Kent has a bachelor?s degree in industrial engineering and management sciences from Northwestern University, and an M.B.A. in marketing and master of divinity in pastoral care and leadership from Vanderbilt University.
