Johns Hopkins to host a conversation with Tom Polen, CEO of Becton Dickinson

Alexander Triantis, dean of the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, will host Tom Polen, chairman, CEO and president of Becton, Dickinson and Company, and graduate of the Carey Business School MBA program, for a virtual conversation on Tuesday, November 1. 7, as part of the Johns Hopkins Health Policy Forum.

BD is an $18 billion global medical technology company committed to developing innovative technologies, services and solutions in healthcare. It manufactures more than 37 billion devices per year and serves nearly 200 countries around the world.

The discussion will begin at noon and cover a range of topics, including how BD is transforming healthcare delivery and chronic disease outcomes, how the company is addressing unmet healthcare needs and what what needs to be done to ensure healthcare security in the supply chain. Johns Hopkins faculty, staff, students, alumni, and members of the general public are invited to attend the event; prior registration is required.

“Healthcare innovation is a key differentiator in terms of access to and quality of care,” Triantis said. “BD is a global leader in healthcare delivery, from supply chain to automation technologies to chronic disease outcomes worldwide. This conversation is a rare opportunity to hear how an alumnus is running it all.

Since 2009, Polen has served as President of multiple global business units within BD’s Life Sciences segment and then President of the BD Medical segment, during which he led the $12 billion acquisition of CareFusion, leading the expansion of the company in IT and digital health solutions. In 2017, Polen led the acquisition strategy of CR Bard, Inc. for $24 billion and was shortly thereafter named President and Chief Operating Officer of BD. Polen became CEO in January 2020 and chairman of the board in April 2021. He received his MBA from Johns Hopkins.

Polen is the 10th expert to participate in the Johns Hopkins Health Policy Forum Series, launched in fall 2020 to highlight the university’s engagement with key leaders on health policy issues and health care. Previous events featured:

• Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (October 2020)
• Rochelle P. Walensky, Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (May 2021)
• Robert M. Davis, CEO and Chairman of Merck (October 2021)
• Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (January 2022)
• Atul Gawande, Deputy Administrator, Office for Global Health, U.S. Agency for International Development (April 2022)
• Donna Shalala, former HHS Secretary and Congresswoman (June 2022)
• Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (December 2022)
• Michelle Lujan Grisham, Governor of New Mexico (May 2023)
• Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (July 2023)

The Health Policy Forum Series is jointly hosted by the Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Carey Business School, and the School of Nursing at Johns Hopkins University, as well as Johns Hopkins Medicine.