Medtronic has recently appointed Ken Washington, a 2023 BEYA Hall of Fame honoree, to the newly created position of Chief Technology and Innovation Officer. In this role, Dr. Washington will drive innovation to further Medtronic’s goal of alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life. Additionally, he will be joining the Medtronic Executive Committee. (Photo: Dr. Ken Washington giving a keynote speech at the 2020 BEYA STEM Conference)

Medtronic’s CEO, Geoff Martha, expressed excitement about Washington’s appointment, stating that it will allow the company to capitalize on its technological knowledge and inventiveness to innovate and disrupt the healthcare technology market.

Dr. Washington will aid in expanding the use of Medtronic’s technology platforms, including robotics, AI, sensors, and implantables, to improve returns on innovation investments and drive durable growth.

Washington joins Medtronic from Amazon, where he held the position of vice president and general manager of consumer robotics. Previously, he served as CTO at Ford Motor Company and held various leadership roles at Lockheed Martin. He has extensive experience leading technology development across numerous industries, including robotics, automotive, consumer products, and space.

Washington’s advanced degree is in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University, after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the same university. He has worked at Sandia National Laboratories, where he developed nuclear safeguards, and has held positions in information technology and computer sciences, eventually rising to the rank of chief information officer. Washington’s career also includes positions in super-computing, information privacy, and R&D space technologies.

At Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, he oversaw a team of 600 scientists and engineers with an annual research and development budget of more than $300 million. He was described as having “a unique ability to look across disparate disciplines to identify the most promising areas of research, foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, and drive the development of commercial applications of ATC discoveries.”