Philips proposes adding board members, reappointing Jakobs
By HME News Staff
Updated 10:18 AM CDT, Mon March 23, 2026
AMSTERDAM – Ahead of its annual general meeting of shareholders on May 8, Royal Philips has proposed appointing John DeFord as a new member of the Supervisory Board. DeFord currently serves as chairman and CEO of Samothrace Medical Innovations; previously, he was the chief technology officer at Becton Dickinson. The company is also proposing the reappointment of Paul Stoffels, Herna Verhagen and Sanjay Poonen as members of the board. Marc Harrison, whose second term will expire at the end of this year’s meeting, will step down from the board. “On behalf of the Supervisory Board and the Board of Management, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Marc Harrison for his valuable counsel and contributions over the past eight years,” said Feike Sijbesma, chairman of the Supervisory Board. “We welcome John DeFord to Philips’ Supervisory Board. He is a highly regarded global technology leader with extensive experience as a senior MedTech executive, bringing interventional domain knowledge and deep expertise in innovation, technical, regulatory, quality, and U.S. FDA matters. We recommend the re-appointment of Paul Stoffels, Herna Verhagen and Sanjay Poonen, whose continued service and with their exceptional expertise will further strengthen the Supervisory Board. We are grateful for their ongoing commitment and contributions.” As previously announced in February, Philips has also proposed reappointing Roy Jakobs as president/CEO and chairman, as well as a member of the Board of Management.
- Related: Philips targets innovation, trust.
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