Name: Jakob Just-Bomholt
New title: CEO, Elekta
Previous title: CEO, 3Shape
Elekta has appointed Jakob Just-Bomholt as president and CEO. Just-Bomholt will take up the positions on Sept. 1, filling a vacancy created in March when the cancer radiotherapy company’s board decided a new leader was needed to improve profitability and growth.
Stockholm-based Elekta competes with Siemens Healthineers’ Varian in the radiotherapy market. Elekta is looking to its new Evo radiation therapy machine to strengthen its position. However, while the device is on the market in Europe, helping drive 3% global sales growth in the most recent quarter, Elekta has yet to launch Evo in the U.S. The company has said U.S. customers are waiting for Evo, suppressing sales.
Just-Bomholt will oversee Elekta’s attempt to recover in the U.S. and in China, where sales have been hit by the anti-corruption drive, and build on momentum in Europe. The executive stepped down as CEO of 3Shape, a Danish digital dental scanning firm, earlier this year. The privately held 3Shape said in a statement at the time that Just-Bomholt spent “five successful years” as CEO.
Laurent Leksell, Elekta’s founder and chairman, said in a statement that Just-Bomholt is well-suited to his new role. Leksell cited Just-Bomholt’s strategic leadership, international experience and ability to drive profitable growth and global expansion as evidence he is the right person for the job.
Just-Bomholt is set to begin onboarding in August, working with interim CEO Jonas Bolander to transition into the CEO post on Sept. 1. Bolander has spent his time as interim CEO “stabilizing and simplifying the business,” the executive said on an earnings call late last month, and oversaw a change in Elekta’s plans for bringing Evo to the U.S. market.
Elekta withdrew its filing for clearance of Evo, and as of the May 28 earnings call, was in the process of resubmitting its application. Bolander said the change in filing strategy is intended to better align with the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process, with a greater focus on cybersecurity. The interim CEO expects the delay to have a “limited” impact on the overall product launch.
