Michael Mussallem on career path
From A Career Built on Innovation: Mike Mussallem’s Lasting Impact on Global Healthcare | Rose-Hulman · · Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
“I graduated from Rose as a chemical engineer went to work for Union Carbide making Presto antifreeze and after spending about 5 years at Union Carbide I discovered medical technology I joined company called Baxter in Northern Illinois and I worked there for 20 years very much a meritocracy I learned by doing and I moved from kind of a manufacturing kind of background into product development and R&D and and ultimately into General management i' had responsibility for the cardiovascular business of baxer during the late '90s It ultimately resulted in a decision to say maybe it's better for Baxter to exit and so I raised my hand and said I would love to be part of that April 3rd of 2000 we rang the bell in New York and became a freestanding publicly traded company called Edwards life sciences and I'm I'm proud to say that over 95% of what Edward sells today is in the number one Global position”
On , Michael Mussallem, Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Edwards Lifesciences, spoke about career path during A Career Built on Innovation: Mike Mussallem’s Lasting Impact on Global Healthcare | Rose-Hulman on Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
About Michael Mussallem
In a May 2025 interview with Rose-Hulman, former Edwards Lifesciences chairman and CEO Mike Mussallem discussed his career and the company’s focus on structural heart disease. Mussallem said that in the 1990s, the cardiovascular business was not excelling while competitors were, and that his analysis led him to conclude that innovation was the difference. He proposed changing course, and Edwards Lifesciences became a freestanding publicly traded company on April 3, 2000. Mussallem stated that over 95% of what Edwards sells today holds the number one global position. Mussallem credited his education at Rose-Hulman, where he earned a chemical engineering degree in 1974, with teaching him how to learn and the importance of collaboration. He noted that the faculty took a personal interest in him and guided him to “learn to learn.” Mussallem also said that technology is racing at incredible speeds and that young people have an opportunity to change the world in dramatic ways. He is the co-founder of the Linda and Mike Mussallem foundation.