Wright Medical Hires New Communications Chief

Wright Medical Group Inc. has hired Julie D. Tracy as senior vice president and chief communications officer.

Tracy has more than 25 years of experience in the medical device industry in investor relations, corporate communications and marketing. She most recently served as chief communications officer for Epocrates, Inc. Prior to Epocrates, she was senior vice president and chief communications officer for ev3 Inc. Prior to ev3, Ms. Tracy held marketing and investor relations positions at Kyphon Inc. and Thoratec Corporation.

“Julie has a tremendous depth of experience in all areas of investor relations and corporate communications and has earned an outstanding reputation within the investment community,” said Robert Palmisano, president and CEO of Wright Medical. “She’ll be instrumental in building upon the strong relationships we currently have with the investor and analyst communities, and we are delighted to welcome her to the team.”

Ms. Tracy has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California and received her MBA from Pepperdine University in Los Angeles. She is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute’s Senior Roundtable.

Arlington, Tenn.-based Wright Medical has been trying to bounce back from a series of high-profile management defections and firings over the past year in the wake of compliance issues and an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The orthopedic firm recently hired a new CEO.