Charles A. Simonton

Dr. Simonton is renowned for his leadership in product development and large-scale clinical trials. He was most recently at Abbott Vascular where he served as chief medical officer and divisional vice president of Global Medical Affairs since 2008. At Abbott Vascular, he led the programs that resulted in the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of carotid stents, MitraClip and Absorb BVS, in addition to the EXCEL and COAPT trials. Prior to Abbott, Dr. Simonton spent almost 30 years as an interventional cardiologist working with complex cardiac and vascular patients. He started at Duke University Medical Center then moved to the Sanger Clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he created his own research team to study patient outcomes following the use of new cardiac technologies. Dr. Simonton founded the Carolinas Cardiovascular Research Foundation at the Carolinas Heart Institute, which is now part of Atrium Health.