Elizabeth McCombs

McCombs is responsible for continuing to drive the company's category innovation strategy and leading all research and development (R&D) activities, including executing the current innovation pipeline and developing the future product portfolio.

McCombs, who has more than 20 years of extensive experience in advanced medical device innovation, joined BD in 2019 as the senior vice president of R&D for the BD Medical Segment. She began her career at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Ethicon Endo-Surgery and progressed through positions of increasing leadership responsibility, including director for the J&J Corporate Office of Science and Technology (COSAT), focused on external technology partnerships; R&D leader for the J&J Sports Medicine business; vice president of Surgical Innovation for the Ethicon franchise; and most recently, as vice president of R&D for Ethicon, while also leading China R&D and Industrial Design/Human Factors for all of J&J Medical Devices. Aside from her technical credentials, Beth has been recognized for her work driving inclusion and diversity efforts, including the support and mentorship of fellow female professionals.

McCombs holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.