Steve West

Steve West has been appointed chief operating officer of MDS Inc as part of a transition that will see him become CEO once the Toronto-based firm narrows its focus to its MDS Nordion business. The transition will see the departure of current CEO Stephen DeFalco, who has overseen the divestment of most of the firm's operations under pressure from institutional shareholders. West joined MDS Capital Corp as a senior partner in 2001 and moved into the CEO position at MDS Nordion in 2003. More recently, he has dealt with the medical isotope shortage caused by the shutdown of the NRU reactor owned by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd — MDS Nordion's long-time supplier. West holds a degree in genetics from the Univ of London and completed post-graduate research in biotechnology. Recent announcements by MDS include the sale of the MDS Analytical Technologies business unit for $650 million to Danaher Corp (pending a special shareholder meeting October 2nd) and its intention to sell the MDS Pharma Services business….