Optos to appoint Burdett as CFO

LOUISA BURDETT is to become Optos CFO when Christine Soden leaves the role on 31 May.

Burdett joins the medical company from the Financial Times Group, where she has been CFO since 2008. Previously, she had similar roles at Chep Europe, a £1.5bn turnover division of Brambles Ltd, the Australian listed pallet distribution company.

Burdett also spent six years in healthcare with GE Healthcare Ltd – formerly Amersham prior to 2004. From 2003 to 2007, she was CFO of GE’s medical diagnostics firm, and prior to that, spent two years as financial director of Amersham’s medical diagnostics business from 2001 to 2003.

Burdett also counts GlaxoSmithKline among her former employers, where she was finance integration director during a five-year stint. She has also worked as an M&A consultant at Charterhouse Bank in London and spent four years at KPMG in London and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

She is set to replace Christine Soden, who will continue to work for Optos in a consultancy role.

Roy Davis, chief executive of Optos, said:  “I am delighted to welcome Louisa to Optos. We look forward to benefiting from the experience she has gained in finance in major multinational healthcare firms.  She adds a breadth of international expertise to help Optos continue its global expansion.”