internal
Thomas E. Polen
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President
Executive
5 yr
16 reports
Becton, Dickinson and Company ·BDX
Three global business presidents run BD’s P&Ls directly
Health Care · Fortune #211 · Divisional structure · 74K employees · Franklin Lakes, NJ
View as of:
4
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 8)
3
Avg span
moderate
3
Max depth
3 levels
5 yr
Avg tenure
stable vs FY2024
50%
Internal hires
near industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2025-09-30 · 10-K
Revenue
$21.8B
Operating income
$2.6B
Net income
$1.7B
Total assets
$55.3B
Shares out
285M
Sourced from Becton, Dickinson and Company DEF 14A · filed 2025-12-18 ↗ View on SEC
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Becton, Dickinson and Company organizational chart
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Three global business presidents report directly to CEO Tom Polen, highlighting BD’s divisional, P&L‑driven structure. This page maps the executive org, segment leadership, and recent changes as BD completes its strategic transformation and portfolio realignment.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Latest signal Richard E. Byrd departed as EVP & President, Interventional Segment
Announced intention to retire effective June 2026 (April 6, 2026).
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Interventional President Retirement Richard Byrd’s retirement would create a succession decision for one of BD’s largest P&L units.
- Add a Chief Operating Officer Adding a COO could reduce CEO span and centralize execution across segments.
Atlas work this supports
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The people
Who's running this
5 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
Christopher J. DelOrefice
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Finance
4 yr
3 reports
internal
Richard E. Byrd
Executive Vice President and President, Interventional Segment
Interventional
6 yr
3 reports
Michael C. Feld
Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer and President, Life Sciences Segment
Life Sciences
3 yr
3 reports
internal
Michael D. Garrison
Executive Vice President and President, Medical Essentials and BioPharma Systems
Medical Essentials & BioPharma
7 yr
3 reports
The pay
Executive compensation
From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 1 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.
Thomas E. Polen $17.1M
- Base salary
- $1.40M
- Stock awards
- $9.99M
- Option awards
- $3.31M
- Non-equity incentive
- $1.85M
- Pension change
- $237K
- Other
- $341K
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The businesses
How Becton, Dickinson and Company divides the work
3 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
Interventional Segment
22K employees
EVP & President, Interventional (Richard E. Byrd)
Develops and manufactures interventional devices for vascular access, surgery and related therapies.
Life Sciences Segment
18K employees
EVP, CRO & President, Life Sciences (Michael C. Feld)
Provides biosciences, diagnostic and research tools to pharmaceutical and academic customers.
Medical Essentials & BioPharma Systems
24K employees
EVP & President (Michael D. Garrison)
Supplies core medical consumables and biologic drug delivery systems used in everyday care.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
Three segment presidents with full P&L responsibility report directly to the CEO, rather than through a COO or group operating layer.
BD’s structure is explicitly divisional, with Interventional, Life Sciences, and Medical Essentials & BioPharma Systems each led by an EVP‑level president. Corporate functions like Finance support the businesses but do not sit between them and the CEO.
This design keeps decision rights close to the operating units during a period of portfolio reshaping, including the Waters Reverse Morris Trust transaction. It also concentrates span at the CEO level, with fewer corporate layers than many diversified medtech peers.
- No COO role
- All major businesses report directly to CEO
The comparison
How Becton, Dickinson and Company stacks up
Compared with peers such as Medtronic and Abbott, BD runs a cleaner divisional model with fewer intermediate group executives. Abbott and Medtronic both insert group presidents or COOs between the CEO and business units, increasing depth but reducing CEO span. Danaher, by contrast, pushes autonomy even further through …
C-suite size
Reporting depth
Becton, Dickinson and Company
3 levels
Medtronic
5 levels
5 levels
4 levels
6 levels
Avg C-suite tenure
Becton, Dickinson and Company
5 yr
Medtronic
6 yr
8 yr
Has COO / Has CAIO
Becton, Dickinson and Company — no COO — no CAIO
Medtronic ✓ COO — no CAIO
Current signals
What changed recently
The most consequential change is the announced retirement of Interventional president Richard Byrd amid BD’s portfolio reorganization.
- departedRichard E. Byrd EVP & President, Interventional Segment
Announced intention to retire effective June 2026 (April 6, 2026).
Source - departed
- Date not confirmed reorgWaters RMT Transaction Portfolio Reorganization
Completed separation and combination of Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions with Waters Corporation in February 2026.
Source
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2025-12-18
- CEO
- Thomas E. Polen
- CEO span
- 4
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 5.2 yr
Leadership centered on three segment presidents reporting directly to the CEO.
Named executive officers (5)
- Thomas E. Polen - CEO since 2020
- Christopher J. DelOrefice - CFO since 2021
- Richard E. Byrd - President, Interventional since 2019
- Michael C. Feld - President, Life Sciences since 2022
- Michael D. Garrison - President, Medical Essentials since 2018
FY2024
DEF 14A filed 2024-12-19
- CEO
- Thomas E. Polen
- CEO span
- 4
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 4.6 yr
Structure largely unchanged year over year.
FY2023
DEF 14A filed 2023-12-20
- CEO
- Thomas E. Polen
- CEO span
- 4
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 4 yr
Early phase of BD’s transformation toward a focused medtech portfolio.
Year-over-year changes
Leadership structure remained stable with increasing average tenure.
- CEO span: 4 → 4
- C-suite size: 5 → 5
- Avg tenure: 4 → 4.6 yr
No major leadership changes; continuity supported strategic execution.
- CEO span: 4 → 4
- C-suite size: 5 → 5
- Avg tenure: 4.6 → 5.2 yr
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of Becton Dickinson?
Thomas E. Polen has served as Chairman, CEO and President since 2020.
What type of organizational structure does Becton Dickinson use?
BD uses a divisional structure with major global business segments operating as P&Ls.
How many direct reports does Becton Dickinson's CEO have?
The CEO has four direct reports, primarily the presidents of BD’s major business segments and the CFO.
How has Becton Dickinson's leadership changed recently?
Recent changes include the announced retirement of Interventional president Richard Byrd and the completion of the Waters RMT transaction in early 2026.
Does Becton Dickinson have a COO?
No, BD does not have a COO; its segment presidents report directly to the CEO.
Sources
- 8-K Filing, Apr 2026
- DEF 14A, Dec 2025
- 8-K Filing, Feb 2026
- SEC EDGAR: Becton, Dickinson and Company DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: Becton, Dickinson and Company 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.
APA 7th
Creately. (2026). Becton, Dickinson and Company organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/becton-dickinson/MLA 9th
"Becton, Dickinson and Company Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/becton-dickinson/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "Becton, Dickinson and Company Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/becton-dickinson/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
Becton, Dickinson and Company. DEF 14A. Filed 2025-12-18. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/10795/000162828025057846/bdx-20251217.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/becton-dickinson/ · last updated 2026-04-01