The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) announces that Lester B. Knight, a founding partner of RoundTable Healthcare Partners and former chief executive of Allegiance, will receive the 2022 AdvaMed Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by IQVIA MedTech, at the industry’s annual gathering, The MedTech Conference 2022, in Boston on October 26.
Knight, who has more than 40 years of healthcare experience, founded healthcare-focused private equity firm RoundTable Healthcare partners in 2001. Knight previously served as chairman of the board and CEO of Allegiance, an integrated medtech manufacturer, distributor, and provider of cost management services for hospitals.
Knight and his leadership team took Allegiance public in 1996, creating an independent Fortune 500 spin-off from Baxter International. In 1999, Allegiance merged with Cardinal Health, where Knight served as vice chairman. Knight also spent 16 years at Baxter, where he was executive vice president and a member of its board of eirectors.
“Each year, AdvaMed honors a distinguished member of the medtech community who has, over the course of their career, contributed to improving health outcomes for patients and made a significant impact on our industry,” says Scott Whitaker, AdvaMed president and CEO. “Lester Knight’s leadership, from running Fortune 500 companies to investing in healthcare and medtech companies, makes him the perfect candidate to be honored this year. Few people in our industry have had the impact he has in mentoring leaders and shaping the future of medtech.”
“I have always felt working in healthcare is a tremendous privilege,” Knight adds. “Our missions are aligned fully with our customers. When we are at our best as leaders and innovators, caregivers can be at their best, and no one deserves more support today than our nation’s health care professionals. I am touched deeply by this recognition, but far more important is the impact our industry has on patients and those who care for them. That is what I celebrate every day.”
Knight is a Life Director at Northshore University HealthSystem, which is ranked as a top teaching hospital in the United States. Knight was also elected chairman of the board of Aon Corporation in 2008, having served on its board since 1999. He also serves on the Northwestern University Board of Trustees having been elected in June 1998, and in 2018 he became a Life Trustee.
Knight has been on the board of Junior Achievement of Chicago for more than 30 years and in 2021, was inducted into the Chicago Business Hall of Fame. Additionally in 2010, the Lincoln Academy of Illinois inducted Knight as a Lincoln Laureate. Knight also has extensive service to the medical technology industry having served on the board of directors and executive committee as well as terms as treasurer, membership chair, and annual conference chair for AdvaMed.
