Avanos Medical, Inc.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Avanos Medical Avanos Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. At this time, all lines are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. This call is being recorded on Wednesday, October 30th, 2024. I would now like to turn the conference over to Scott Gullivan, SVP Strategy and Corporate Development. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. It's my pleasure to welcome you to Avanos 2024 Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Speaking first today will be Gary Blackford, Avanos Board Chair. He'll be followed by Interim CEO Michael Greiner. Gary will give an update on our leadership changes before Michael reviews our third quarter results, the current business environment, an update on our transformation efforts and our fourth quarter 2024 planning assumptions. We will finish the call with Q&A. A presentation for today's call is available on the Investors section of our website, avanos.com. As a reminder, our comments today contain forward-looking statements related to the company, our expected performance, current economic conditions, and our industry. No assurance can be given as to future financial results. Actual results could differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. For more information about forward-looking statements and the risk factors that could influence future results, please see today's press release and risk factors described in our filings with the SEC. Additionally, we will be referring to adjusted results and outlook. The press release has information on these adjustments and reconciliations to comparable GAAP financial measures. I'll turn the call over to Gary for introductory remarks.

Thanks, Scott. I'm here today to provide a brief update on recent leadership changes at Avanos. Joe Woody has announced his decision to retire as Avanos' CEO, and Michael Greiner has been appointed interim CEO. Joe has graciously agreed to assist the company in this leadership transition, and he'll continue to consult with the company through April of next year. Joe has accomplished a great deal in his tenure as CEO. He led the strategic positioning for the company to a more focused medical device solutions company via acquisitions and divestiture of assets and businesses that were not aligned to the company's long-term strategy. Avanos is in a better position financially and organizationally today to achieve its long-term value creation goals. We're grateful for Joe's leadership these past seven years and we thank him for his efforts and dedication to Avanos. We're also pleased to announce that Michael Greiner has agreed to serve as Interim CEO for Avanos. As Avanos CFO and Chief Transformation Officer, Michael demonstrated his ability to deliver consistent results against our three-year transformation plan, and he is well-positioned to step in as Interim CEO. While Michael is our leading candidate to become the permanent CEO, our board wants to evaluate other candidates as well and will conduct a fulsome search for a permanent CEO over the coming weeks. To enable Michael to focus on running the company, Warren Mahad has been appointed interim CFO. Many of you may remember Warren, who previously spent seven years as Senior Vice President of Strategy for Avanos, and served as interim CFO before Michael joined Avanos. Prior to leaving Avanos in 2021, Warren had 34 years of experience with Kimberly Clark, Halyard Health, and Avanos. Since leaving, Warren has continued to provide strategic consulting in support of the company's transformation agenda. We welcome Warren back as interim CFO. Change is constant in the medical device world, And the Board of Directors believes these leadership changes will allow the company to continue its strategic path of becoming a more focused organization. In closing, I'm proud of the transformation progress Avanos has made and am genuinely excited about the company's promising future, powered by our team's commitment to make a difference and by the enduring importance of our products in patients' lives. With that, I'll turn the call over to Michael.