St. Jude Medical, Inc. was an American global medical device company headquartered in Little Canada, Minnesota, U.S., a suburb of Saint Paul. The company had more than 20 principal operations and manufacturing facilities worldwide with products sold in more than 100 countries. Its major markets include the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. The company was named after Jude the Apostle, the patron saint of lost causes. St. Jude Medical was founded in 1976 and went public in 1977, and the company has been listed in the Fortune 500 every year since 2010. The company was acquired by Abbott Laboratories in January 2017. Michael T. Rousseau served as the company's president and chief executive officer from 2016 until its acquisition by Abbott. History Early history St. Jude Medical was founded in 1976 to further develop bi-leaflet artificial heart valves, which were originally created in 1972 at the University of Minnesota. St. Jude Medical's bi-leaflet valve was developed in large part by Dr. Demetre Nicoloff of the University of Minnesota and St. Jude Medical employee Don Hanson. Company founder Manny Villafana took St. Jude Medical public In February 1977. In October of that year, Dr. Nicoloff implanted the company's first artificial heart valve in a human patient. St. Jude Medical's new heart valve was coated in pyrolytic carbon, which helped the valve prevent blood clotting. St. Jude Medical founding chief operating officer LaVerne Rees became chief executive officer in 1981. Shortly after his appointment as St. Jude Medical CEO, Rees directed the company to begin development of its own carbon coating. This decision led to a legal battle with CarboMedics, the sole supplier of carbon coating for the company's heart valves. The St. Jude Medical board reassigned Rees in late 1984 after the legal dispute continued. In 1985, Lawrence Lehmkuhl replaced Rees as president and CEO of St. Jude Medical. Lehmkuhl had previously served as a division president at American Hospital Supply Corporation. Shortly after the appointment, St. Jude Medical settled its lawsuit with CarboMedics. The two companies also entered into an agreement that allowed St. Jude Medical to continue developing and producing limited quantities of its own carbon coating. In 1986, the first St. Jude Medical heart valve created with the company's own carbon coating technology was implanted into a human in Germany. Later that year, St. Jude Medical expanded into tissue heart valves with its acquisition of BioImplant.