Paws and profits: Zoetis appoints global diagnostics president, NVA names chief medical officer, and more updates

A major North American veterinary organization has appointed a new chief operating officer and named its first chief medical officer spanning both general practice and specialty and emergency care, and a global animal health company has appointed a new president of its diagnostics division. Read on for details about each individual.

Leslie Storms, MBA, chief operating officer, National Veterinary Associates

National Veterinary Associates (NVA) has appointed Leslie Storms, MBA, as chief operating officer. In the role, Storms is leading business operations across NVA's network of approximately 1300 hospitals. She most recently served as president of Ethos Veterinary Health, where she led NVA's specialty and emergency network of more than 140 hospitals.¹

Storms brings more than 25 years of executive leadership across healthcare, medical technology, life sciences, and pharmaceuticals, including nearly two decades at Johnson & Johnson, where she served as US president of orthopedics within Johnson & Johnson MedTech and president of Ethicon US. She has also held senior roles at Janssen US, Noramco, Corning Life Sciences, and Eli Lilly & Co., and currently serves on the board of directors of Covista.¹

"NVA's next phase is about transforming the pet family experience to be personal, easy and accessible, while advancing medicine across every stage of life," John Bruno, CEO of NVA, said in a statement.¹ "Leslie and Stacy [Burdick, DVM, MBA] bring the operating experience and clinical leadership to move each of those priorities forward in a meaningful way."

Stacy Burdick, DVM, MBA, DACVIM (SAIM), chief medical officer, National Veterinary Associates

NVA also promoted Stacy Burdick, DVM, MBA, DACVIM (SAIM), to chief medical officer across its full network of general practice, specialty, and emergency hospitals—the first time the company has held a single chief medical officer role spanning all care settings. In the role, Burdick joins NVA's executive leadership team and will lead the company's medical strategy, including advancing medical quality, strengthening clinical leadership, and developing initiatives to improve outcomes across care settings.¹

A board-certified small animal internal medicine specialist, Burdick brings more than 25 years of experience across clinical practice, hospital leadership, organizational transformation, and medical strategy. Most recently, as chief medical officer of Ethos Veterinary Health, she led the medical integration of four legacy organizations into a unified network of more than 140 specialty and emergency hospitals. She has previously held national medical leadership roles within NVA-Compassion First and served as chief of staff and medical director of NVA's Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, where she launched its interventional radiology and endoscopy program and led a team of more than 80 veterinarians.¹

Diego Garcia, MBA, president, global diagnostics, Zoetis

Zoetis has appointed Diego Garcia, MBA, as president of global diagnostics, effective September 1, 2026. Garcia brings 22 years of experience across Pfizer and Zoetis, most recently serving as senior vice president and general manager of the Southern Europe Cluster, where he developed go-to-market models and organizational capabilities across markets spanning five continents. He also concurrently served as president of Veterindustria, the Spanish industry association for animal health and nutrition.²

In his new role, Garcia will lead Zoetis' diagnostics division, a segment the company says is a core pillar of its long-term strategy with a focus on earlier detection, improved clinical confidence, and workflow efficiency. He succeeds Abhay Nayak, MBA, who has moved into the role of executive vice president and president of US commercial operations.²

References

1. National Veterinary Associates Strengthens Leadership Team to Advance Strategy. News release. National Veterinary Associates. August 10, 2026. Accessed September 8, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-veterinary-associates-strengthens-leadership-team-to-advance-strategy-302846910.html
2. Zoetis Appoints Diego Garcia as President, Global Diagnostics. Zoetis. August 26, 2026. [email]