
	Mr. Thomas M. Abate has been the Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Vice President of Edwards Lifesciences Corp. since January 2006 and also serves as its Chief Accounting Officer. Mr. Abate has been operating as Edwards&#39; controller for two years, and served an instrumental role in Edwards Lifesciences Corp&#39;s spin-off from Baxter International Inc. in 2000. Mr. Abate has been responsible for overseeing Edwards Lifesciences Corp. implementation and compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, leading Edwards Lifesciences Corp. Tax and Treasury departments, and overseeing numerous company transactions and technology acquisitions. He served as Treasurer of Edwards Lifesciences Corp. since January 1, 2006 and also served as its Controller. He also oversaw Edwards Lifesciences Corp. foreign earnings repatriation, and led Edwards Lifesciences Corp. financial planning and forecasting functions. He previously served as corporate controller for Baxter&#39;s Cardiovascular Group and also worked in a global capacity as vice president of finance for Lintec International, a joint venture with Baxter and Nestle based in Lausanne, Switzerland. He serves as Vice Chairperson of Baxter Credit Union. Mr. Abate, who earned a Bachelor&#39;s degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Northern Illinois University, served in a series of finance positions of increasing responsibility during his tenure at Baxter since 1982 and at Edwards Lifesciences.
