Michael Cudahy

writer, Boston Unplugged study

Michael J. Cudahy is an entrepreneur, business executive and philanthropist. Along with Warren Cozzens, he founded Marquette Electronics in 1965 and served as chairman and CEO. The company went public in 1991. After starting with only $15,000 in capital, the company went on to have over $350 million annually in sales. His company put together the nation's first central electrocardiographic system at Northwestern University Medical School. This machine has since become standard in hospitals throughout the United States. The company was also noted for having one of the first on-site day care centers in the nation. In 1982, he and Warren bought the failing Patient Monitoring Business Unit from GE (then known as General Electric Medical Systems Division) and combined it with the existing business (primarily diagnostic equipment). In 1998, he sold Marquette Electronics (by then known as Marquette Medical Systems) to GE. The company exists today as part of the Clinical Systems division of GE Healthcare, a subsidiary of the American conglomerate. After stepping aside at his company, Cudahy focused his energies on philanthropy and serving on the boards of other companies. In 2002 he told the story of the founding of Marquette Electronics in the book *Joyworks*.