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Mr. Ayotte has a wealth of legal and operational knowledge. He was formerly Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary for Bluestem Group, Inc. a $1.8 billion, private equity sponsored, e-commerce and mail order retailer of seven distinct consumer brands. Prior to holding that position, Mr. Ayotte was Chief Legal Counsel for Medtronic’s Americas Region, the largest of Medtronic’s four super regions, where he played a significant role as strategic advisor to the senior leadership in the design, evaluation and implementation of new business models and Integrated Hospital Solutions. During his 16-year tenure at Medtronic, Neil was the Chief Legal Counsel to the Integration Management Office dedicated exclusively to leading Medtronic’s integration of its $49 billion acquisition of Covidien plc, and he also served as Medtronic’s Interim General Counsel in 2013. Mr. Ayotte holds a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School, an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin and a B.A. from St. Mary's University of Minnesota.