Donald Patton is senior vice president, Ross Products. He was appointed to his current role in April 2007. Previously, he served as vice president, Diagnostic Global Commercial Operations, Abbott Diagnostics Division.

Patton has held several management positions, including president and general manager, Abbott Canada and vice president, International Marketing, in Abbott's international pharmaceutical business. Patton also served at TAP Pharmaceuticals, a joint venture between Abbott and Takeda Chemical Industries of Japan, for 10 years.

Prior to joining Abbott, Patton began his career in teaching, then held various sales positions with Johnson & Johnson Ortho Pharmaceutical group and Becton-Dickinson. Patton also spent time as a newspaper editor and at an advertising agency.

Patton is a past president of the Biomedical Marketing Association and a member of the Adjunct Faculty for Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in Chicago.

He earned a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Missouri at Columbia and a master's degree in management from Northwestern University.