Joel T. Grade is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Baxter International, a role he has held since joining Baxter in 2023. He also served as Baxter's Interim Chief Accounting Officer and Principal Accounting Officer from September 2024 through February 2025.
Mr. Grade joined Baxter following a 25-year career with Sysco Corporation. He most recently served as Sysco's Executive Vice President, Corporate Development from 2020 to 2023. His previous roles at Sysco included Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2015 to 2020, Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Accounting Officer, and Senior Vice President of foodservice operations.
On March 16, 2026, the company announced that Mr. Grade's service as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer had ceased and that he transitioned into a non-executive advisory role, continuing employment with Baxter through April 30, 2026; his transition was not the result of any disagreement with the company. He serves as a member of the Northwestern University-Kellogg School of Business Financial Network Advisory Board and the Dean's External Advisory Board of the University of Wisconsin School of Business.