Incoming Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) Chief Executive Ray Elliott brings a track record that includes strong growth and profitability from his tenure at Zimmer Holdings Inc. (ZMH), but also some questions about whether Zimmer's successes contributed to longer-term problems.

Elliott left the orthopedics heavyweight about two years ago after a 10-year run as its leader, a time in which Zimmer quadrupled its annual sales, successfully spun off from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) and built a strong reputation in the $11 billion market for replacement hips and knees. He left on a good note, just as Zimmer's shares crested at an all-time high.

As a well-known personality in the medical-devices field, Elliott's arrival at Boston Scientific - where he'll replace retiring CEO Jim Tobin - has been welcomed. The company's stock surged after Thursday's announcement, recently trading up 8.5% to $10.32.

But Elliott "does not come without controversy," Wachovia analyst Larry Biegelsen said.

The new CEO "has a reputation as a strong executor who wrings costs out of the system," Biegelsen said. But following post-Elliott blows to Zimmer's growth, margins and share price, "investors place some of the blame on Elliott because they believe he did not invest in the business at an appropriate level," the analyst added.

Elliott said he doesn't agree with that criticism because the company enjoyed a decade-long successful run while greatly expanding research and development efforts. It wasn't merely a short-term gain.

"I find that one really hard to swallow," Elliott said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

To be sure, his record of building profitable sales growth will be an asset at growth-challenged Boston Scientific, which has stumbled in its own right as it digested the $28.4 billion purchase of Guidant Corp. three years ago. Questions about what upcoming moves will mean a decade from now may not concern investors much.

"There was such this hyper-focus on profitability" during Elliott's tenure at Zimmer, said Raj Denhoy, an analyst with Thomas Weisel. "In the context of Boston Scientific, you could have a lot of really, really good years doing that."

Shares of Zimmer peaked above $94 in late April 2007, days before Elliott's replacement was named. But the Warsaw, Ind., company currently trades at less than half that level because of a mix of problems.

Some are beyond its reach, such as a squeeze on orthopedic growth brought on by the recession. But the company also has endured some product troubles and has ceded market share to rivals in recent quarters as it implements a sweeping overhaul to its systems for interacting with doctors.

Those changes are linked to a long government investigation into whether orthopedics companies, including Zimmer, were using payments to surgeons to curry favor. The probe led to an industry-wide deal with the Department of Justice in late 2007 that sparked big industry changes.

Zimmer, where new management undertook particularly disruptive changes that may have caused some surgeons to shift loyalties, paid by far the steepest tab while resolving the DOJ investigation.

There is no way to know for sure whether actions during Elliott's Zimmer tenure planted seeds for later problems, noted Denhoy, who called Elliott "a lion in the industry." But questions have emerged about whether the tight focus on profitability that Zimmer investors initially cheered came with unfavorable baggage.

"In retrospect there's this belief that maybe they should have put a little more back" into the business, Denhoy said. The needed investments range from sales and marketing to information technology and smaller businesses, he said.

Elliott on Thursday stressed an interest in investing in the parts of Boston Scientific's business that aren't as well-known, such as urology and women's health. The company's big business for profitable heart devices such as stents and defibrillators are most closely tracked by analysts and investors.

Long-time medical devices analyst Rick Wise, now with Leerink Swann, noted that Elliott's "legacy seemed mixed" given the circumstances at Zimmer. But Wise also said "his overall contributions to the company are hard to question."

-By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 617-654-6728; jon.kamp@dowjones.com