Courtney Nelson Wills is currently Vice President, Chief Corporate & Securities Counsel, leading the M&A, Securities, Corporate Governance, Insurance, Antitrust, Sustainability, and Aviation teams.

Courtney has been with Medtronic for over 14 years. Prior to her current role, Courtney served as General Counsel of Medtronic’s Global Regions Legal team, leading a team of legal professionals located in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific to provide localized legal strategy and support for all of Medtronic’s operating units. She also served as Chief Counsel for Medtronic’s Neuroscience Portfolio – providing legal leadership to the company’s Cranial and Spinal Technologies, Neuromodulation, Neurovascular, Ear Nose and Throat, and Pelvic Health operating units. In addition to these roles, Courtney also served as Vice President and Chief IP Counsel, where she drove enterprise IP strategy worldwide. Courtney has been the Chief Counsel for numerous Medtronic commercial businesses and portfolios, including serving as Vice President, Chief Legal Counsel for Diabetes; Vice President, Legal for the Brain Therapies; and Chief Counsel for many operating units within the Cardiovascular Portfolio. In these commercial legal roles, Courtney led the legal integration work for a number of $1 billion+ transactions; negotiated strategic licensing agreements and collaborations; managed significant FDA and regulatory matters, including product recalls, the resolution of warning letters, and implementation of a consent decree; and advised on significant litigations and government investigations.

Before joining Medtronic, Courtney was a patent and trade secret litigator at the law firm of Fish and Richardson, P.C., where she represented several Fortune 500 clients in high-stakes, complex technology, and IP litigation. In addition, Courtney served as a law clerk for the Honorable James B. Loken, Chief Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Courtney graduated summa cum laude with a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School. Courtney also graduated with highest distinction from the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.