AUBURN — Michael H. Cox, Ph.D., FACSM and CEO of Central Maine Orthopaedics, has announced he plans to retire Jan. 23. He has been with CMO since 2008.

Cox joined CMO after a 35-year career in academia and health care. He has been instrumental in restructuring and redesigning the business and clinical direction of the medical practice. In addition, he was instrumental in the development of Maine Spinecare, a division of CMO.

He also led the development of the Orthopaedic Institute of Central Maine at Central Maine Medical Center, where he has held the position of executive director since it opened in 2009. He has volunteered in many community functions and served on the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce board of directors from 2010 until recently.

Cox and his wife have made their home on a lake in central Maine and he looks forward to retiring and spending more time on the lake.