Perrigo Company has announced the appointment of John T. Hendrickson as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, following the resignation and departure of Joseph C. Papa.
Perrigo Chairman Laurie Brlas commented, "Aligned with our succession planning process, the Board of Directors has elevated John to Chief Executive Officer from President, where he led global operations and had responsibility for almost 70% of our employee base. John is an exceptional leader who is passionate about our mission, committed to our core values, and with his breadth of experience, is uniquely qualified to successfully lead Perrigo into the future. He has made exceptional contributions to the business during his 27 year tenure, including leading our U.S. Consumer Healthcare business, and we are confident that he has the industry expertise and the operational track record to continue to drive growth."
Brlas continued, "We are grateful to John and to all of our employees at Perrigo for their continuing commitment to excellence, and the Board of Directors looks forward to working with John and the seasoned Executive Committee as we execute on our strategy and deliver on our commitment to shareholders."
Mr. Hendrickson has served as President of the Perrigo Company since October 2015. He was formerly Executive Vice President, Global Operations & Supply Chain between 2006 and 2015 and has held numerous other management and operational leadership roles at Perrigo since he joined the Company in 1989, including leading the U.S. Consumer Healthcare business from 2003 to 2006. Mr. Hendrickson earned an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at theUniversity of Michigan, and a B.S. in Chemistry at Hope College.
Commenting on the opportunities ahead for Perrigo, Mr. Hendrickson said, "I am privileged to have been chosen as the Chief Executive Officer to lead our great company forward. Perrigo's long-tenured and cohesive leadership team has successfully positioned the Company for a great future. As we implement our strategic plans across the organization we are aware that we need to execute against our goals with a renewed sense of focus and operational discipline. I am excited to work with our Board and our more than 13,000 employees world-wide to achieve near- and long-term goals and provide Quality Affordable Healthcare Products® to our customers and patients across the globe, while delivering shareholder value."
Mr. Hendrickson continued, "The Board believes that it is important to be transparent about Perrigo's financial performance in advance of closing the Company's first quarter 2016 results. The management team will provide full commentary around the quarterly performance when we hold our earnings conference call to be scheduled for May 12."
Mr. Papa, having resigned on April 24, 2016, will not stand for reelection at the Company's 2016 general annual meeting of shareholders. In addition, on April 24, 2016, Perrigo's Board of Directors approved the recommendation of the Nominating & Governance Committee to withdraw Mr. Marc Coucke's nomination for reelection to the Board at the meeting. Furthermore, with these changes, the Board is also separating the roles of CEO and Chairman of the Board and, in doing so, elected Independent Director Laurie Brlas to the role of Chairman of the Board.