Hospira Announces CEO Succession Plan

24-Aug-2010 - USA

The board of directors of Hospira, Inc. announced that Christopher B. Begley, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), has indicated his intent to retire from the CEO position after more than six years of dedicated service. Begley will serve as CEO until his successor is named. He will then remain an employee of the company as executive chairman of the Hospira board, ensuring continuity of leadership and an orderly transition of his CEO responsibilities.

As the company's founding CEO, Begley oversaw Hospira's 2004 spin-off from Abbott Laboratories, drove the development of the company's business strategies and growth plans, and created the company's guiding principles - its vision, values and stakeholder commitments. During his tenure, Begley doubled Hospira's geographic footprint and revenue outside the United States, improved adjusted gross margins by more than 1,000 basis points, generated more thanUS$3 billionin cash flow from operations, and doubled its market capitalization.

In 2009, Begley launched Project Fuel, a company-wide optimization effort designed to simplify the business, drive continuous improvement and bolster operational excellence. Project Fuel's transformative initiatives have not only contributed to these strong financial results, but also translated to increased investments across the company to drive future profitable growth and shareholder returns.

The company's board of directors has formed a search committee and engaged Egon Zehnder, an internationally recognized executive search leader, to identify Begley's successor, focusing on external candidates with strong healthcare backgrounds and proven experience leading large multinational companies.

In another organizational move,Terrence C. Kearney, chief operating officer (COO), has announced his intention to retire by the end of 2010. Kearney has also served Hospira since its launch, first as the company's chief financial officer and then as its COO. Underscoring the strength of the operations leadership team, Kearney's operations-focused role will be filled internally.James H. Hardy, currently corporate vice president, Supply Chain, will be named to the new role of senior vice president, Operations, effective Dec. 31, 2010. Hardy will immediately begin to work with Kearney to ensure a seamless transition.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/121869/hospira-announces-ceo-succession-plan.html