- Richard A. Gonzalez to retire
as AbbVie CEO to become Executive Chairman
- Transition will occur on July 1,
2024
NORTH
CHICAGO, Ill., Feb. 20,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) today
announced that its board of directors has unanimously selected
Robert A. Michael, AbbVie's current
president and chief operating officer, to succeed Richard A. Gonzalez as the company's chief
executive officer (CEO). Mr. Gonzalez, who has served as CEO since
the company's formation in 2013, will retire from the role of CEO
and become executive chairman of the board of directors, effective
July 1, 2024. Additionally, the board
has appointed Mr. Michael as a member of the board of directors
effective July 1, 2024.
"On behalf of AbbVie's board, I am extremely excited that Rob
has agreed to serve as AbbVie's next CEO," said Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman and chief
executive officer, AbbVie. "As a key member of the Executive
Leadership Team, he has had a tremendous impact on AbbVie. From
establishing our financial planning organization, to the
development of our diversified business strategy, to successfully
navigating the end of exclusivity for Humira in the U.S., Rob has
been integral to AbbVie's impact since inception. Rob has also
played an important role in key business development opportunities
that have been critical to delivering on our long-term growth
strategy, including the acquisitions of Allergan and ImmunoGen and
the pending Cerevel Therapeutics transaction. I have known and
worked with Rob for many years, and he has the experience,
leadership capabilities and strategic vision to accelerate AbbVie's
success well into the future."
"The board and I have been planning for a seamless CEO
succession for some time. Now is the opportune time to hand the CEO
role over to Rob," continued Mr. Gonzalez. "The business is
performing very well and is in a strong position for the long term.
Our pipeline contains multiple promising candidates to sustain our
future strong growth. It has been a privilege and immensely
gratifying to serve with all my AbbVie colleagues for the past 11
years growing AbbVie into what it is today, and I look forward to
continuing to work with Rob as executive chairman of the
board."
"The AbbVie board recognizes that CEO succession planning is one
of our most important responsibilities," said Glenn Tilton, lead independent director,
AbbVie's board of directors. "The company has been planning for the
eventual succession for a long time and has been thoughtful and
deliberate to ensure the right plan was in place for a potential
successor. The board conducted a thorough process to identify the
right leader for AbbVie's next chapter. It is a testament to the
strength and depth of AbbVie's management team that we have the
ideal internal candidate in Rob to assume the CEO position. The
board has the highest confidence in Rob and looks forward to
working with him to create meaningful value for our shareholders
and all our stakeholders."
"All of us at AbbVie owe Rick an enormous debt of gratitude for
his remarkable leadership over the past 11 years," continued Mr.
Tilton. "Under his stewardship, AbbVie has generated a total return
to shareholders of more than 700%, created over $250 billion in market valuation, grown our
annual patient base to more than 60 million people in 175
countries, invested over $60 billion
in R&D and nearly tripled annual revenue. We are thrilled that
we will continue to benefit from Rick's experience, intellect and
integrity on AbbVie's board of directors."
"I am honored to assume the CEO role for AbbVie, and I am
excited about our company's bright future," said Robert A. Michael, president and chief operating
officer, AbbVie. "Rick has been a tremendous leader for AbbVie and
mentor to me personally. His legacy at AbbVie will be felt for
years to come. I would like to thank the board for expressing its
confidence in me, and I look forward to working with Rick and the
entire board to deliver results for our patients, our employees,
our shareholders and our communities."
About Robert A.
Michael
Robert A. Michael is president
and chief operating officer of AbbVie. A member of AbbVie's
Executive Leadership Team, Mr. Michael is responsible for global
commercial operations, finance, corporate human resources, global
operations, business development and corporate strategy for the
company. Previously, he served as vice chairman and president.
Mr. Michael has 31 years of experience including leadership
roles across multiple businesses, including pharmaceuticals,
aesthetics, diagnostics, diabetes care and nutrition. He began his
career with Abbott as a member of the financial development program
and ultimately served as division controller, nutrition supply
chain and division controller, molecular diagnostics, among other
roles.
Upon AbbVie's separation from Abbott in 2013, Mr. Michael
established and led the company's first financial planning
organization as vice president, AbbVie financial planning and
analysis. He then held a series of leadership roles of increasing
responsibility including vice president, controller for commercial
operations; vice president, treasurer; and vice president,
corporate controller. He was appointed chief financial officer in
2018, vice chairman, finance and commercial operations in 2021,
vice chairman and president in 2022 and president and chief
operating officer in 2023.
About Richard A.
Gonzalez
Richard A. Gonzalez is chairman
of the board and CEO of AbbVie. Mr. Gonzalez is AbbVie's founding
CEO, having led the company since its inception in 2013. During his
tenure as CEO, AbbVie market capitalization has increased from
$54 billion in 2013 to more than
$300 billion today, revenue has
nearly tripled and adjusted, diluted EPS has grown from
$2.93 to $11.11.1 In that time, AbbVie has
grown to more than 50,000 employees and serves patients in more
than 175 countries with its portfolio of innovative medicines.
Prior to AbbVie's separation from Abbott in January 2013, Mr. Gonzalez was a 30-year Abbott
veteran. He served as president and chief operating officer of
Abbott. He also held various senior leadership positions in
Abbott's Medical Products businesses, including president and chief
operating officer of the Medical Products Group; senior vice
president and president of the former Hospital Products Division;
vice president and president of the Health Systems Division; and
divisional vice president and general manager for Diagnostics
Operations in the United States
and Canada.
Mr. Gonzalez has been a long-standing leader in the greater
Chicago community where he serves
on the University of Chicago Board of
Trustees and as a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines
and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address
the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable
impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas –
immunology, oncology, neuroscience and eye care – and products and
services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information
about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on
LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and
YouTube.
AbbVie Forward-Looking Statements
Some statements in this news release are, or may be
considered, forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe,"
"expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions and uses
of future or conditional verbs, generally identify forward-looking
statements. AbbVie cautions that these forward-looking statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include,
but are not limited to, challenges to intellectual property,
competition from other products, difficulties inherent in the
research and development process, adverse litigation or government
action, and changes to laws and regulations applicable to our
industry. Additional information about the economic, competitive,
governmental, technological and other factors that may affect
AbbVie's operations is set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of
AbbVie's 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by its
subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. AbbVie undertakes no
obligation, and specifically declines, to release publicly any
revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent
events or developments, except as required by law.
1 Reflects full-year non-GAAP measure adjusted for
specified items, including intangible asset amortization and
impairment, change in fair value of contingent consideration and
other adjustments. 2013 diluted EPS was $2.56, and 2023 diluted EPS was $2.72.
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SOURCE AbbVie