DUBLIN, Jan. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Perrigo Company plc (NYSE; TASE: PRGO), a leading global provider of Quality Affordable Healthcare Products®, today announced the appointment of Uwe Röhrhoff as Chief Executive Officer, effective January 15, 2018, following the retirement of John T. Hendrickson.
Perrigo Chairman Laurie Brlas commented, "The Board of Directors is excited to announce the appointment of Uwe as President and Chief Executive Officer. He is an experienced, well-respected and successful CEO. Uwe brings a strong track record of operational excellence, strategic growth, and healthcare supply chain management. As the CEO of Gerresheimer AG, a publicly-traded international manufacturer for the global pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, Uwe's transformative strategic vision and focus on operational excellence enhanced the company's leading market positions and created significant value for shareholders of approximately 225%1 in total shareholder return as CEO. We are confident that his leadership style and industry, financial and operational expertise are the right fit for Perrigo. We are grateful to John for his passionate leadership and contributions to the Company over the past 28 years. John has been a trusted leader, a great colleague, and a friend to many, and we value his continued guidance as Uwe transitions into his new role."
Mr. Röhrhoff has more than 25 years of experience with Gerresheimer AG, a leading global manufacturer of pharmaceutical packaging products and medical devices for storage, dosage and safe administration of drugs that generated approximately €1.4 billion in revenue in 2016. He began his career with Gerresheimer AG in 1991, steadily advancing within the organization to serve in a number of key leadership roles in Europe and North America. Mr. Röhrhoff was appointed to build out the Company's business in the United States (1996-1998) and head the American subsidiary Gerresheimer Glass Inc. (2001-2010). He served as an executive board member (2003-2017), responsible for two of the company's three business units, and CEO (2010-2017) of Gerresheimer AG until his retirement in August 2017. Mr. Röhrhoff, brings with him an extensive operational track record. He led an organization that included 36 manufacturing facilities across 14 countries, delivering products to 1,500 customers, including the 10 largest global pharmaceutical companies, in nearly 100 countries. Mr. Röhrhoff was instrumental in determining Gerresheimer AG's strategic focus, transforming and reshaping the corporate portfolio and delivering on operational projects.
Mr. Röhrhoff serves as Audit Committee Chairman on the Board of Directors of Catalent, Inc., a global provider of drug delivery technology and development solutions for drugs, biologics and consumer health products. He is also Deputy Chairman of Klöckner&Co SE, one of the world's largest producer-independent steel and metal distributors. Mr. Röhrhoff plans to step down from both boards. He earned a business administration degree from the University of Cologne.
Commenting on the opportunities ahead for Perrigo, Mr. Röhrhoff said, "I am excited for the opportunity at Perrigo. I look forward to working with Perrigo's experienced management team, who have been instrumental in positioning the Company's consumer OTC and prescription pharmaceutical businesses to capitalize on current trends in the market. I have long admired Perrigo's operational excellence and its mission to deliver high-quality, affordable healthcare products that improve the lives of patients and families. I see great opportunity to leverage the Company's unique asset base and to lead its talented employees to deliver enhanced value for shareholders. Perrigo's core values resonate with me deeply, and I look forward to leading this organization into its next stage of evolution."
Mr. Hendrickson will resign as CEO and board member on January 15, 2018 and will remain with the Company until March 15, 2018 to ensure a smooth and successful transition.
About Perrigo
Perrigo Company plc, a leading global healthcare company, delivers value to its customers and consumers by providing Quality Affordable Healthcare Products®. Founded in 1887 as a packager of home remedies, Perrigo has built a unique business model that is best described as the convergence of a fast-moving consumer goods company, a high-quality pharmaceutical manufacturing organization and a world-class supply chain network. Perrigo is one of the world's largest manufacturers of over-the-counter ("OTC") healthcare products and suppliers of infant formulas for the store brand market. The Company also is a leading provider of branded OTC products throughout Europe and the U.S., as well as a leading producer of "extended topical" prescription drugs. Perrigo, headquartered in Ireland, sells its products primarily in North America and Europe, as well as in other markets, including Australia, Israel and China. Visit Perrigo online at (http://www.perrigo.com).
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements." These statements relate to future events or the Company's future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the Company or its industry to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or the negative of those terms or other comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the Company believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including: the timing, amount and cost of any share repurchases; future impairment charges; the success of management transition; customer acceptance of new products; competition from other industry participants, some of whom have greater marketing resources or larger market shares in certain product categories than the Company does; pricing pressures from customers and consumers; potential third-party claims and litigation, including litigation relating to the Company's restatement of previously-filed financial information; potential impacts of ongoing or future government investigations and regulatory initiatives; resolution of uncertain tax positions; the impact of U.S. tax reform legislation and healthcare policy; general economic conditions; fluctuations in currency exchange rates and interest rates; the consummation of announced acquisitions or dispositions, and the Company's ability to realize the desired benefits thereof; and the Company's ability to execute and achieve the desired benefits of announced cost-reduction efforts and other initiatives. In addition, the Company may be unable to remediate one or more previously identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting. Furthermore, the Company may incur additional tax liabilities in respect of 2016 and prior years or be found to have breached certain provisions of Irish company law in connection with the Company's restatement of previously filed financial statements, which may result in additional expenses and penalties. These and other important factors, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, as well as the Company's subsequent filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made only as of the date hereof, and unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
1 Total shareholder return calculated from Bloomberg from announcement of Röhrhoff's election as CEO on February 9, 2010 through announcement of his successors appointment on March 3, 2017
SOURCE Perrigo Company plc