The pharmaceutical company said an independent investigation was recently launched after it was “reported allegations of an inappropriate personal relationship” between Smiley and an employee. “The investigation revealed consensual, albeit inadequate, personal communications with more than one employee and the behavior that Lilly’s leaders concluded showed poor judgment by Mr. Smiley,” the company said in a statement to CNN. Business.
Eli Lilly did not provide details about the nature of the relationship or the communications.
“Lilly makes all employees respond to their core values and strongly believes that their executives have an even higher burden in ensuring that those values are respected,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. “Mr. Smiley did not meet that standard.”
Smiley is being replaced by Anat Ashkenazi, a 20-year veteran of the company who was recently vice president of Lilly Research Laboratories.