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Alex Gorsky, President and CEO of Johnson & Johnson.
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Johnson & Johnson CEO and President Alex Gorsky will take over as CEO on January 3rd.
Gorsky, 61, will be succeeded as CEO by Joaquin Duato, a 32-year veteran of the company and Gorsky’s lieutenant. Duato, vice chairman of the Executive Committee, will also join the J&J board of directors.
Gorsky led the company’s tremendous growth during his nine-year tenure, from reviewing J&J’s training to capitalize on technical advances to overseeing the development of the one-shot Covid-19 vaccine, according to reported the Wall Street Journal.
Along the way, Gorsky also navigated manufacturing issues and over opioids and talc
The CEO told the Wall Street Journal that family health issues motivated the decision.
“Despite the huge challenges we faced with Covid-19, I couldn’t be more optimistic about the future of healthcare and the important role J&J will play in the future,” Gorsky said.
Duato, 59, will face challenges, including lawsuits claiming that J&J’s talcum powder caused cancer or mesothelioma and reported ultra-severe but serious side effects with his Covid-19 vaccine. J&J has agreed to provide $ 5 billion over nine years to resolve lawsuits that blamed the company and drug dealers for the opioid crisis.
J&J’s product portfolio ranges from cancer therapies to contact lenses, knee replacements and surgical staplers, making it a health care site, the newspaper said. The company recorded sales of $ 82.6 billion last year and has 136,000 employees. Under Gorsky, its market capitalization grew from nearly $ 180 billion to more than $ 470 billion.
Its second-quarter sales of $ 23.3 billion increased 27% from the same period last year.
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