Johnson & Johnson announce Joaquin Duato as next CEO

Johnson & Johnson announced on Thursday evening
that Joaquin Duato will take over as the company’s next CEO effective January
3, succeeding Alex Gorsky.

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Following his promotion to the C-suite, Duato, 59,
will also be named to the board of directors of the firm.

Duato, like Gorsky, has been with J&J for three
decades. He formerly served on the company’s executive committee as vice
chairman, where he was in charge of the medicine and consumer goods divisions,
as well as supply chain and technology operations. He holds dual citizenship in
Spain and the United States.

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“I have had the pleasure of working closely with Alex
for many years and thank him for his outstanding leadership,” Duato mentioned
in a statement. “I am pleased that I will continue to benefit from his guidance
and insights moving forward.”

Gorsky, 61, who served as CEO for 9 years and will now
assume the role of executive chairman, stated “The decision to step aside was
one of the most difficult of my career. This is the right time for the Company
as our organization is delivering strong performance across all three segments
and is positioned for continued success, in addition to this being the right
time for me personally as I focus more on my family due to family health
reasons.” 

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Johnson & Johnson was hit by a surge of litigation
over its talc-based baby powder and other products during Gorsky’s tenure as
CEO, and was named in state opioid cases.

Following accusations that the corporations fueled the deadly opioid crisis, a coalition of state attorneys general struck a $26 billion deal
with three of the nation’s top U.S. drug distributors and J&J last month.

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McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen are likely to pay
a combined total of $21 billion under the proposed settlement, while J&J is
scheduled to pay $5 billion over nine years.