Allergan: changes to board leadership

Allergan has announced changes to leadership roles within its board of directors. 

Effective today, Brenton L. Saunders has been elected Chairman of the Allergan’s Board of Directors replacing Paul Bisaro, who served as Executive Chairman since July 1, 2014.

Bisaro will remain a member of the Allergan Board of Directors.  In addition to the role of Chairman, Saunders will retain his current role as Chief Executive Officer and President.  Also, effective today, Christopher Coughlin has been elected Lead Independent Director, the company informed us in its press release issued on Thursday.

“In 2013, Actavis was a leading global generics company when we began our transformation into a branded leader by acquiring Warner Chilcott.  We followed that by acquiring Forest Laboratories in 2014 and Allergan in 2015,” said Paul Bisaro.  “With the sale of our Global Generics business to Teva in August 2016 and our Anda distribution business in October 2016, we have now completed the transformation to a global branded Growth Pharma company with operations in nearly 100 countries and annual sales of approximately$15 billion.  With this transformation complete, this is the right time to transition leadership of the Allergan Board of Directors to Brent, who has led the company so ably since becoming CEO and President in July 2014.”, Bisaro added.

Saunders has served as a member of Allergan’sBoard of Directors and as Chief Executive Officer and President since July 2014. He was previously Chief Executive Officer and President of Forest and a member of the Board of Directors of Forest. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pittsburgh, The Business Council and PhRMA.

“During his tenure with our company, Paul has provided impressive leadership to Allergan and its Board of Directors. His strategic vision led the way to our transformation.  Paul’s wisdom, partnership and deep understanding of the biopharmaceutical industry have been invaluable to me as we transformed Allergan into a Growth Pharma leader, and I am happy that our Board will continue to benefit from his expertise,” said Brent Saunders and added: “I would like to express my thanks to Paul, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the full Allergan Board of Directors for their continuing confidence and support.”

The company said that Bisaro served as Executive Chairman of Allergan’s Board of Directors since July 2014. He previously served as company’s President and Chief Executive Officer and as Chairman of Board of Directors beginning October 2013; prior to serving as Chairman he served on the Board of Directors beginning September 2007. Bisaro currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. and Zoetis, Inc. and on the Board of Visitors of the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law.

“With his depth of experience in biopharmaceuticals, his demonstrated skill in managing companies before, during and after significant corporate transformations, and his extensive service on public company boards, Chris Coughlin is well suited to serve as Allergan’s Lead Independent Director,” said Bisaro.  “I would also like to thank Cathy Klema, who has served as our Lead Independent Director since 2014 and has been active in our ongoing dialogue with shareholders.”

Klema remains a member of the board. Coughlin is currently a member of Allergan’s Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.  In 2015, Coughlin was recognized by National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) as Director of the Year.  He joined the Allergan board in July 2014 after serving as a member of the Board of Directors of Forest since 2011.  Coughlin currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Dun & Bradstreet. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Hologic, Inc.