FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J.,
Sept. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/
-- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading
global medical technology company, today announced that
Vincent A. Forlenza, chairman and
CEO, will retire as CEO on Jan. 28,
2020, following the company's annual meeting of
shareholders. Forlenza will continue on the BD board of directors,
serving as the executive chairman.
The BD board of directors unanimously elected Thomas E. Polen, current president and chief
operating officer (COO) of BD, to the role of chief executive
officer and president, effective Jan. 28,
2020. Polen will be nominated for director at the company's
annual meeting of shareholders.
"As we head into the final year of the BD-Bard integration, the
board and I have been focused on preparing for the next phase of
the company's growth, and we recognize this is the right time to
appoint a successor with the vision, drive and capability to lead
BD into the future," Forlenza said. "Tom is a strategic,
customer-centric executive, who brings tremendous energy, a deep
understanding of the industry and health care technology, and a
strong track record of delivering results. He is passionate about
our purpose and BD's potential to make an even bigger impact in the
lives of patients around the world. I have greatly valued our
partnership, and the board and I firmly believe that Tom is ideally
positioned to drive the company's continued success."
In his current position, Polen, 46, oversees BD's three business
segments and has responsibility for global research and
development, innovation, operations and the commercial organization
of the company's Americas region. As president, Polen led the
$24 billion acquisition of C. R.
Bard, Inc., in 2017. Polen previously served as president for the
BD Medical segment, where he led the $12
billion acquisition of CareFusion in 2015 and the company's
expansion into informatics and digital health solutions. Polen has
been with BD for 18 years.
"Today's announcement represents the culmination of a thorough
and thoughtful succession planning process, and we are confident
Tom's appointment comes at the right time in the company's
evolution to ensure continuity of strategy, leadership and
financial performance," said Marshall O.
Larsen, BD's lead independent director. "Over the years, the
board and I have come to know Tom as a highly strategic, driven and
results-oriented leader, who is deeply committed to advancing BD's
purpose, culture and innovation pipeline. He is uniquely suited to
lead the company in this next phase, having played a critical
leadership role in the formation and implementation of the
company's strategy and transformation.
"On behalf of the entire board, we also want to thank Vince for
his leadership during the most transformative period in the
company's nearly 125-year history. During his eight years as CEO,
BD built an incredible portfolio of solutions to advance the entire
health care continuum, more than doubled annual revenue, and
increased market capitalization by more than 300 percent. We
believe BD is well positioned for continued growth and success, and
we look forward to continuing to partner with Vince in his role as
chairman."
Forlenza, 66, was appointed CEO of BD in October 2011 and was named chairman of the board
in July 2012. During his nearly
40-year career with BD, Forlenza ran both the BD Diagnostics and BD
Biosciences business units, led R&D and corporate strategy, and
held various executive leader positions in the United States and Europe before becoming president, chief
operating officer and CEO. Forlenza served as chairman of the
Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) Board of
Directors from 2015 to 2017 and continues to play an active role as
chairman of AdvaMed's Legal Committee. He currently serves on the
Moody's Corporation board of directors and is chairman of The
Valley Health Systems board of trustees.
Reflecting on his tenure with BD, Forlenza said, "We often say
BD is a place where you can fulfill your life's work through your
work life, and that has been my experience — every day — for the
past four decades. It has been an absolute privilege and pleasure
to lead this organization as we've transformed and built
capabilities that better position BD to solve some of health care's
most pressing global challenges."
Polen said, "I am humbled by the trust Vince and the board have
placed in me and honored to have this opportunity to lead such a
dynamic company as we move into our next phase of growth and
impact. I am confident we have the right strategy, an exciting
innovation pipeline, tremendous breadth of capabilities, and the
most talented and dedicated team in health care. As we move ahead,
I believe BD has significant opportunities to continue to
accelerate growth and drive long-term value while delivering
meaningful results for our customers, patients and shareholders. I
look forward to continuing to partner with Vince and our entire
team as we work together to fulfill BD's purpose of advancing the
world of health."
About Tom Polen
Polen
joined BD in 1999, after growing an early phase start-up that was
subsequently purchased by BD. From 1999 to 2004, he held a variety
of sales and marketing positions with increasing responsibility in
BD Biosciences and BD Diagnostics Systems.
In 2004, Polen joined Baxter Healthcare, where he served as vice
president of Strategic Marketing before leading the pharmaceutical
manufacturing and services business. He was later promoted to
general manager of Baxter's Injectable Pharmaceuticals business.
During his tenure at Baxter, Polen was named among Chicago's top 40 leaders under 40 by
Crain's Chicago Business.
In 2009, Polen rejoined BD as president of BD Preanalytical
Systems. He assumed the role of president of BD Diagnostics Systems
from 2010 to 2013, and later served as group president, responsible
for BD Medical Surgical Systems and BD Pharmaceutical Systems. In
2014, Polen was named segment president, BD Medical. He was
appointed president of BD in April
2017 and named chief operating officer in October 2018.
Polen is an active benefactor and volunteer for the Children's
Tumor Foundation, as well as a number of national and local
associations committed to helping patients with breast cancer.
Polen earned a bachelor's degree from the Salisbury University of
Maryland and a master's degree in business administration
from Johns Hopkins University.
About Vince
Forlenza
Forlenza began his career at BD in 1980.
Throughout his career, Forlenza held multiple roles of increasing
responsibility. Key appointments included leadership roles as
senior vice president of Technology, Strategy and Development;
president of BD Biosciences; and executive vice president and
president of BD Diagnostics. Forlenza was named president of BD in
January 2009, assumed additional
responsibility as chief operating officer in July 2010, became chief executive officer in
October 2011 and chairman of the
board in July 2012.
Forlenza has served on both the AdvaMed board of directors and
its Executive Committee for seven years and is also the past
chairman of the association's Board Committee on Technology and
Regulation and is now chairman of AdvaMed's Legal Committee. In
addition, he served as chairman of the board for AdvaMedDx, a
division of AdvaMed focused on the unique needs and issues facing
diagnostics manufacturers.
In addition to his positions on the Moody's Corporation board of
directors and as chairman of The Valley Health Systems board of
trustees, Forlenza previously served as chairman of The Valley
Hospital. He is a past member of the Advisory Board for the P.C.
Rossin College of Engineering and
Applied Sciences at Lehigh University,
where he also served as a member of the university's board of
trustees.
Forlenza earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from
Lehigh University and a master's degree
in business administration from Wharton Graduate School at the
University of Pennsylvania.
About BD
BD is one of the largest global medical
technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of
health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery
of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of
health care by developing innovative technology, services and
solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and
clinical process for health care providers. BD and its 65,000
employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety
and efficiency of clinicians' care delivery process, enable
laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance
researchers' capabilities to develop the next generation of
diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every
country and partners with organizations around the world to address
some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in
close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes,
lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand
access to health care. For more information on BD, please visit
bd.com.
Contacts:
|
|
|
|
Kristen
Cardillo
|
Monique N.
Dolecki
|
BD Corporate
Communication
|
BD Investor
Relations
|
201.847.5657
|
201.847.5378
|
kristen.cardillo@bd.com
|
Monique_Dolecki@bd.com
|
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bd-announces-leadership-succession-plan-300925704.html
SOURCE BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)