Kindler Succeeds Hank McKinnell, Who Will Remain Chairman of the Board
Until His Retirement in February, 2007
NEW YORK, July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Pfizer Board of
Directors has named Jeffrey B. Kindler Pfizer's chief executive officer. He
succeeds Hank McKinnell, who will remain Pfizer's chairman of the board
until his retirement in February, 2007. Mr. Kindler has been elected to the
Pfizer Board of Directors.
Mr. Kindler currently serves as Pfizer's vice chairman and general
counsel and, since joining the company in 2002, has played an increasingly
important role. He is responsible for many of the company's major corporate
functions, including worldwide legal affairs, corporate and regulatory
compliance, government relations, corporate communications, public policy
development, corporate citizenship, global security and philanthropy. He
has been a member of the senior-most governing body of the company since
2002.
"The Board and I see the pharmaceutical industry changing rapidly.
Pfizer is changing as well and aggressively transforming its business model
to build the next-generation Pfizer," said Hank McKinnell, chairman and
chief executive officer. "With these initiatives well underway, it is time
to transition to new leadership to accelerate the company's transformation.
I have had a great 35 years at Pfizer, and now is also the right time for
me personally to pursue other business and philanthropic interests. I have
worked closely with Jeff since he joined Pfizer. Jeff is a gifted, natural
leader. He inspires confidence and offers vision and a fresh perspective.
He knows Pfizer and has had extensive experience outside Pfizer as well. I
am proud of the accomplishments of Pfizer colleagues around the world, and
I look forward to all they will achieve under Jeff's leadership."
Speaking on behalf of the Pfizer Board of Directors, Lead Director
Stanley O. Ikenberry said, "The Board is confident Jeff will do a superb
job in leading the company and representing it to our shareholders and key
stakeholders. His respect for colleagues reflects one of Pfizer's most
important values. Jeff is a leading advocate of change. In a tough
environment, he has taken on the critical challenge of integrating policy,
legal and legislative strategy to advance Pfizer's global mission. On
behalf of patients, he has worked to encourage access to Pfizer's
innovative medicines in all reimbursement systems, and he has brought broad
attention to the important issue of counterfeit medicines. He has also led
the effort to protect Pfizer's intellectual property, which is crucial to
Pfizer's business outlook into the next decade. The Lipitor patent
successes in the U.S. and the U.K. were major victories for medical
innovators and the patients who depend on them. In addition, Jeff has been
a leading advocate for regulatory and legal reforms that are important to
Pfizer's future. For Pfizer to be as successful in the future as it has
been in the past, we know the company must do business in new ways. Jeff is
ideally suited to leading Pfizer's transformation.
"Hank McKinnell has led Pfizer through some of its more challenging
times," Mr. Ikenberry added. "His legacy will be the repositioning of
Pfizer with a sharp, strategic focus and the strongest pipeline in the
industry. He was instrumental in taking the company from 14th to first in
the global pharmaceutical industry, integrating both Warner-Lambert and
Pharmacia into Pfizer and bringing a wide range of new medicines to market.
He led Pfizer's response to its patent expirations this decade. He
strengthened both the company's in-line portfolio and pipeline through
investments in R&D and the acquisition of new products and technologies
from outside the company.
"Hank has also become a widely recognized leader in the fight against
global pandemics such as HIV. The Board agrees with Hank when he calls for
a new healthcare model in his book, A Call to Action: 'We invest in
healthcare by emphasizing prevention, wellness, early detection, and early
treatment. Instead of weighing the value of health through the lens of
cost, let's consider the value of life.'"
"It is a privilege to assume responsibility for leading such a
wonderful group of colleagues around the world," said Mr. Kindler. "Pfizer
has a proud history of innovative medical research and the will to tackle
some of the most deadly diseases known to mankind. We are delivering
first-in-class medicines more quickly, including new treatments for
epilepsy, cancer, diabetes, and smoking cessation among others. Our global
scale gives us the ability to move quickly on opportunities anywhere we see
them, and our financial strength enables us to invest aggressively in new
products and technologies that can deepen the value we deliver to patients.
"The pharmaceutical industry is undergoing unprecedented change. In
response, we will transform virtually every aspect of how we do business,
focusing on actions that create and sustain value for our shareholders. We
will make Pfizer more efficient and cost-effective, and reduce
organizational layers to speed decision-making. We will drive continued
improvement in the productivity of our research and pursue a broader
portfolio of opportunities, including biologics, oncology medicines,
potential new treatments for Alzheimer's disease and even vaccines. We will
continuously review our go-to-market strategies so they are increasingly
responsive to patients and payers as well as the competitive challenges. We
will focus on products and services that encourage prevention and wellness,
reduce the cost of chronic diseases and improve the quality of life. And we
will do all this in a spirit of partnership with everyone who has a stake
in improving the quality of healthcare. Our mission has never been more
important: to put our knowledge of health and wellness to work so that
people can lead longer, healthier lives."
Mr. Kindler, 51, joined Pfizer in 2002 as senior vice president and
general counsel. He became executive vice president and general counsel in
2004 and vice chairman and general counsel in 2005, leading both the legal
and corporate affairs divisions. Prior to joining Pfizer, Mr. Kindler
served as chairman and chief executive officer of Boston Market
Corporation, owned by McDonald's, and president of Partner Brands, also
owned by McDonald's. He was executive vice president, corporate relations
and general counsel of McDonald's from 1997 to 2001, and from 1996 to 1997
served as that company's senior vice president and general counsel.
Prior to McDonald's, Mr. Kindler was vice president and senior counsel
for litigation and legal policy for General Electric. A former partner at
the Washington law firm of Williams & Connolly, Mr. Kindler also served as
a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. and to
Judge David L. Bazelon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
He also worked at the Federal Communications Commission. Mr. Kindler earned
his B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Tufts University in 1977 and J.D.
degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1980, where he served
as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Mr. Kindler is a board member of the Brennan Center for Justice,
Corporate ProBono.Org, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal
Reform, the Legal Aid Society, the Manhattan Theater Club, the New York
Philharmonic, and the Partnership for New York City among other civic and
charitable organizations.
SOURCE Pfizer Inc
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