Barrett named Cardinal chairman, CEO
DUBLIN, Ohio Drug wholesaler and health services giant Cardinal Health revealed Wednesday that George Barrett has been promoted to chairman and CEO, effective Aug. 31. Barrett, 54, will replace R. Kerry Clark, who previously announced that he would retire upon completion of the company’s planned spinoff of its CareFusion division.
Since joining Cardinal early last year, Barrett has been vice chairman and CEO of the company’s Healthcare Supply Chain Services segment. In addition to his promotion to the top management spot, Barrett will also join Cardinal’s board of directors.
Barrett’s selection as the next-in-line for the top spot was little surprise to those who have watched Cardinal’s progress. Under a sweeping consolidation program unveiled in mid-2008, he was put in charge of the company’s flagship Healthcare Supply Chain Services division, by far the largest of the two core components to emerge from Cardinal’s restructuring. That segment, including the company’s network of pharmaceutical and medical product distribution centers and nuclear pharmacies, generates roughly $80 billion in annual revenues.
The company later announced its plan to spin off the smaller clinical and medical products segment, which was grouped under vice chairman David Schlotterbeck. The CareFusion operation provides products for home infusion, medication dispensing, respiratory care and infection prevention.
Richard Notebaert, a Cardinal Health director since 1999, praised Clark, the outgoing chairman and CEO, “for his clear vision and leadership during his tenure.
“His legacy begins with the repositioning of Cardinal Health to better serve our hospital and pharmacy customers and will culminate in the planned spinoff of CareFusion – enabling two companies to better serve their customers, employees and shareholders,” Notebaert added.
Besides Barrett, another new board member will be Glenn Britt, the 60-year-old chairman, president and CEO of Time Warner Cable, whose appointment is effective Oct. 1.
Meanwhile, Cardinal has named John Finn the board’s presiding director. Finn will also chair the board’s audit committee.
In another move, Cardinal’s board also authorized a $500 million share repurchase program, primarily to offset the dilutive effects of granting stock to employees in line with its long-term incentive program. The share repurchase authorization expires Aug. 31, 2012.