Welcome to this week's Chutes and Ladders, our roundup of hirings and retirings throughout the industry. Please send the good word--or the bad--from your shop to Eric Sagonowsky (email) or Amirah Al Idrus (email | Twitter), and we will feature it here at the end of each week.
Ex-Hospira CEO Michael Ball to run Novartis' Alcon |
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After sealing the $15 billion sale to Pfizer ($PFE) last year as Hospira's CEO, pharma exec Michael Ball is back in the fray, this time looking to turn things around for Novartis' ($NVS) troubled Alcon unit. Ball, who netted $90 million through the Hospira sale, takes over as Alcon's lagging sales drag down Novartis' numbers; he'll set out to engineer a turnaround similar to Hospira's before its sale. In announcing the moves, Novartis said it'll transfer most of Alcon's prescription eye drugs to the pharma division, leaving Ball to focus on "core surgical and vision care business." Alcon's former CEO, Jeff George, is out, while Novartis R&D chief Vas Narasimhan will assume the position of global head of drug development and chief medical officer. Current head of Novartis business services and president in Switzerland, Andre Wyss, becomes president of operations. Story | Release
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