Covidien ($COV) President and CEO José Almeida has agreed to become chairman of the company's board of directors as of March 13. He replaces Richard Meelia, who has served as chairman since October 2008. Almeida's election comes roughly a month after the company announced plans to spin off its pharmaceuticals business into a stand-alone public company. The completion of the spinoff will take an estimated 18 months. Covidien release