Westport resident Jeffrey B. Kindler has retired after 4 ½ years as Pfizer Inc. chairman and chief executive, the company said tonight.
Jeffrey B. Kindler: “Time is right to leave.” File photo
Kindler said the demands of the job leading the world’s largest drug maker by sales have worn him out.
A resident of Westport’s Greens Farms area, Kindler, 55, has been active in many Westport causes, including serving on the board of the Westport Country Playhouse and the Westport Public Library Advisory Council.
Ian Read, a Pfizer veteran who has been heading sales and marketing of the company’s pharmaceuticals business, has taken the CEO post, Pfizer said.
Read was also named a company director. The board plans to appoint a nonexecutive chairman from its current membership when it meets within the next two weeks.
Kindler steered Pfizer through the $68 billion takeover of rival Wyeth, then divided the company into business units.
The Wall Street Journal said the moves seemed to pay off in recent months, with Pfizer gaining approval of the childhood vaccine Prevnar 13.
The company also reported impressive clinical trial results for a cancer therapy called crizotinib and a pill for treating rheumatoid arthritis, both of which have the potential to be blockbusters, the newspaper said.
But the consolidation and reorganization left many inside Pfizer confused about the lines of authority, and investors questioned how the combined company could grow significantly, especially with its top-selling drug, Lipitor, going off patent next year, the Journal said.
Kindler was among the industry’s leading proponents of the health overhaul, and his support drew criticism from some conservatives in Washington.
A Harvard-educated lawyer, Kindler headed restaurant chain Boston Market Corp. before joining Pfizer in 2002 as general counsel. He became CEO in 2006.
“The combination of meeting the requirements of our many stakeholders around the world and the 24/7 nature of my responsibilities, has made this period extremely demanding on me personally,” Kindler said in a statement.
With the Wyeth integration complete, he added, “the time is right” to leave.
The complete text of Kindler’s statement on his retirement as reported by the company:
“My nearly nine years at Pfizer and, particularly the last four and a half as CEO, have been extremely exciting and rewarding I feel our team can proudly boast of some transformational accomplishments.
“However, the combination of meeting the requirements of our many stakeholders around the world and the 24/7 nature of my responsibilities, has made this period extremely demanding on me personally.
“Now that we are about to complete a full year of operating Pfizer and Wyeth together, with our world-class team fully in place, I have concluded the time is right to turn the leadership of the company over to Ian Read.
“Ian is an outstanding and experienced pharmaceutical executive who I know will make the next phase of the company’s future a successful one. “
“He is more than ready to take on these responsibilities and I am excited at the opportunity to recharge my batteries, spend some rare time with my family, and prepare for the next challenge in my career.”
