New executive suite leadership will be taking over one of Western Michigan’s major employers this Summer. Murray Kessler, the Chief Executive Officer of Perrigo PLC is announcing his retirement plans.
Perrigo has its roots in Allegan and its World Headquarters on Grand Rapids’ Medical Mile. Several thousand of its 10,000 worldwide employees are at several Perrigo plants and other facilities in Allegan and Holland.
In recent years, Perrigo has been in transition from being primarily a producer of prescription drugs to a maker of Over The Counter personal self care products. It’s owned by a Dublin, Ireland based parent company.
A successor to Kessler has not been announced. Here is the full text of Perrigo’s Kessler retirement announcement:
Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO), a leading provider of Consumer Self-Care Products, today announced that Murray S. Kessler has notified the Company of his intent to retire as President and Chief Executive Officer, with a target effective date of July 31, 2023. Mr. Kessler will be working with the Board of Directors to secure his successor and to ensure a smooth transition.
Murray S. Kessler said, “After 18 years as a public company CEO, I have decided that this is the right time for me to retire. I joined Perrigo almost 5 years ago to lead the transformation of the Company from a healthcare to a consumer self-care company. Leading that transformation has been one of the most exciting assignments of my career. From fourteen M&A transactions to reconfiguring the Company’s portfolio, the near complete elimination of a $4 billion tax and legal overhang, to the strategic path put in place to create value for the future, I am proud of what my team, with the Board’s support, has accomplished. The fact that this all happened in the face of an incredibly difficult macro-economic environment makes the transformation that much sweeter.”
Kessler continued, “All of the pieces are now in place. Perrigo is growing its top line, its margins and its bottom line. It has a strong plan in place to reduce leverage, it has amazingly talented employees and it has a clear plan to deliver strong growth going forward. This is exactly the right time to hand over the reins of Perrigo to the next leader who can relentlessly drive the execution of our strategic plan for years to come. I truly believe that Perrigo is set up for a bright future and to create tremendous value for investors.”
Chairman of the Board, Orlando D. Ashford, said “On behalf of the Board and the nearly 10,000 Perrigo employees around the world, I would like to thank Murray for his vision and dedication during his tenure as CEO. As a steadfast and strategic leader, Murray orchestrated the transformation of the Company into the diversified consumer self-care organization it is today. In addition, Murray has driven the Company’s inorganic growth strategy, including transformative acquisitions and divestitures as well as dramatically reducing uncertainty for the company. The Board is sincerely grateful to Murray for his dedication to Perrigo and wishes him the best in his retirement.”
Ashford continued, “As part of our governance process, the Board has regularly been engaged in CEO succession planning. We are working with a global executive search firm and are confident that we will identify a world-class CEO who will execute on our Optimize and Accelerate strategic plan and further drive our long-term success.”
About Perrigo
Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO) is a leading provider of Consumer Self-Care Products and over-the-counter (OTC) health and wellness solutions that enhance individual well-being by empowering consumers to proactively prevent or treat conditions that can be self-managed. Visit Perrigo online at www.perrigo.com.
