AbbVie's founding CEO, Richard Gonzalez, will step down on July 1, and will be replaced by the company's current president and chief operating officer, Robert Michael, the drugmaker said Tuesday.
Gonzalez, who has served as AbbVie's CEO since the company's founding in 2013, will become CEO of the board, the company said.
The change in leadership comes as AbbVie battles new, lower-cost competition for its blockbuster autoimmune drug Humira and closes on some major acquisitions. AbbVie said last week that it has completed its acquisition of cancer treatment maker ImmunoGen, and the company is working to close its acquisition of Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings Inc. Which focuses on neuroscience. CERE,
With Humira, AbbVie is dealing with one of the biggest losses of exclusivity in the industry, and Gonzalez in a statement Tuesday credited Michael for his role in navigating that transformation. Michael also played a key role in business development and has been “an integral part of AbbVie's impact from the beginning,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez discussed succession planning on a call with analysts early this month, saying the transition will come when the company overcomes Humira's loss of exclusivity and “the rest of the business is performing at a high level.”
AbbVie has been planning for CEO succession for a long time and “has been thoughtful and deliberate to ensure the right plan is in place for a potential successor,” Glenn Tilton, lead independent director, said in a statement Tuesday.
Michael previously served as CFO and Vice President of AbbVie before becoming Chief Operating Officer in 2023.
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It rose 0.5% on Tuesday morning and is up 15.1% year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX is up 4.2%.
