New CFO at Bristol Myers Squibb May Mean Changes

Bristol-Myers Squibb's BMY (NYSE) board of directors recently elected Jean-Marc Huet senior vice president and chief financial officer. According to AccountancyAge.com,

The change which will take place on March 31 and comes one month after the pharmaceutical company reported an ‘impairment charge’ of $275m in auction rate securities, consisting in part of sub-prime mortgages for the fourth quarter, according to CFO.com.

Prior to joining Bristol-Myers Squibb, Huet served as chief financial officer at Royal Numico N.V. in Amsterdam. Before working at Royal Numico he was an executive director, Investment Banking Services, at Goldman Sachs International in London. Huet's appointment comes at the same time the firm also promoted Lamberto Andreotti to Chief Operating Officer. The management changes indicate something is happening at the firm.

Huet is known as a deal maker and is expected to work well with Bristol-Myers Chairman and CEO, James M. Cornelius. His appointment may be an indication that Bristol Myers is getting ready to do some acquisitions or looking to get itself acquired. Chris Kaufman of Reuters Deal Zone wrote a blog March 5th entitled, A Deal Maker for BMY in which he stated,

Huet’s M&A experience would fit well with that of Chief Executive James Cornelius who took the top spot last April. Cornelius had been chairman of medical device maker Guidant, and spearheaded its sale for $27 billion to Boston Scientific Corp just months before assuming his interim leadership role at Bristol. Bristol-Myers saw some divestment activity in December, announcing plans to sell its medical imaging business for $525 million to a private equity group as part of an effort to focus on its higher-profit prescription medicines, and has embarked on a major restructuring that will eliminate 10 percent of its work force and close more than half its factories over the next three years.

Keep a close eye on Bristol-Myers Squibb and particularly Jean-Marc Huet.

Knee Replacement Firm Promotes CEO Replacement From Within

May 1, Zimmer Holdings Inc. (ZMH - NYSE), an orthopedic implant maker, announced the promotion of David C. Dvorak to replace Ray Elliot. Elliot, who was with the firm for nearly twenty five years, announced late last year his plan to retire. The company immediately initiated a search for his replacement. Elliot, who has been very successful in running the company managed to build a top-notch management team. The stock dropped nearly 2.5% on the day of the Dvorak announcement but I believe the appointment should work out for the company.

Dvorak, a lawyer who has had experience in a number of areas within and outside the firm appears to be a solid choice. He is forty three years old and joined Zimmer in December 2001 following the spin-off from Bristol-Myers Squibb. He has moved up through the ranks quite rapidly. Prior to his promotion to the top job, Dvorak was group president global businesses and earlier served as the company's general counsel. Before joining Zimmer, he was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Steris Corporation, a medical products sterilization and contamination prevention products and services firm. He has also practiced law where he focused on corporate law, securities and mergers and acquisitions, all areas of major importance to an orthopedic device maker.

I expect the transition overall to be rather smooth. Keep an eye on Zimmer as Dvorak gets his feet wet and becomes more comfortable in his new position.