Bristol-Myers’ Cornelius to retire as CEO, but still head board; COO Andreotti to succeed him

Bristol-Myers CEO to retire; COO to succeed him

TRENTON, N.J. — Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said Tuesday its chief executive will retire in May and be succeeded by the current chief operating officer.

The present CEO, James M. Cornelius, will remain as chairman at the request of the company’s board.

The board chose Lamberto Andreotti, 59, to take over from Cornelius as the CEO.

Andreotti was named president and chief operating officer in March 2009. That positioned him to succeed Cornelius, who is now 66.

Andreotti has been with Bristol-Myers for a dozen years, both overseas and in the U.S. He previously worked for two other drug companies, KABI Pharmacia and then Pharmacia & Upjohn, which now is part of Pfizer Inc.

Andreotti holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Rome, and a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Cornelius will retire on May 4, 2010. He became Bristol’s chairman in February 2008 after being elected CEO by the board of directors in April 2007. That was after Cornelius had served as interim CEO for about eight months.

During his time at the helm of Bristol-Myers, Cornelius initiated a strategy dubbed the “String of Pearls” to sell off noncore businesses such as its Mead Johnson nutrition franchise and buy multiple pearls — biotech companies or products in development — to transform the company into a biopharmaceutical powerhouse.

The most prominent of those deals was last summer’s $2.1 billion purchase of biotech company Medarex Inc. It owns successful antibody technology used to create biologic drugs that make the immune system attack cancer cells — and it has several of its own drugs in development.

Most of Bristol’s competitors instead have been focused on diversifying their product lines and slashing costs.

Bristol-Myers, the maker of blood thinner Plavix, the world’s second-best-selling drug, announced the changes Tuesday after the stock market closed.

The New York company’s other top sellers include schizophrenia and bipolar disorder drug Abilify, blood pressure drug Avapro, hepatitis B treatment Baraclude and HIV treatments Reyataz and Sustiva.

Shares of Bristol-Myers changed hands at $24.72 in after-hours trading, unchanged from the regular close.

(This version CORRECTS the former title of Andreotti to COO instead of CFO.)