Brent Saunders Returns to Bausch + Lomb as CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors
After nearly a decade, pharma executive Brent Saunders is returning to Bausch + Lomb where he will serve as CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors, effective March 6, 2023.
Mr. Saunders served as Bausch + Lomb's CEO from 2010 to 2013 before its sale to Valeant Pharmaceuticals. More recently, he served as CEO of Allergan until it was acquired by AbbVie for $63 billion in 2020.
Concurrent with the appointment, and as previously announced, Joseph C. Papa will step down from his roles as CEO and director. Additionally, effective upon Mr. Saunders’ appointment as chair of the Board, Thomas W. Ross, Sr. will become the Lead Independent Director of the Board.
Mr. Saunders will join Bausch + Lomb on February 16, 2023, in an advisory capacity, where he will work closely with Mr. Papa, the company announced in a news release.
The transition comes as Bausch + Lomb continues to establish itself as a standalone eye care company as it is in the process of being spun out from Bausch Health Companies. In May, the company raised $630 million in an IPO. It has more than 12,000 employees globally.
Mr. Saunders brings more than 25 years of leadership in health care, having served in president, CEO and chairman roles, among others, at several global pharmaceutical and health care companies, including Schering-Plough Corporation, Forest Laboratories, Actavis, Allergan, and The Beauty Health Company.
“We are delighted that the Board’s thorough search process has concluded with the appointment of Brent Saunders as Bausch + Lomb’s next CEO. His strong inner-working knowledge of the company and unparalleled executive leadership experience in health care make him the ideal person to lead Bausch + Lomb at this pivotal time in our 170-year history,” Thomas W. Ross, Sr., chair of the Board, Bausch + Lomb, said in a company news release. “We are confident that Bausch + Lomb is well-positioned for the future under Brent’s leadership as the company continues to focus on completing its full separation from Bausch Health.”
“I am honored to once again lead Bausch + Lomb during this exciting time as a new publicly traded company. Over the course of the company’s history, Bausch + Lomb has always stood at the forefront of cutting-edge scientific and technological optical advancements, and today, Bausch + Lomb is more focused than ever on developing and offering new treatments to meet unmet eye health needs,” Mr. Saunders said in the news release. “I am confident in our future, and I look forward to once again working alongside the more than 12,000 employees who live by and aspire to achieve the Bausch + Lomb mission of helping people see better to live better.”