Covidien’s chief financial officer to retire

Covidien has announced that its executive vice-president and chief financial officer Charles Dockendorff has decided to retire from the company.

Mr Dockendorff, who has been with the organisation for around 25 years, will depart at the end of 2014 and has agreed to assist with the search for a successor, which will involve review of both internal and external candidates.

He joined Covidien's predecessor company Kendall Healthcare Products in 1989 and has been credited with helping the company grow its sales from $600 million (367.14 million pounds) in 1995 to more than $10 billion in 2007, when Covidien became an independent public firm.

Jose Almeida, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Covidien, said: "We anticipate a seamless transition and are pleased to have the benefit of [Mr Dockendorff's] experience and counsel during the transition period."

This comes after the firm also recently announced its financial results for the first quarter of the 2014 business year, during which it generated a better-than-expected net sales total of $2.64 billion.