Valeant announces new chairman and chief executive

Valeant Pharmaceuticals has announced the resignation of its chairman Robert A Ingram and its chief executive, president and director Timothy C Tyson.

Mr Ingram will continue as a board member at Valeant and will serve as the lead director.

J Michael Pearson has been appointed as the new chief executive officer and chairman of the company, effective immediately.

Mr Pearson has previously served as a director at McKinsey & Company and held positions including head of global pharmaceutical practice, head of the mid-Atlantic region at the firm and member of the board of directors.

Following his appointment, Mr Pearson will also personally purchase a minimum of $3 million (1.5 million pounds) of stock in Valeant.

Mr Ingram said: “We are very fortunate to be able to hire Mike as our new chief executive officer as he has significant management experience and a keen understanding of the specialty pharmaceutical space.”

He added that Mr Pearson has the leadership skills and business insight to realise the potential of the staff and products at Valeant, with the board confident that he is the right to lead the company into the future.

In May 2007, Valeant announced the election to the board of G Mason Morfit, bringing the number of directors at the firm to eight.