BMS chief exec elected chairman of the board

The chief executive officer (CEO) of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has been elected as the new chairman of the board.

James M Cornelius was elected to the position by the company’s board of directors and will take on both roles until May 2009 when his current employment contract expires.

The board has also named Lewis B Campbell, chairman, president and CEO of Textron, as a new lead independent director, while James D Robinson, general partner at RRE Ventures, has resigned as non-executive chairman of the board.

Mr Robinson will remain director of the company until May 2008, at which time he will retire following the board’s mandatory age retirement policy.

However, Mr Robinson expressed his delight over the election of Mr Cornelius as chairman.

“We’re confident that as chairman, he and his outstanding leadership team will succeed in their goal of making this a dynamic biopharma company for the future.”

Mr Cornelius was named CEO in September 2006 after joining the board in January 2005.

He stated that he was “excited” by the opportunity to serve as chairman and was also “honoured” to be succeeding Mr Robinson.

BMS recently reported a “strong performance” following the release of its fourth-quarter 2007 financial results.