After nearly 21 years at Abbott Laboratories ABT, CEO Miles White is preparing for his departure. The company announced Wednesday that White will leave March 31 and be replaced by Robert Ford, Abbott's current president and COO.
White will leave a stark print on his longtime corporate home.
Since he joined the team in 1998, White has helped Abbott achieve 402% stock growth and create about $200 billion in shareholder value. The last five years have seen 92% growth.
The value came from international expansion and sales growth, as well as adaptation of Abbott to consumer demands.
White spun off AbbVie Inc ABBV and Hospira, the latter of which was bought by Pfizer Inc. PFE. AbbVie's value has risen from $33 per share in 2013 to $87 per share today.
White also built Abbott as the world leader in blood screening diagnostics, adult nutrition and drug eluting stents.
The company also operates divisions specializing in medical devices, glucose monitoring and generic drugs.
In 2001, he acquired BASF's pharmaceutical division to get Humira in the Abbott portfolio.
Through Abbott, White became the youngest leader of a major health company. By March 2019, he had become the sixth longest-serving CEO in the S&P 100. Barron's listed him among the globe's best CEOs for the last 11 years.
After vacating his executive position, White will remain on as executive chairman, according to Abbott. He also continues to serve on the boards of McDonald's Corporation MCD and Caterpillar Inc CAT.
The stock was down 0.7% at $83.77 at the time of publication.
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Photo courtesy of Abbott Laboratories.
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