Johnson & Johnson, the maker of everything from baby shampoo and Band-Aids to contact lenses and hip implants, just tapped a longtime insider as its new CEO, said Katie Thomas in The New York Times. Alex Gorsky, 51, who will take over the health-products giant in April, has to get right to work repairing a corporate reputation battered by “manufacturing lapses, government inquiries, and recalls” of popular products like Infants’ Tylenol. Gorsky got his start as someone who “carried the bag”—industry slang for a pharmaceutical sales representative—and he’s known as a “polished speaker and an intense yet likable manager.” But beginning in 2009, he oversaw the company’s medical-device division, when “critical decisions were made about an artificial hip implant that has failed in thousands of patients, crippling some of them.”
Many Johnson & Johnson watchers were betting that Sheri McCoy, who leads the pharmaceuticals and consumer divisions, would get the top spot, said Patricia Sellers in Fortune.com. But the board decided that “Gorsky’s No. 1 strength” is execution, a plus given the company’s current troubles. He has “earned points for digging into manufacturing and supply-chain troubles” in the past, and as a West Point grad and former Army Ranger, he’s been trained for toughness.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why more and more adults are reaching for soft toysUnder The Radar Does the popularity of the Squishmallow show Gen Z are 'scared to grow up'?
-
Magazine solutions - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
-
Magazine printables - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
-
Issue of the week: Yahoo’s ban on working from homefeature There’s a “painful irony” in Yahoo’s decision to make all its employees come to the office to work.
-
Issue of the week: Another big airline merger
feature The merger of American Airlines and US Airways will be the fourth between major U.S. airlines in five years.
-
Issue of the week: Feds’ fraud suit against S&P
feature The Justice Department charged S&P with defrauding investors by issuing mortgage security ratings it knew to be misleading.
-
Issue of the week: Why investors are worried about Apple
feature Some investors worry that the company lacks the “passion and innovation that made it so extraordinary for so long.”
-
Issue of the week: Does Google play fair?
feature The Federal Trade Commission cleared Google of accusations that it skews search results to its favor.
-
Issue of the week: The Fed targets unemployment
feature By making public its desire to lower unemployment, the Fed hopes to inspire investors “to behave in ways that help bring that about.”
-
Issue of the week: Is Apple coming home?
feature Apple's CEO said the company would spend $100 million next year to produce a Mac model in the U.S.
-
Issue of the week: Gunning for a hedge fund mogul
feature The feds are finally closing in on legendary hedge fund boss Steven Cohen.