J&J appoints Thibaut Mongon as CEO of spin-off consumer health company

Johnson & Johnson announced Wednesday that the current head and chief financial officer of its consumer healthcare portfolio will lead the business as it transforms into a separate publicly traded company. in 2023.

Thibaut Mongon, current leader of the consumer health business, will become CEO of the independent company and Paul Ruh will retain his current role of chief financial officer. Mongon took over as J&J’s consumer health leader from 2019 and Ruh took over as CFO since 2017.

Executive Chairman Alex Gorsky said J&J conducted an outside executive search, but decided that Mongon and Ruh were best equipped to lead the independent company.

In November, J&J announced that it would be phasing out its consumer health business from its faster-growing medical devices and pharmaceuticals portfolio.

The consumer health business produces common household products and over-the-counter medicines such as Tylenol, Band-Aid, Listerine, Neutrogena and Aveena skin care, and Johnson’s baby products.

Consumer healthcare sales are up 4.1% to $14.6 billion in 2021, while J&J’s pharmaceutical sales are up 14.3% to $52 billion, and device sales are up. Medical expenses increased by nearly 18 percent to $27 billion last year.

In the first quarter of this year, consumer healthcare sales fell 1.5% to $3.59 billion year-on-year in 2021, due to supply constraints for components and packaging materials, especially beauty and skin care products. However, J&J Chief Financial Officer Joe Wolk said there is huge demand for over-the-counter drugs like Tylenol and Motrin.

The consumer health business has faced tens of thousands of lawsuits in recent years alleging that their baby powder contains carcinogenic asbestos. J&J created a subsidiary that went bankrupt to settle the claims. The company stopped selling baby powder in the North American market in 2020, but still sells it in other parts of the world.