BMS, Lundbeck execs jump ship

Two C-level execs abruptly exited their respective buildings this week. Danish drug maker Lundbeck lost its CEO Claus Braestrup yesterday when he announced he would resign immediately. The 63-year-old had said he planned to leave after announcing 2007 results, but officials didn't expect him to take a flyer. "It is regrettable that Claus Braestrup has decided to resign from his position sooner than we had expected," a board member said. No kidding: The company just posted its best financial performance ever.

Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers Squibb's executive VP and CFO Andrew Bonfield will leave the company "to seek new career opportunities;" he'll be replaced by Jean-Marc Huet, CFO at Amsterdam's Royal Numico, where he engineered some acquisitions. Bonfield will stick around to help Huet make the transition. In a news release, CEO Jim Cornelius (photo [1]) stated that Bonfield ID'd Huet as a potential successor last year. A company spokeswoman told Pharmalot that Bonfield's departure is "completely unrelated" to a $275 million charge on subprime securities losses, though the corporate treasurer and controller was a casualty. "He's been talking to Jim since 2007 about his role and career plans," the spokeswoman said.

- see Lundbeck's press release [2]
- read the release [3] from Bristol-Myers
- check out Pharmalot's coverage here [4] and here [5]

Related Articles:
BMS, AZ, Wyeth report earnings. Report [6]
Lundbeck chair exits as company seeks calm. Report [7]