AmerisourceBergen CEO to Take Chairman Role

AmerisourceBergen Corp. said Wednesday Chief Executive Steven Collis will succeed Chairman Richard Gozon next year, and the drug wholesaler also adopted measures to make it easier for certain shareholders to nominate directors to the board.

Mr. Collis will take on the chairman role following Mr. Gozon's retirement at the annual stockholder meeting in March. He has been chief executive since July 2011 and a director since May 2011.

The company also said Jane Henney will become the board's lead independent director. She has served as a director since January 2002.

AmerisourceBergen said it has changed its bylaws to allow for so-called proxy access, joining a growing list of big companies making similar moves.

The new rules stipulate that a shareholder or group of them who have owned at least 3% of shares outstanding for three years can nominate directors to the board—two of them or 20% of the board, whichever is greater.

Companies have increasingly adopted changes in governance that are considered more favorable to investors, with proxy-access provisions being by far the most popular—and successful—in 2015, according to Institutional Shareholder Services, the biggest U.S. proxy-advisory firm.

Other companies that have made similar moves include Coca-Cola Co., Microsoft Corp., General Electric Co., Monsanto Co., Modelez International Inc., BlackRock Inc. and American International Group Inc.

Last month, AmerisourceBergen said it has agreed to acquire PharMEDium Healthcare Holdings Inc., a closely held provider of personalized medications to hospitals, in an all-cash deal worth $2.58 billion.

Mr. Collis said the deal—estimated to add between 22 cents and 26 cents to earnings per share in fiscal 2016—would expand the company's service offerings for health systems, and is expected to close by the end of this calendar year.

Write to Anne Steele at [e-mail]

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November 18, 2015 08:35 ET (13:35 GMT)

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