Two Bristol-Myers Executives Will Depart April 1

Two members of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s (BMY) management council are leaving the drug maker effective April 1, and their responsibilities will be transferred to another executive.

The moves suggest that incoming chief executive Lamberto Andreotti is putting his own stamp on the New York company's management team. Andreotti, Bristol's chief operating officer, was named earlier this month to succeed James Cornelius as CEO, effective May 4. Cornelius will remain chairman.

The departing executives are Robert Zito, senior vice president of corporate and business communications and chief communications officer, and Anthony McBride, senior vice president of human resources, Bristol-Myers spokeswoman Tracy Furey said Wednesday.

The organizations they oversee will report to John Celentano, president of emerging markets and Asia Pacific.

Furey declined to comment on the reasons for the changes.

Zito joined Bristol-Myers in 2004 after serving as the head of public relations at the New York Stock Exchange. "I had a wonderful six years," he said Wednesday, but declined to elaborate on his departure.

McBride was named head of HR in 2008; he joined Bristol in 1995. He couldn't be reached for comment.

Bristol shares declined 6 cents to $26.73 Wednesday.

-By Peter Loftus, Dow Jones Newswires; 215-656-8289; [e-mail]