Elanco names new board chairman
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Elanco Animal Health Inc. has named a former CEO of a global food company as its next chairman.
Lawrence Kurzius, who now sits on Elanco’s board, will succeed David Hoover as board chairman later this year at the conclusion of the company’s annual shareholders meeting, the company said in a news release.
Kurzius was CEO of McCormick & Co. Inc. from 2016 to 2023 and has served as its executive chairman since 2017, the news release said. Prior to joining McCormick, he served as CEO of Zatarain’s. He has been on the Elanco board since 2018.
Hoover said Elanco is fortunate to have Kurzius in place to assume the role of chairman. “He has a valuable mix of global business expertise, brand building insights, a track record of value creation, and significant corporate governance experience,” Hoover said in a written statement.
Hoover will remain on the board as an independent director, the company said.
“It has been a privilege to serve as Chairman of Elanco’s Board to help guide the Company through its first five years as an independent public company,” Hoover said. “In that period, we have transformed Elanco into a diversified, durable animal health leader with greater global scale, a more balanced product mix and a strong omnichannel presence in the pet health industry.”
Elanco was a division of Eli Lilly and Co. until 2018, when the Indianapolis drugmaker spun the unit off as its own company.
The Greenfield-based company, which makes animal vaccines, antibiotics and other health products for pets and farm animals, has lost money three straight years, IBJ reported earlier this year.
The change in board chairman was announced Jan. 2.
The company also has announced planned changes for its corporate governance, including proposals to elect its board members annually and to provide shareholders with the right to amend company bylaws and, under certain circumstances, call special meetings.
“The Board and the Company’s leadership team remain laser focused on advancing our strategy,” Kurzius said in a written statement, “and I remain confident in our ability to realize the benefits of our scale, portfolio diversity, product mix and innovation delivery to drive sustainable growth and long-term value for shareholders.”