Elizabeth Forminard will take over as general counsel at Johnson & Johnson in October this year.
She will succeed Michael Ullmann, who is retiring from his position as executive vice president and general counsel at the end of 2022 after 33 years with the company. Ullmann and Forminard will work together during a transition period until his retirement at the end of 2022.
Forminard has worked at Johnson & Johnson for 16 years, during which time she has been general counsel across each of the company’s pharmaceutical, consumer health and medical technology divisions, as well as worldwide vice president leading the corporate governance function and numerous other functional and business-facing roles.
In her most recent role, Forminard was general counsel for the pharmaceuticals legal group and member of the pharmaceuticals group operating committee, leading the legal function globally for the sector and for Johnson & Johnson global external innovation and global public health, where she led programs designed to manage intellectual property, regulatory and commercial strategies internally.
GENERAL COUNSEL FOR 11 YEARS
Ullmann joined Johnson & Johnson as an M&A attorney in 1989 and held positions of increasing responsibility in the company’s law department until he become general counsel 11 years ago. Before becoming general counsel in 2011, he was general counsel of the company’s worldwide medical devices group for six years.
Among other things, he has also been the executive sponsor for Johnson & Johnson’s Hispanic and Latino employee resource group and a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, an organization that works to build a more open and diverse legal profession.
Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato says in a statement: ‘I thank [Mike] for his unwavering commitment to help deliver on our purpose of advancing health for humanity. Throughout his tenure, he has guided the company through an evolving global environment with respect and clarity, always keeping our patients and customers at the center of all decisions.’
He adds: ‘I’m thrilled to appoint Liz to this important role and will lean on her strong business acumen and understanding of patient and customer needs during this pivotal time at our company. I’m confident her distinguished experience and leadership will help us find new pathways to bring innovative healthcare solutions to those in need all over the world.’
Ben Maiden
Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...
