Dominic Caruso, Johnson & Johnson’s longest-serving CFO who presided over three of its largest acquisitions, will retire in September and be replaced by Joseph Wolk, vice president of investor relations.
Caruso has served as finance chief of the consumer products giant since 2007 after joining J&J in 1999 when it acquired Centocor, also known as Janssen Biotech.
“During his nearly 12 years as CFO, Dominic provided Credo-based leadership and financial stewardship through the economic downturn and was instrumental in helping the company deliver significant gains over the past five years,” J&J chief executive Alex Gorsky said in a news release.
The company noted that under Caruso’s leadership, it completed three of its largest acquisitions — Actelion, Synthes, and Pfizer Consumer Health. “He was also instrumental in driving growth and capital allocation strategies that led Johnson & Johnson to exceed our competitor composite, as well as most major indices, for total shareholder return in 2017 and over the last three-, five-, ten- and twenty-year periods,” it said.
J&J shares were up 0.5% at $131.86 in trading Wednesday after initially dropping 0.3%.
Caruso’s previous positions at J&J included vice president of group finance for the medical devices and diagnostic group and CFO of Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical. At Centocor, he was appointed finance chief in 1998 after joining that company in 1985.
J&J is expecting a smooth transition as Wolk has served on its finance leadership team, reporting directly to Caruso since 2014. His appointment as CFO will become effective July 1.
“Joe is a strong, collaborative, Credo-based leader who has a long track record of success, most recently as head of investor relations,” Gorsky said. “In this role, he quickly developed relationships with the investment community and has proven business acumen as well as a deep understanding of the many facets of Johnson & Johnson.
“His varied experience has brought innumerable benefits to the corporation and we look forward to the valuable contributions he will make in his new role,” he added.
Wolk was previously CFO of J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceutical unit.