Cardinal Health CFO Jorge Gomez is leaving the drug distribution company after 13 years and will join dental products maker Dentsply Sirona as its finance chief.
Gomez’s departure from Cardinal follows another tough quarter for Cardinal, which, like other drug distributors, has been struggling with falling generic drug prices. Its share price fell 13% in May after it reported a 21% drop in operating income for the third quarter.
Cardinal said Monday in a regulatory filing that Gomez will leave effective Aug. 9, adding that his departure “is not related to any financial performance, policy, or control issues or any disagreements on accounting or financial reporting matters.”
CEO Michael Kauffman will assume the additional role of CFO when Gomez leaves. “All-in this is more confirmatory of the tough environment” at Cardinal, Evercore ISI analyst Ross Muken wrote in a client note.
Dentsply, meanwhile, announced that Gomez had been appointed CFO, replacing Nick Alexos, who has served in the position since October 2017.
Jorge Gomez
Gomez is “a talented global executive with an in-depth knowledge of the healthcare market, who brings the right mix of skills and experience, and a solid track record of successfully managing global finance operations,” Dentsply CEO Don Casey said in a news release.
Both of Cardinal’s business segments, pharmaceuticals and medical, reported sharply lower segment profit in the most recent quarter. The company’s stock is down 4% over the past year and has declined by 45% since April 2016.
Gomez was appointed Cardinal CFO in January 2018 after previously serving as finance chief of each of its business segments. He joined the company in 2006 from General Motors, where he spent nine years in managerial and executive positions.
“Jorge is moving to a similar-sized company with likely better growth prospects as well as the potential for increased impact given the margin focus + balance sheet capability,” Muken said.
Dentsply claims to be the world’s largest manufacturer of professional dental products and technologies. CEO Casey is himself a former Cardinal executive.
Photo illustration: Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
