Kerry Clark leaves P&G to become CEO Cardinal Health

Kerry Clark leaves P&G to become CEO Cardinal Health

Kerry Clark leaves P&G to become CEO Cardinal Health

Kerry Clark, one of the top half-dozen executives at Procter & Gamble Co. and viewed as one of the top candidates to eventually replace chief executive A.G. Lafley, has left P&G to become president and CEO of Cardinal Health Inc. in Dublin, Ohio.

Clark, a 32-year P&G veteran, was vice chair for family health at P&G, overseeing the powerhouse toothpaste and diaper businesses, as well as pharmaceuticals, pet food and other health-care units. Combined, they posted sales of more than $19 billion during P&G’s last fiscal year.

Procter and Cardinal announced the change in news releases this morning, effective immediately. Clark, 53, succeeds company founder Robert Walter as CEO. Walter will continue as chairman.

Two other P&G vice chairs will split Clark’s duties. Bruce Byrnes, who headed the household businesses, will add baby care, family care and pet food. Susan Arnold, global beauty-care chief, will add the health-care categories.

Before his current assignment, Clark had headed P&G’s global market operations, which includes functions such as sales inside specific geographies.

“Over his P&G career, Kerry helped lead virtually every P&G business category and was the architect of P&G’s developing markets growth strategy,” Lafley said in the news release.

A Canadian, Clark joined P&G in 1974 as a brand assistant. In the late 1990s, he spent several years as head of P&G’s operations in Asia.