West Pharmaceuticals Names New Chief Exec

West Pharmaceutical Services Inc., a developer of solutions for injectable drug administration, has named Eric M. Green as CEO, succeeding Donald E. Morel Jr., Ph.D., current chairman and CEO.
 
Green will join West on April 24.
 
Morel will continue to serve as chairman following Green’s appointment until July 1, when he plans to formally retire.
 
Green joins West from Sigma-Aldrich Corp., an international supplier of laboratory testing materials (which was bought by Merck KGaA of Germany last year for $17 billion) where he has served as executive vice president and president of the company’s Research Markets business unit since 2013. In this role, Green served as a corporate officer and member of the senior executive team, with responsibility for managing a $1.4 billion business unit—the largest at the company. He started with the company in 1993.
 
“I am excited and honored to lead such a well-respected and successful company. I am impressed with West’s track record for delivering both innovative packaging and integrated delivery solutions that play such a critical role in delivering injectable medicines for patients across the globe. I intend to build on the strategy the current management team has established, and partner with the Board to ensure West’s continued success in the future,” said Green.
 
“Eric Green brings a wealth of leadership experience from his time with Sigma-Aldrich, a company which shares West’s customer-centric approach to working with the pharmaceutical industry,” said Morel. “Eric stood out among a very strong candidate list that was considered. We were particularly impressed with his track record of growing revenue and profit for the business units he has led; the diversity of his experience across different business segments, particularly in emerging markets; and his passion for leading people — all of which have prepared him well to lead West. I expect to be fully engaged in helping Eric acclimate to his new role at West and introducing him to our key stakeholders.”
 
Green holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St Louis, Mo. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn. He currently serves on the board of trustees at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation
 
West Pharmaceutical Services makes packaging components and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products. The company is headquartered in Exton, Pa. West also owns the The Tech Group, a contract manufacturer providing injection molding solutions for pharmaceutical delivery systems, medical devices and personal care and consumer products.

West had sales of $1.4 billion and a net income of $127.1 million last year.