Johnson & Johnson announced that Elizabeth “Liz” Forminard will become the healthcare giant’s general counsel, effective October 17, replacing the retiring Michael Ullmann.
Forminard has been with J&J for 16 years, having served as general counsel across each of its Pharmaceutical, Consumer Health and MedTech sectors.
She also served as worldwide vice president leading the Corporate Governance function, and has held numerous other functional and business-facing roles.
"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," said Joaquin Duato, J&J’s CEO. "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."
ANI Pharmaceuticals
The biopharmaceutical company announced that Meredith Cook joined as SVP, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective July 18.
Cook brings over 20 years of legal and leadership experience in specialty and generics pharmaceuticals, including in corporate governance, M&A, strategic transactions and IP.
She previously served as vice president and associate general counsel for Amneal Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for corporate and strategic transactions across all business units.
“Meredith is an accomplished attorney with demonstrated leadership and expertise in the pharmaceutical industry and will no doubt play an important role in the company’s continued growth,” said Nikhil Lalwani, president and CEO of ANI.
Celmatix
The women’s health biotech company announced Craig Bolton has been appointed as general counsel.
Bolton joins the Celmatix executive team after representing the biotech as outside counsel since 2019 and will play a critical role in supporting the company in ongoing therapeutic pipeline expansion.
He is a seasoned litigator and counselor who has spent over a decade guiding both emerging and established biotech companies through complex commercial, intellectual property, and other business disputes.
“Craig has been an excellent partner to Celmatix as outside counsel, and we are thrilled to have him now join our executive team,” said Dr. Piraye Beim, Celmatix’s founder and CEO.
NSF
The public health and safety organization announced it has named Sean Etheridge its chief legal officer.
Etheridge joins NSF from Stryker Corporation, where he served as vice president and corporate secretary since 2020. He previously held positions at the Fortune 250 company overseeing global legal and compliance operations.
"Sean's prior experience leading legal teams in the public health sector is invaluable to our global work," said Pedro Sancha, NSF’s president and CEO. "We're confident he will succeed in elevating our operations to further our mission to protect and improve human health worldwide."
Current Lighting
Current announced that it has named Jason Fokens its vice president and general counsel.
Fokens brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in legal, patent and intellectual property to this role.
Most recently, he served as head of legal and assistant corporate secretary at GOJO Industries. He also held various legal roles with Owens Corning and the Lubrizol Corporation.
“Jason has broad-based experience in managing the legal affairs of a growth-oriented corporation, including mergers, acquisitions, compliance, regulatory affairs, commercial and joint development agreements,” said Manish Bhandari, president and CEO of Current. “His specific expertise, and passion, in leading and developing global intellectual property portfolios will provide Current a competitive and strategic advantage.”
