Teva to Work With Heidrick & Struggles on Global Search for CEO

(Bloomberg) -- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is working with recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. in its search for a new chief executive officer with global pharmaceutical experience.

The confirmation that Teva is looking globally for a successor to Erez Vigodman comes after some analysts and investors expressed concern that the search may be hampered by relatively low pay and the requirement that a CEO live in Israel. Teva, based in Petach Tikva, has hired Chicago-based Heidrick & Struggles, a company spokeswoman said.

“My highest priority is to find the best candidate for Teva literally in the world,” Chairman Sol Barer said Monday on a conference call with analysts after the company reported earnings. “We have a global search going on. I think it’s important to people to recognize we want somebody with deep and broad pharmaceutical experience that can lead Teva and take us to the next level as a company.”

Vigodman left the company a week ago after Teva reduced its 2017 profit forecast, sending the stock to a 12-year low. The drugmaker recently lost court cases that sought to stop competitors from selling cheaper versions of its bestseller Copaxone, and is now appealing the decision.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yaacov Benmeleh in Tel Aviv at ybenmeleh@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chitra Somayaji at csomayaji@bloomberg.net, Phil Serafino