PRINCETON, N.J., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Covance Inc. (NYSE: CVD), a leading provider of drug development services, today announced two executive management appointments. Bill Klitgaard, the company’s current Corporate Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will be appointed Corporate Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Mr. Klitgaard will replace John Repko, who was recruited to lead the information technology function at a large, diversified industrial services company. Alison Cornell, currently Vice President, Global Financial Planning and Analysis, will be promoted to Corporate Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, replacing Mr. Klitgaard. These appointments will be effective on May 8, upon approval by the Board of Directors.
“These executive appointments strengthen our finance and information technology organizations and highlight the depth of our management bench,” said Joe Herring, Covance Chairman & CEO. “Both Bill and Alison are proven executives who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, consistently contributing to the company’s growth. John built a strong information technology team at Covance; I thank him for his years of service to the company and wish him well in his new role.”
Mr. Herring added, “Bill has a tremendous passion for systems and informatics, and for using information technology to create value and competitive advantage. His move into the leadership of the group will further strengthen our IT organization and maintain focus on our current strategic investments. Bill leaves our finance organization in excellent and very capable hands with Alison taking over as CFO. Alison has consistently demonstrated strong financial discipline and rigor during her eight years with Covance, and has delivered exceptional results on several high impact, enterprise-wide projects.”
During Mr. Klitgaard’s 15 years at Covance, including his 12 years as CFO, he demonstrated a wide range of financial, strategic, and information technology skills. Informatics, an area of innovation for Covance that currently reports to Bill, will be folded into the newly-expanded role of CIO. As an executive sponsor of Covance’s IT steering committee, Mr. Klitgaard played a critical leadership role in the development and funding of the company’s major IT investments. Under his leadership, Covance implemented a complex, enterprise-wide finance system on time and on budget. Mr. Klitgaard holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Business.
Ms. Cornell joined Covance in 2004 from AT&T, where she served as Financial Vice President, Forecasting, Performance and Investment Analysis, heading finance for a $30 billion division. She was a key member of the clinical development leadership team from 2004 through 2010, serving as its finance leader, and played a critical role in transforming that business into a major growth driver for the company. She has been a driving force in the evaluation and lowering of our company’s cost structure, and successfully designed and executed programs which have significantly lowered the Company’s DSOs. In 2010, Ms. Cornell was promoted to the position of Vice President of Global Financial Planning and Analysis, where she oversees approximately 75 percent of Covance’s finance staff. Her ability to recruit, develop and retain talent has significantly enhanced our finance bench strength company-wide. Ms. Cornell has an MBA from Rutgers University, where she also attained her undergraduate degree. In addition, she is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) and completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.
Covance, with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, is one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive drug development services companies with annual revenues greater than $2 billion, global operations in more than 30 countries, and more than 11,000 employees worldwide. Information on Covance’s products and services, recent press releases, and SEC filings can be obtained through its website at www.covance.com.
Statements contained in this press release, which are not historical facts, such as statements about prospective earnings, savings, revenue, operations, revenue and earnings growth and other financial results are forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All such forward-looking statements including the statements contained herein regarding anticipated trends in the Company’s business are based largely on management’s expectations and are subject to and qualified by risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, factors described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company’s expectations.
SOURCE Covance Inc.
