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William Weldon, CEO of Johnson and Johnson
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Johnson & Johnson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, William C. Weldon, was born on November 26, 1948 in Brooklyn, New York City to a Broadway stagehand and a theater costumer.
His parents moved the family to New Jersey and enrolled him in Ridgewood High School, where he honed his basketball prowess. In 1967, William Weldon relocated to Hamden, Connecticut to study BS Biology at Quinnipiac University. Before he graduated in 1971, he wed his schoolmate Barbara Dearborn, with whom he has two children.
Upon graduation, William Weldon began what would be a lifelong career at Johnson & Johnson. He was first hired as sales representative for J&J’s pharmaceutical division, McNeil (later renamed Ortho-McNeil). This proved to be the first of many high-flying positions that he garnered in various J&J businesses worldwide.
J&J deployed him to Southeast Asia in 1982 as manager of its ICOM Regional Development Center. He remained in Asia in 1984, when he started serving as executive vice president and managing director of Korea McNeil. The British Isles beckoned two years later, as William Weldon was chosen for the position of executive vice president and managing director for Ortho-Cilag Pharmaceutical. He was only able to return to the US in 1989, for a vice-presidential post at Janssen Pharmaceutica.
In a career departure, William Weldon was delegated in 1992 to preside over a fledgling J&J business, Ethicon Endo-Surgery (EES). It develops and markets instruments used for minimally invasive surgery. It was a virtually new territory for William Weldon.
From obscurity, EES rapidly rose to first in its league, all under William Weldon’s stewardship. Using sophisticated computer-aided design systems, engaging the best engineers, and employing business counselors from Harvard University, William Weldon was able to come up with a lucrative line of products for EES.
Before long, EES trumped the United States Surgical Corporation for the heftiest market share in endoscopic and conventional surgical devices alike. Then in 1995, William Weldon was promoted to the position of company group chairman for Johnson & Johnson.
Three years after, he was ready to manage J&J’s global drug operations. William Weldon was then selected to chair J&J’s vast Pharmaceuticals Group. As such, he was able to overturn its flagging sales by orchestrating J&J’s $5 billion takeover of Centocor. This was also around the time he entered J&J’s executive committee for the first time.
He added Vice Chairman of J&J’s Board to his duties in 2001. That year, he catalyzed the company’s acquisition of transdermal patch-maker Alza. It was the biggest deal for J&J at that time.
On April 25, 2002, William Weldon officially emerged as Johnson & Johnson’s chief executive officer. He now steers the largest healthcare products firm in the world.
Outside Johnson & Johnson, William Weldon has been the vice-chair of JP Morgan Chase & Co. since 2001. He is also a director of the said company.
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