J&J legal chief to retire in March

[November 23, 2011]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Johnson & Johnson says its vice president and general counsel Russ Deyo will retire next year after 27 years with the company.

The health care conglomerate says Deyo, 62, will retire on March 31. He will be succeeded by Mike Ullmann, who has served as general counsel for the company's medical device unit since 2006. Ullmann will become vice president and general counsel on Jan. 1.

Deyo joined J&J's legal department in 1985 and was appointed vice president in 1996. He was promoted to his current position in 2004.

J&J has weathered a slump in sales of its over-the-counter brands like Tylenol due to a string of manufacturing-related recalls. One of the company's key plants was shut down in April 2010 and is being gutted and rebuilt.

[Associated Press]

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