Brent Saunders to return as Bausch + Lomb CEO

(Reuters) -Bausch + Lomb Corp on Wednesday named Brent Saunders, the former chief executive officer of Allergan, as its CEO and chairman of board, marking his return to the Canadian eye-care company after nearly a decade.

Saunders will join Bausch + Lomb on Feb. 16 in an advisory capacity to help with the transition, the company said. 

He will take helm on March 6 from Joseph Papa, who last July announced plans to step down as CEO.

The Vaughan, Ontario-based firm said in December that Papa will continue serving as the CEO until at least March 4, 2023.

Bausch + Lomb is in the process of being spun out from Bausch Health Companies, which was formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

Saunders has served as the CEO of Botox maker Allergan, until it was acquired by AbbVie Inc for $63 billion in 2020, and previously headed Bausch + Lomb until its acquisition by erstwhile Valeant in 2013.

(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath, Manas Mishra and Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)