Richard D. Wood will retire next month...

Richard D. Wood will retire next month as president and chief executive of Eli Lilly & Co., the pharmaceutical company announced.

Vaughn D. Bryson, the firm’s executive vice president, will become president, chief executive and chairman of the executive committee upon Wood’s retirement Oct. 31.

Wood will continue to serve as chairman of the board and a member of Lilly’s executive committee.

Wood, who will be 65 next month, joined the company in 1950 as a financial assistant. He was elected president in 1972 and chairman and chief executive in 1973.

Bryson, 53, also is a career Lilly employee who joined the company in 1961.