Bergen Brunswig Goes Beyond Kin to Select Chief
Bergen Brunswig Corp., the giant distributor of drugs and medical supplies, Friday named a new chief executive whose leadership has impressed analysts since he joined the company last fall in the No. 2 job. Donald R. Roden, 49, who will succeed the retiring Robert E. Martini as chief executive in January, will be the company’s first top executive from outside the once-dominant Martini family. Martini, 64, will remain chairman.
Roden has drawn praise for spearheading the company’s efforts to develop more profitable contracts with hospital and pharmacy customers.
“The shift in attitude at Bergen Brunswig over the last 12 months has been very noticeable and very pronounced,” said Kevin Silverman, an analyst with Everen Securities in Chicago. Bergen Brunswig is transforming itself “from being a bit of a sleepy company” with little marketing savvy to a company that is seeking to respond to customers’ needs, he added.
In an interview Friday, Roden said he wants the company to become “the broadest-based, one-stop shop for each of our customers.”
Roden will become the first chief executive outside the Martini family since 1969, when the Martini-controlled Bergen Drug Co. acquired Brunswig Drug Co. and formed the current corporation. Martini’s father, Emil, founded Bergen in 1947. Robert Martini’s brother, Emil Jr., was the first chief executive of Bergen Brunswig.
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In a related move Friday, the company reorganized the executive team that will report to Roden.
It named four operating executives to a newly created “office of the president,” three of whom were promoted from within. They are Robert Martini’s 37-year-old son, Brent R. Martini; Neil F. Dimick, the company’s chief operating officer; and Charles J. Carpenter.
The fourth is William J. Elliott, a former senior vice-president from one of Bergen’s large customers.
To spur cooperation, the company has realigned personal financial incentives for divisional executives. Their opportunities for cash bonuses and stock options will be linked more closely to the financial performance of the entire company and less on that of their individual businesses.
Though he’ll take charge little more than a year after becoming the No. 2 executive, Roden’s promotion came as no surprise to analysts, who also said his efforts to hone the company’s marketing strategy should generate higher profit margins over the next few years.
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The company last year earned $63.9 million on revenue of $8.4 billion, and margins have improved slightly in the first nine months this year, said Lawrence C. Marsh, analyst at Wheat First Butcher Singer of Richmond, Va.
Roden, a former industry consultant, worked for Bergen Brunswig in the mid-1970s as group vice president of a former unit that handled health-care claims processing. He left in 1977 to start a consulting firm, Pracon Inc., in Arlington, Va. He sold the firm in 1989 to Elsevier Ltd., then became an executive of the acquiring company.
Bergen Brunswig’s stock rose 62.5 cents a share Friday, closing at $29.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Bergen Brunswig Corp. at a Glance
Headquarters: Orange
Employees: 4,700, including about 600 in Orange County
Business: Distributes pharmaceutical, medical and surgical supplies
Chairman/CEO: Robert E. Martini (remains chairman after Donald Roden becomes chief executive)
1995 sales: $8.4 billion
1995 net income: $63.9 million
PROFILE: DONALD RODEN
Current position: President and chief operating officer
New position: Chief executive, effective Jan. 15, 1997
Age: 49
Education: BA in business administration, University of Wisconsin; MBA in pharmaceutical marketing, Fairleigh Dickinson University (New Jersey)
Personal: Married, two children
Background: Held sales and marketing positions at various pharmaceutical firms until 1975 when he became group vice president at Health Applications Systems, a Bergen Brunswig division. Founded Pracon Inc., a health care management consulting firm, in 1977. Sold Pracon to Elsevier Ltd., an international publishing company, in 1989. Served as an executive with Elsevier’s North American operations until 1993. Rejoined Bergen Brunswig in 1995 as president and chief operating officer.
* Source: Bergen Brunswig
* Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times
