Elanco Animal Health Inc. has appointed Robert VanHimbergen as executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO), effective July 7. VanHimbergen’s appointment comes after an extensive and competitive search as part of the company’s commitment to long-term, sustained value creation. VanHimbergen succeeds Todd Young, who will remain with the company as an adviser through August 31 to facilitate a smooth transition.
VanHimbergen serves as the senior vice president and CFO of Hillenbrand Inc., where he contributed to the company’s transformation into a pure-play industrial company. Prior to joining Hillenbrand, he spent 15 years at Johnson Controls, where he led the global finance, accounting and reporting functions, was a member of the executive leadership team and was deeply involved in Johnson Controls’ enterprise transformation initiative. He previously held roles within Johnson Controls, including CFO of the US$9 billion automotive interiors business in Shanghai, China, and led the battery division in Asia. Prior to Johnson Controls, VanHimbergen spent nearly a decade at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP working with large multinational companies.
“We are excited for Bob to join the Elanco executive committee to help guide the continuation of our increasing value creation. With seven consecutive quarters of growth and a portfolio of potential blockbusters in launch mode, Elanco is focused on accelerating growth, globalizing and maximizing existing innovation, supporting the next wave of innovation, expanding margins, and improving cash generation,” said Jeff Simmons, Elanco president and CEO. “Bob’s nearly three decades of experience leading finance organizations, along with his leadership style focused on value creation will be extremely beneficial to build on our current momentum as we maximize the opportunity in front of us.”
“I am thrilled to join Elanco at this exciting time with the company’s momentum and diverse portfolio of innovation,” VanHimbergen said. “I look forward to working with the leadership team to execute on the company’s strategy, accelerate growth and enhance shareholder value.”
“On behalf of the entire Elanco organization, we are grateful for Todd’s contributions as we stood up Elanco as an independent company, completed acquisitions to diversify our portfolio, increased our global scale, delivered innovation, enhanced capabilities and took important steps to pay down debt,” Simmons said. “I express my appreciation to Todd for his more than six years of leadership with the Elanco team and enhancing animal health. I greatly value everything Todd has done to put Elanco in a position of strength. This is the right time for a proactive change.”
“It has been my privilege to work alongside such a dedicated Elanco team to position the company for its next stage of growth,” Young said. “Elanco is well positioned to execute its strategy, and I look forward to supporting this transition.”
The company also reconfirms the second quarter and full year guidance issued on the first quarter earnings call on May 7.
