Tylenol maker Kenvue ousts CEO amid board's strategic review
Kenvue also said that an ongoing review of strategic alternatives is advancing. The company has been seen as an acquisition target this year as it faced mounting investor pressure to boost performance or consider a sale.
Kenvue named director Kirk Perry as interim CEO, while Mongon also stepped down from the board. Perry, who worked at Procter & Gamble for 23 years, most recently served as CEO of technology and data analytics firm Circana.
"The appointment of Perry increases the chance of a sale of a part or all of the portfolio," said Canaccord Genuity analyst Susan Anderson.
The company's share price slowly climbed around 2.25 per cent on Monday after it struggled in early trading as some investors said they used the news as a reason to liquidate positions. Others were encouraged by the strategic review news, something many of them had long pushed for.
Activist investors Third Point and Toms Capital were big buyers of the stock earlier in the year, according to regulatory filings, with Toms specifically pushing for a sale. Kenvue settled a proxy fight with activist investor Starboard Value in March, appointing its CEO Jeffrey Smith to the board.
Kenvue, which was spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, has been working to shore up profitability, especially in its struggling skin health and beauty unit, which includes brands like Neutrogena and Aveeno.
"This change in leadership does not come as a surprise to us (and most likely many investors) given the company's fundamental performance," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Nik Modi, adding that a brand divestiture now appears more likely.
The company said it had created a strategic review committee, advised by investment bank Centerview Partners and consulting firm McKinsey, to weigh portfolio simplification and potential divestitures.
The company was already exploring the sale of some of its non-core skin health and beauty brands, Reuters reported in June.
Mongon's ouster follows the departure of CFO Paul Ruh in May, who was replaced by Amit Banati from Kellanova.
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