Late yesterday Johnson & Johnson announced that company Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky will be stepping down and Joaquin Duato, vice chairman of J&J’s executive committee, will take on the role effective January 3, 2022.

“Over the course of my 30-year career at Johnson & Johnson, guided by Our Credo, I have witnessed the profound impact of the Company’s evolution and expansion of life-enhancing medicines. The past decade alone has been transformational for Johnson & Johnson as we dramatically increased investment in R&D, drove some of the most important global advances in healthcare, made significant strategic shifts across the business and delivered record performance,” said Gorsky, who served as company CEO for nearly a decade, in a press release. “The decision to step aside was one of the most difficult of my career. This is the right time for the Company as our organization is delivering strong performance across all three segments and is positioned for continued success, in addition to this being the right time for me personally as I focus more on my family due to family health reasons.” Gorsky’s decision has the support of J&J, and he will continue to serve as executive chairman.

Under Gorsky’s leadership, J&J made “hundreds of acquisitions and partnerships”; the company saw a 60%+ increase in R&D investments last year; and its oncology business grew from $2 billion in 2011 to more than $12 billion in 2020.

Gorsky said the following about his successor: “Over our more than 25 years of working together, he has always demonstrated a passion for solving complex medical and business challenges. In addition to driving accelerated growth and profitability in our Pharmaceutical and Consumer Health businesses, in his most recent role of Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee, Joaquin helped guide our enterprise strategic planning process, encompassing all three of the Company’s business segments, and was responsible for spearheading a significant technology transformation across the enterprise over the past year. Notably, he also oversaw the Company’s rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic and led coordination of global initiatives to safeguard the health of employees and ensure business and supply chain continuity. I look forward to working closely with Joaquin in my role as Executive Chairman to help write Johnson & Johnson’s next chapter.”