Former Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini Says He Is Being Pushed Off CVS Board
February 03 2020 - 11:28AM
Dow Jones News
By Anna Wilde Mathews
Former Aetna Inc. Chief Executive Mark Bertolini said he is
being pushed off the board of CVS Health Corp.
Mr. Bertolini, who joined the CVS board after the November 2018
closing of CVS's nearly $70 billion deal to buy Aetna, told The
Wall Street Journal he was willing to stay on the board, and he
said the integration between the two companies isn't complete.
CVS said Monday that Mr. Bertolini and two other directors won't
stand for reelection to the board. The company said Mr. Bertolini
would depart "following the successful integration of the Aetna
business."
The company said it was reducing the number of board members
following corporate governance best practices.
CVS Chairman David Dornan said in a statement announcing the
changes that the board wished to thank Mr. Bertolini "for his
contribution to the successful integration of Aetna." He said the
remaining board members had strong confidence in CVS's leadership
and direction.
Mr. Bertolini said, "I was willing to continue to serve on the
board of directors in support of the most transformative effort in
health care for our nation. However, the board thought otherwise."
He said the "integration is far from over."
Asked about his relationship with current CVS Chief Executive
Officer Larry Merlo, he said, "There's always going to be a natural
tension between the current CEO and the former CEO in any
discussions regarding how you move the strategy forward. He's the
guy in the seat, I'm not."
A spokesman for CVS said, "As Dave Dornan said, the integration
has been a success and the board has the utmost confidence in the
current management team and the progress the combined company has
shown to date. We will of course have more to share on that front
when we report earnings next week."
After the departures, CVS said its board membership will shrink
to 13 from 16. In addition to Mr. Bertolini, the company said that
Richard Swift and Richard Bracken won't stand for reelection to the
board and will leave after the company's annual meeting. The date
of this year's annual meeting hasn't yet been announced, but the
meeting was in May last year.
Write to Anna Wilde Mathews at anna.mathews@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 03, 2020 11:13 ET (16:13 GMT)
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