Johnson & Johnson CEO Weldon to Get $143.5 Million in Retirement

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)’s departing Chief Executive Officer William C. Weldon will receive $143.5 million in retirement pay, the world’s second-biggest seller of health products said today in a regulatory filing.

Alex Gorsky is scheduled to take the helm of New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J on April 26, making him the ninth leader in the company’s 126-year history. Weldon, 63, who will remain chairman, amassed $95.1 million in deferred and long-term compensation during his 40 years with the company, where he started as a sales representative in 1971.

Weldon’s pension has a present value of $48.4 million, which he will receive in monthly payments after he retires, the company said in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His total compensation fell to $26.8 million in 2011 from $28.7 million a year earlier, the second consecutive annual decline, as the company struggled with recalls of artificial hip implants and over-the-counter drugs, and safety concerns involving vaginal mesh products.

Gorsky, who heads the devices and supply-chain units, beat out Sheri S. McCoy, the leader of the company’s branded-drug units, for the top spot. Gorsky was paid $6.8 million in total compensation in 2011 while McCoy received $8.7 million, according to the company’s filing.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle Fay Cortez in Minneapolis at mcortez@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net

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Johnson & Johnson CEO Weldon to Get $143.5 Million

Joshua Prezant/Bloomberg

William C. Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson (J&J).

William C. Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson (J&J). Photographer: Joshua Prezant/Bloomberg