AHP Goes Home For Succession: Essner Perseveres To Presidency

Robert Essner, 52, is moving up to the presidency/chief operating officer post at American Home Products after over nine years of senior executive positions on the prescription side of the business.

Essner's ascension comes after Chairman Jack Stafford held the combined chairmanship/CEO/presidency titles for over seven and a half years. Stafford will continue to serve as chairman and CEO. Essner has waited in the wings through three failed mergers (SmithKline, Monsanto and Warner-Lambert) and at least one other heir-apparent (Pharmacia & Upjohn CEO Fred Hassan).

In the abortive AHP/W-L merger, Essner would have been about fourth in the senior management hierarchy, behind Stafford, W-L Chairman Lodewijk de Vink, and W-L Pharmaceutical Sector President Anthony Wild. Essner and Wild would have been co-equals in the organization, but Wild was slated to get the prestigious Rx position; Essner would have headed consumer products.

Essner came to AHP in 1989 soon after Hassan; both came from senior positions at the Sandoz U.S. business. Hassan appeared to be in line to succeed Stafford before he left AHP in 1997. Following Pfizer's victory in the W-L merger, there was active speculation that AHP would recruit de Vink.

Essner moved to the AHP board in 1997 after Hassan's departure and has been one of three insiders on the board with Stafford and Senior Exec VP Robert Blount (chief financial officer). Blount retired from AHP in February at the age of 61.

Essner's succession may carry two notable nuances to AHP's future and culture. First, Essner has shown more interest in a public orientation for the firm. Essner, who has an easy-going manner for a senior AHP exec, is chairman of Children's Health Fund Corporate Council. The firm, which used to present a secretive demeanor and said its phone number instead of its name when it answered the phone, is working to change that image. Recently, for example, it became a sponsor on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition."

As an executive with a long background in operations, Essner's appointment indicates an emphasis on running the business instead of selling it or merging it.