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AbbVie Inc. announced. on Monday its longtime legal chief Laura Schumacher retired after three decades at the company and its predecessor Abbott Laboratories.
Perry Siatis, a senior vice president at AbbVie, will succeed Schumacher as general counsel and corporate secretary after transitioning the biopharmaceutical company. AbbVie was spun off a decade ago from Abbott, a Chicago-based medical device and health care supplies company.
“It is difficult to overstate the impact Laura has had on AbbVie over the past 10 years,” Richard Gonzalez, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “While he is one of the leading legal minds in the industry, and has led many legal and regulatory matters for us, his contributions to AbbVie extend beyond the legal department.”
During his time at AbbVie, Schumacher was at the forefront of reforming the relationship between companies and their outside counsel, including in relation to diversity goals for law firms. The American Bar Association honored her in August for her efforts to increase diversity at AbbVie and the legal profession.
Schumacher did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his retirement plans. Siatis also did not respond to a request for comment.
Gonzalez said Siatis was “the perfect choice to build on Laura’s successes.” Siatis serves in a variety of roles within AbbVie’s legal team, including leading its ethics and compliance programs, as well as strategic initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions, litigation, licensing, and intellectual property, according to Gonzalez.
Schumacher, who began his career as a partner at what is now ArentFox Schiff, spent more than two decades at Abbott. He was named chief legal officer in 2005, a role that saw him manage a 500-employee office. Schumacher served as AbbVie’s general counsel after his departure from Abbott.
AbbVie promoted him in 2018 to vice president of external affairs and chief legal officer. Schumacher retained both positions two years after the company completed its $63 billion merger with Allergan PLC, maker of drugs like Botox. In July, AbbVie’s Allergan reached a $2 billion settlement over its marketing of opioids.
Laura Schumacher
Photo courtesy of AbbVie, Inc.
Shortly before the Allergan deal closed, Siatis, AbbVie’s new chief legal officer, was named vice president of legal affairs, a role that included oversight of communications, relationship management, and research and development in the company.
AbbVie said Siatis, who joined Abbott in 2005 after working at DLA Piper, over the years has “developed and implemented the litigation, intellectual property, and legal strategy” for some key company products, and advises on “major transactions.” His salary was not immediately available.
Schumacher, previously in AbbVie’s senior legal position, has long been one of the highest-paid legal executives among American retail companies. He was paid more than $12.4 million in 2021, according to a proxy statement released by AbbVie earlier this year.
AbbVie said in its mediation that Schumacher’s role was to achieve “championship pipeline goals,” supporting research and development projects, and effectively resolving key litigation issues worthy of its package. pay.
Currently, he owns more than $35 million in AbbVie stock, according to Bloomberg. Securities filings also show that Schumacher bought about $23.7 million worth of company shares last year.
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