Brent Saunders will return as CEO of Bausch + Lomb

(Reuters) – Bausch + Lomb Corp on Wednesday named former Allergan chief executive Brent Saunders as CEO and chairman of the board, marking his return to the Canadian eye care company after nearly a decade.

Saunders will join Bausch + Lomb on Feb. 16 as an advisor to help with the transition, the company said.

He will take over on March 6 from Joseph Papa, who announced last July that he plans to step down as CEO.

The Vaughan, Ont.-based firm said in December that Pope will continue as CEO until at least March 4, 2023.

Bausch + Lomb is in the process of being spun off from Bausch Health Companies, which was formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

Saunders was CEO of Botox maker Allergan until it was acquired by AbbVie Inc for $63 billion in 2020, and previously ran Bausch + Lomb until its acquisition by the former Valeant in 2013.

(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath, Manas Mishra and Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)