Derica Rice, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Eli Lilly and Company will temporarily become the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the company while current Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. John C. Lechleiter undergoes scheduled surgery for a dilated aorta. The company announced the temporary change Monday. Dr. Lechleiter’s condition was found during unrelated testing and has been asymptomatic and he is expected to make a full recovery and return to his duties later this summer. During Lechleiter’s surgery and recuperation period, and in accordance with Lilly’s bylaws, Derica Rice who is Lilly’s Executive Vice-President/Global Services and Chief Financial Officer, will assume the additional role of Acting CEO. Ellen R. Marram, currently the board’s lead independent director, will serve as Acting Chairperson of the Board of Directors. Derica Rice, 48, has more than 22 years of service with Eli Lilly and Company, including leadership roles in finance and general management. He became chief financial officer in 2006 and assumed leadership of the company’s global services organization in 2010.Marram, 66, is president of the Barnegat Group LLC, her business advisory firm, and she is also the former CEO of two consumer products companies. She has served on the Lilly board since 2002 and is also a member of the board of directors of Ford Motor Company and The New York Times Company. Said Lilly chief Lechleiter, “I am grateful to be under the care of a world-class medical team located right here in Indianapolis. The board of directors and I have the utmost confidence in Ellen, Derica, and our Lilly leadership team. The company will be in very good hands during my leave. I look forward to returning to work following my recovery.”
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