Burberry poaches Smith & Nephew CFO Brown

Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) said yesterday that CFO Julie Brown is leaving the company in January 2017 after 4 years on the job at the British healthcare products giant.

Brown, who was named finance chief in November 2012 and assumed the role in February 2013, is moving to British luxury brand Burberry as its chief operating & financial officer. Burberry also said that Marco Gobbetti would succeed Christopher Bailey as CEO next year.

“Julie has made a significant contribution to the transformation of Smith & Nephew over the last 3½ years, building and embedding stronger finance capabilities across the company. The group optimization program has driven greater efficiency and her capital allocation framework has effectively and transparently prioritized the use of cash. I would like to thank her on behalf of the company, and personally for her valuable support and insight. We wish her well in the next stage of her career,” Smith & Nephew CEO Olivier Bohuon said in prepared remarks.

“I am immensely proud of my time at Smith & Nephew and what we have achieved together. We have made significant progress with group optimization and the finance transformation and delivered significant shareholder value. I look forward to joining the board of Burberry and pursuing a new opportunity in my career. It has been an honor to work with Olivier, from whom I have learned a great deal, and I wish him and everyone at Smith & Nephew all the best for the future,” added Brown.

Smith & Nephew said its search for her successor is under way.

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