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April 8, 2009; New York, NY: The Ireland-U.S. Council will present its
Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2009 to William C. Weldon, Chairman
and CEO of Johnson & Johnson to mark the notable work he and the company have done
in building the business relationships between America and Ireland. The award will
be the centerpiece of the Council’s 47th Annual Dinner to be held at the Metropolitan
Club in New York City on Thursday, November 12, 2009. Each year, the Council
presents this award to an individual who has made a significant contribution to
enhancing the economic relationships between America and Ireland.
William C. Weldon
Chairman & CEO
Johnson & Johnson
Dennis D. Swanson, the President of the Council based in New York, said "Johnson
& Johnson was an early and important industrial investor in Ireland. We are extraordinarily
pleased to recognize the substantial contributions made by Bill Weldon in building
connections between Ireland and the United States. Through his dynamic and insightful
leadership, the economic and business bonds between America and Ireland have been
immeasurably enhanced. The members and directors of the Council are delighted to
honor such an outstanding and worthy recipient with this well-deserved award."
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Weldon has spent his entire career with Johnson
& Johnson. He joined the company as a sales representative for the McNeil Pharmaceutical
business in 1971. He was elected to the Board of Directors and named Vice Chairman
of the Board in 2001 and assumed his current responsibilities in 2002.
He served in several sales, marketing and international management positions before
becoming President of Ethicon Endo-Surgery in 1992 and Company Group Chairman of
Ethicon Endo-Surgery in 1995. He was appointed to the Executive Committee of Johnson
& Johnson and named Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals Group, in 1998. He is a
Trustee of his alma mater, Quinnipiac University, from which he received a bachelor’s
degree in Biology in 1971.
Based in New Brunswick , New Jersey, USA, Johnson & Johnson is the world's most
broadly-based healthcare products company with 250 operating companies involved
in a range of activities from consumer products and pharmaceuticals to medical devices
and diagnostics. With its broad portfolio of health care businesses, Johnson & Johnson
is the largest medical device company, fourth largest biotech company, fifth largest
consumer company and seventh largest pharmaceutical company in the world. It ranked
#35 in the Fortune 500, based on 2007 sales, and 70% of its sales come from products
with a number 1 or 2 market position. In 2008, it had sales of $63.7 billion and
it employs 119,000 people worldwide.
Johnson & Johnson employs approximately 2,200 people at its six manufacturing facilities
and three sales and marketing operations in Ireland , representing a capital investment
to date of $1.8 billion. The company produces medical devices at three facilities:
DePuy in Cork, Cordis in Cashel, County Tipperary; and Vistakon in Limerick. Pharmaceutical
products are manufactured at Janssen and Centocor in Cork and Alza in Cashel, and
the company has sales and marketing operations supporting the consumer, medical
devices and pharmaceutical franchises located in Dublin. The company also operates
a treasury management operation at the International Financial Services Center in
Dublin.
The Ireland-U.S. Council was founded in 1963 by American and Irish business
leaders. Its principal objective is to encourage closer business links between Ireland
and the United States . The Council operates a variety of scholarship and internship
programs, stages lectures, seminars and hosts frequent events in Ireland and in
America aimed at building communications between business, political and opinion
leaders on both sides of the Atlantic . As part of its platform, the Council also
supports and sponsors many initiatives in the arts. The Council is not-for-profit
corporation with headquarters in New York City and a permanent office in Dublin.
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