"On behalf of the entire board, we also want to thank Vince for his leadership during the most transformative period in the company's nearly 125-year history. During his eight years as CEO, BD built an incredible portfolio of solutions to advance the entire health care continuum, more than doubled annual revenue, and increased market capitalization by more than 300 percent. We believe BD is well positioned for continued growth and success, and we look forward to continuing to partner with Vince in his role as chairman."

Forlenza, 66, was appointed CEO of BD in October 2011 and was named chairman of the board in July 2012. During his nearly 40-year career with BD, Forlenza ran both the BD Diagnostics and BD Biosciences business units, led R&D and corporate strategy, and held various executive leader positions in the United States and Europe before becoming president, chief operating officer and CEO. Forlenza served as chairman of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) Board of Directors from 2015 to 2017 and continues to play an active role as chairman of AdvaMed's Legal Committee. He currently serves on the Moody's Corporation board of directors and is chairman of The Valley Health Systems board of trustees.


Reflecting on his tenure with BD, Forlenza said, "We often say BD is a place where you can fulfill your life's work through your work life, and that has been my experience — every day — for the past four decades. It has been an absolute privilege and pleasure to lead this organization as we've transformed and built capabilities that better position BD to solve some of health care's most pressing global challenges."

Polen said, "I am humbled by the trust Vince and the board have placed in me and honored to have this opportunity to lead such a dynamic company as we move into our next phase of growth and impact. I am confident we have the right strategy, an exciting innovation pipeline, tremendous breadth of capabilities, and the most talented and dedicated team in health care. As we move ahead, I believe BD has significant opportunities to continue to accelerate growth and drive long-term value while delivering meaningful results for our customers, patients and shareholders. I look forward to continuing to partner with Vince and our entire team as we work together to fulfill BD's purpose of advancing the world of health."


About Tom Polen
Polen joined BD in 1999, after growing an early phase start-up that was subsequently purchased by BD. From 1999 to 2004, he held a variety of sales and marketing positions with increasing responsibility in BD Biosciences and BD Diagnostics Systems.

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