Nobel CEO Heliane Canepa Steps Down
BY DAVID KRESSEL, JULY 31, 2007
Nobel Biocare announced that CEO Heliane Canepa would leave the company, effective September 1. Her replacement will be Domenico Scala, CFO of Syngenta and a Director of Nobel.
According to the company, this change is the result of a year-long succession planning process. They had planned on making this announcement during their earnings announcement on August 9th, but news of the change leaked July 27th, forcing the company's hand. Included in this announcement was preliminary guidance on first half revenue, which is "above market sales growth." The stock sold off 3% on the news.
There is considerable speculation in the market as to whether there was anything more to the announcement than good corporate governance. Assorted news stories suggested one or more of the following: friction between Canepa and the Chairman of the Board, Rolf Soiron; faltering US revenue growth, possibly due to channel conflicts created by targeting general practioners to place implants; and regulatory missteps with the marketing of NobelDirect. However, Canepa's success at growing Nobel's revenue and profit, organically and via acquisition, make those explanations sound off the mark.
