Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. has announced the promotion of William D. (Bill) Humphries to president of the privately-held dermatology company. Stiefel's board of directors elected Humphries to the position at its February 26 meeting. This move marks the first time in the organization's 160-year history that a non-family member has held the position of president.
"This promotion is testament to the board's trust in Bill's proven ability to serve as both an effective and dynamic leader of this company," said Charles W. Stiefel, chairman of the board and CEO, Stiefel Laboratories. "Bill's leadership abilities and extensive pharmaceutical experience will serve the company well as we continue our upward trajectory to achieving our corporate objective of $1 billion in sales next fiscal year. I look forward to working side-by-side with Bill and the rest of our senior executive team as we strive to be the world's most-valued and respected dermatology-focused specialty pharmaceutical company."
As president, Humphries will continue to lead all sales, marketing, strategic communications, public relations and commercial aspects of Stiefel's global business. He also will assume responsibility for Glades Pharmaceuticals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stiefel specializing in the sales and marketing of generic pharmaceutical products. This additional responsibility will provide increased flexibility to engage in lifecycle management of Stiefel products.
In his prior position as chief commercial officer, Humphries orchestrated the creation of an integrated global commercial team; helped oversee Stiefel's 2006 acquisition of Connetics Corporation; and played a key role in the 2007 private equity minority investment agreement between Stiefel Laboratories and The Blackstone Group. He was appointed to the company's board of directors in 2006.
Humphries is a 20-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry, with 18 of those years focused on the specialty of dermatology. He was a vice president at Allergan, Inc., and also worked with Dermik/Rhone-Poulenc-Rorer.Humphries holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa. and an MBA from Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. He also holds seats on the boards of BioSouth and the Gwinnett County (Georgia) Chamber of Commerce, and the board of trustees for Georgia Gwinnett College.
Humphries will continue to work out of the company's global sales and marketing headquarters in Duluth, GA.