Charles River Laboratories International has announced a retirement and transition plan for its Chief Financial Officer. David R. Smith, Corporate Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has announced that following a transition period, he will retire from Charles River after a distinguished career in healthcare and finance leadership roles. Mr. Smith will remain with the company in his current position until a successor has been named and the transition has been completed, which is expected to occur before the end of 2022. Charles River is commencing a global search to identify its next Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. Smith joined Charles River in 2014 through the Discovery Services acquisition of Argenta and BioFocus. Following the acquisition, he assumed the role of Corporate Vice President, Early Discovery Services, and was subsequently named Corporate Senior Vice President, Global Discovery Services. In 2015, leveraging his extensive business, finance, and leadership experience, Charles River promoted Mr. Smith to his current role. As Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Smith leads the company’s global Finance organisation and is responsible for overseeing Accounting, Tax, Treasury, Investor Relations, Internal Audit, Risk Management, and Procurement.
James C. Foster, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “David has been instrumental in Charles River’s growth and success, by providing strategic financial counsel and direction to our global organisation. Under David’s leadership, the company has built a best-in-class finance organisation with a deep bench of talented professionals. David has been a trusted advisor to me, his colleagues, and the Board of Directors, and I look forward to continuing to work with him until his retirement as we plan for a seamless transition of his responsibilities. We thank David for his many contributions to Charles River, are grateful for his dedicated efforts to advance the company’s mission and congratulate him on a remarkable career.”