On Friday, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ -0.14%) announced that its board of directors has elected CEO Alex Gorsky to the position of chairman of the board, effective Dec. 28. On that date, current Chairman Bill Weldon will resign from his post preparatory to retiring in the first quarter of 2013.
The positions of CEO and chairman were separated at Johnson & Johnson in April, when Weldon resigned as CEO but remained chairman. Come December, the two positions will again be filled by one person. "The Board gave thoughtful and rigorous consideration to our governance structure and determined that combining the chairman and CEO positions under the strong leadership of Alex Gorsky will benefit all our stakeholders," said Presiding Director James Cullen in the company press release.