Zoetis Inc. has named Kristin Peck as its next chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1, 2020, when current CEO Juan Ramón Alaix retires. Peck was also named to the board of directors, effective immediately.

Alaix, who has been CEO of Zoetis since its formation in 2012, has decided to retire as CEO on Dec. 31, 2019, and will act as an adviser on the leadership transition through Dec. 31, 2020.

“Kristin is the right leader for Zoetis’s future,” Alaix said. “She is an advocate for our customers’ needs, a champion of Zoetis’s culture and values and an inspirational and collaborative leader for our people and industry. Her strategic vision and proven track record of performance throughout her tenure at the company, as well as her operational experience and deep customer knowledge, have her well prepared to drive Zoetis’s continued growth for the benefit of all our key stakeholders.”

Michael McCallister, chairman of the Zoetis board of directors, said, “As head of U.S. operations, she has been an innovator around customer experience, creating new customer loyalty programs and investing in digital tools, campaigns and direct-to-consumer advertising to support our growth. She has a disciplined growth mindset when it comes to leading our business development and strategy functions, and earlier in her tenure, she helped drive improvements in manufacturing and supply chain to make them more efficient.”

Peck said, “Zoetis plays an essential role in caring for the pets and livestock that enrich people’s lives, and I am grateful for the opportunity to lead our company as the next CEO. I look forward to working with the board, Juan Ramón and the Zoetis executive team on this transition. We will continue to serve our customers, colleagues, shareholders and society by advancing animal health, and we will remain committed to building on the strategies, diverse portfolio, talented people and financial discipline that have been critical to our success.”

Over the course of her career at Zoetis, Peck has led the company’s Global Manufacturing & Supply organization, former Global Poultry and Global Diagnostics businesses and New Product Marketing & Global Market Research. Since 2015, she has run U.S. operations and established a track record of consistently growing revenue faster than the overall animal health market while overseeing the successful launch of new companion animal blockbusters such as Simparica and Cytopoint for dogs as well as the continued growth of Apoquel into one of the largest products in the industry, Zoetis said.

Peck also has played a key role in establishing a more data- and insight-driven sales and marketing function for the benefit of customers in the U.S., the company noted.

Since 2018, Peck has led the company’s corporate strategy and business development activities, which included the acquisitions of Abaxis (diagnostics) and Platinum Performance (nutritional products) to support the continued expansion of Zoetis’s capabilities and offerings across the continuum of care.

Peck previously served as Pfizer’s executive vice president of worldwide business development and innovation. In this role, she was responsible for the evaluation of strategic alternatives for Pfizer's Animal Health & Nutrition businesses. Peck also has experience working in consulting, private equity and real estate finance. She holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and a master of business administration degree from Columbia Business School. She has also been a member of the Thomson Reuters board of directors since 2016.

Zoetis is a leading animal health company dedicated to supporting its customers and their businesses. Building on more than 65 years of experience in animal health, Zoetis discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines, vaccines and diagnostic products, which are complemented by biodevices, genetic tests and a range of services. Zoetis serves veterinarians, livestock producers and people who raise and care for farm and companion animals, selling its products in more than 100 countries. In 2018, the company generated annual revenue of $5.8 billion and had approximately 10,000 employees.

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