Valeant appoints Howard Schiller to the board

Valeant Pharmaceuticals has appointed its chief financial officer Howard Schiller to its board of directors.

Schiller has been with Valeant since December 2011, also serving as executive VP in that period.

He joined after retiring from Goldman Sachs, where he was chief operating officer for the investment banking division responsible for the management and strategy of the business.

"Since Howard joined Valeant, his valuable experience and sound counsel have been invaluable to both Valeant's management team and the board of directors," said J Michael Pearson, chair and CEO.

“Appointing him to our board is the next logical step and one I believe will benefit our shareholders."

He joins the board at a time of great expansion for the Canadian pharma company, with several major acquisitions during the past couple of years including gum disease specialists OraPharma, footcare specialist Pedinol and, most recently, a $2.6bn deal to purchase dermatology company Medicis Pharmaceutical.

In addition to his roles at Valeant, Schiller is on the New York board of Teach for America and on the board of the Cancer Research Institute.