Dr Dennis Gillings is set to retire as executive chairman at the end of this year, when he will be replace by Jack Greenberg.
Dr Gillings (pictured right) founded the US-headquartered outsourcing services in 1982, serving as CEO through its first 30 years of operations, and he will continue to serve on Quintiles’ board as a director.
He said: “It has been a memorable ride to get to our multi-billion dollar status today, and I feel privileged to have led this journey. However, I believe there is so much more to come.
“I wish Tom and our management team great success navigating our next era of opportunities so that patients are able to access fast-moving medical advances more easily, timely and cost effectively.”
Quintiles CEO Tom Pike said: “There would be no Quintiles without Dennis Gillings. The vision that Dennis displayed in the early years of Quintiles led to a revolution in the way drug development is conducted. He truly was a pioneer in the emergence of the clinical research organisation (CRO) industry.”
Greenberg, Dr Gillings’ replacement, has served as a director at Quintiles since 2004 and as chairman of money transfer services firm The Western Union Company since 2006.
Prior to that he was chairman and CEO of McDonald’s from 1999 and 1998, respectively, until his retirement in 2002.