Independent Director and Seasoned Healthcare Executive Walt Rosebrough
Elected Executive Chair; Search for CEO Underway
Provides Update on Board Refreshment, Including Planned Addition of Medical Device and Vision Veteran Shlomi Nachman
Reaffirms Full-Year Fiscal 2028 Guidance
SAN RAMON, Calif., Oct. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CooperCompanies (Nasdaq: COO) (the "Company"), a leading medical device company, today announced leadership changes and planned Board refreshment aimed at strengthening operational execution, improving business performance, and enhancing long-term shareholder value.
Walter (Walt) M Rosebrough, Jr., an independent director of the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") and a proven healthcare executive with decades of experience, has been elected Executive Chair of the Board. Albert (Al) White III is stepping down from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer, and as a member of the Board, effective immediately. Mr. Rosebrough will assume direct oversight of day-to-day operations at the Company until a permanent CEO is appointed. Mr. White will remain employed as a strategic advisor through April 1, 2027.
The search for a permanent CEO is underway and is supported by leading professional search firm Russell Reynolds. The search is being overseen by a CEO Search Committee of the Board, comprised of Lawrence Kurzius, Cynthia Lucchese, and Teresa Madden. As Chair, Mr. Rosebrough will work closely with the CEO Search Committee and the full Board throughout the process, drawing on decades of experience leading medical device companies.
"I joined CooperCompanies because I believe there is great opportunity in its future. The Company's recent performance has not met our expectations, and the Board believes decisive action is needed to ensure the Company reaches its long-term potential," said Mr. Rosebrough, Executive Chair. "I will be working closely with the Board and the management team on priorities that will strengthen the foundation for growth and value creation."
Mr. Rosebrough continued, "The Board is appreciative of Al's leadership and valuable contributions to CooperCompanies throughout his 20 years with the Company."
Board Refreshment
The Company also announced planned changes to its Board of Directors. Shlomo (Shlomi) Nachman will join the Board as an independent director, effective December 8, 2026. Mr. Nachman is a former Johnson & Johnson executive with over 27 years of healthcare experience, where he led a portfolio of medical device businesses, including Vision. He has a proven track record driving growth, innovation, and business turnarounds.
Further, three current Board members, Barbara Carbone, Colleen Jay, and Robert Weiss, have announced their intention not to stand for reelection at the Company's 2027 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. These Board changes are in addition to the appointment of two independent directors in January and July of 2026, which followed constructive engagement with shareholders.
With these changes, the Board will nominate seven directors for election at the Annual Meeting: Paul Keel, Lawrence Kurzius, Cynthia Lucchese, Teresa Madden, Shlomi Nachman, Maria Rivas, MD, and Walt Rosebrough. The Board believes this seven-member Board will promote more focused oversight, efficient decision-making, and accountability, while maintaining the right mix of expertise and experience to oversee the Company. The seven directors who will be nominated include three current or former public company CEOs, two former public company CFOs, one former Chief Medical Officer of a global pharmaceutical company, and one former leader of a global vision business. Four of the directors have extensive medical device experience.
"These changes reflect the Board's commitment to ensuring we have the appropriate mix of experience and expertise to oversee CooperCompanies' strategy and support its long-term success," said Cynthia Lucchese, Chair of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. "We are pleased to welcome Shlomi Nachman, whose extensive experience in vision care and medical technology will be invaluable to CooperCompanies."
Mr. Rosebrough concluded, "Our updated Board composition best positions us to provide active oversight in pursuit of long-term value creation. Our priorities are clear: identify and onboard the right CEO to lead the Company into its next chapter of growth and take additional actions to strengthen our business in order to provide superior products for customers, rewarding work for our people, and superior returns for our shareholders."
The Company reaffirms the fiscal year 2026 guidance provided on September 9, 2026.
About Walter Rosebrough, Jr.
Mr. Rosebrough has served on the Company's Board and Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee since January 2026, and he is CEO Emeritus of STERIS plc $(STE)$, a global medical device business focused on infection prevention products and services. Mr. Rosebrough brings 40 years of experience in the medical device industry, including 25 years as a CEO, having led organizations from startups to multi--billion--dollar global enterprises and functions across product development, M&A, marketing, manufacturing, and finance. During his tenure as CEO of STERIS from 2007 to 2021, STERIS's shareholders received an 18% annualized return compared with a 10% annualized return for the S&P 500, and the company's market capitalization increased by over $20 billion. Mr. Rosebrough's career also includes two decades at Hill-Rom (purchased by Baxter), including as President and CEO. He currently serves as Independent Chair on the Board of Varex Imaging $(VREX)$ and as Immediate Past Chair of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation $(AAMI)$. Mr. Rosebrough holds an MBA from Stanford University, and a BIE from Kettering University.
About Shlomi Nachman
Mr. Nachman most recently served as Company Group Chairman of the Cardiovascular and Specialty Solutions & Vision Group within Johnson & Johnson's Medical Devices sector. As a member of the Medical Devices Group Operating Committee, he led a diverse portfolio of six medical device businesses: Electrophysiology, Neurovascular Intervention, Ear, Nose & Throat, Breast Aesthetics, Optometry, and Ophthalmology. Earlier in his career, he held roles of increasing scope and responsibility, including Worldwide President of Biosense Webster and Cordis. During a career at Johnson & Johnson that spanned more than 27 years, Mr. Nachman held multiple leadership positions and built a proven record of driving growth, innovation, and business turnarounds. He has deep expertise across all aspects of the medical device industry, including general management, strategy, licensing and acquisitions, finance, product development, operations, sales and marketing, and research and development. Mr. Nachman was born in Israel and holds a B.S. in Management and Economics from the Technion Institute, as well as a diploma in electrical engineering from the Amal Technical School.
About CooperCompanies
CooperCompanies (Nasdaq: COO) is a leading global medical device company focused on helping people experience life's beautiful moments through its two business units, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision is a trusted leader in the contact lens industry, helping to improve the way people see each day. CooperSurgical is a leading fertility and women's healthcare company dedicated to putting time on the side of women, babies, and families at the healthcare moments that matter most. Headquartered in San Ramon, CA, CooperCompanies has a workforce of more than 15,000, sells products in over 130 countries, and positively impacts over fifty million lives each year. For more information, please visit www.coopercos.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements relating to guidance, plans, prospects, goals, strategies, future actions, events or performance and other statements of which are other than statements of historical fact, including our fiscal year 2026 financial guidance, are forward looking. In addition, all statements regarding anticipated growth in our revenues, expected savings from reorganization activities, anticipated effects of any product recalls, anticipated market conditions, planned product launches, restructuring or business transition expectations, regulatory plans, and expected results of operations and integration of any acquisition are forward-looking. To identify these statements look for words like "believes," "outlook," "probable," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seeks," "intends," "plans," "estimates" or "anticipates" and similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements necessarily depend on assumptions, data or methods that may be incorrect or imprecise and are subject to risks and uncertainties.
Among the factors that could cause our actual results and future actions to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements are: adverse changes in the global or regional general business, political and economic conditions including the impact of continuing uncertainty and instability of certain countries, man-made or natural disasters and pandemic conditions, that could adversely affect our global markets, and the potential adverse economic impact and related uncertainty caused by these items; the impact of international conflicts, including the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and the global response to international conflicts on the global and local economy, financial markets, energy markets, currency rates and our ability to supply product to, or through, or around, affected countries; our substantial and expanding international operations and the challenges of managing an organization spread throughout multiple countries and complying with a variety of legal, compliance and regulatory requirements; the actual imposition or
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