LAKE FOREST, Ill., Aug. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The board
of directors of Hospira, Inc. (NYSE:
HSP), a global specialty pharmaceutical and medication delivery
company, today announced that Christopher B. Begley, chairman and
chief executive officer (CEO), has indicated his intent to retire
from the CEO position after more than six years of dedicated
service. Begley will serve as CEO until his successor is named. He
will then remain an employee of the company as executive chairman
of the Hospira board, ensuring continuity of leadership and an
orderly transition of his CEO responsibilities.

“Launching Hospira as an independent company has been the most
rewarding experience of my three decades in healthcare, and I’ve
been extremely privileged to work with such a talented and
dedicated team of employees to advance wellness for our
stakeholders around the globe,” said Begley. “Over the last six
years we have transformed this company from one of declining sales
and margins to strong growth and profitability, and the time is
right for a new CEO to lead Hospira on its patient-focused journey
to sustainable top-tier financial performance. I look forward to
remaining an active contributor to Hospira, confident the company
is stronger and better positioned for success now than at any point
in our rich history.”

As the company’s founding CEO, Begley oversaw Hospira’s 2004
spin-off from Abbott Laboratories, drove the development of the
company’s business strategies and growth plans, and created the
company’s guiding principles — its vision, values and stakeholder
commitments. During his tenure, Begley doubled Hospira’s geographic
footprint and revenue outside the United States, improved adjusted
gross margins by more than 1,000 basis points, generated more than
$3 billion in cash flow from operations, and doubled its market
capitalization.

In 2009, Begley launched Proj

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