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Retired general to helm N.C. drug researcher PPD

By Alan M. Wolf

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Published: May 25, 2009

RALEIGH - The founder of PPD, a Wilmington drug-research company with more than 1,800 employees in the Triangle, is handing the company's CEO reins to a former Army general.

Fredric N. Eshelman, 60, announced last week that he will become executive chairman of PPD's board on July 1. David L. Grange, 61, will take over as PPD's chief executive. Grange is a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Army, rising to brigadier general. He also has served as a military adviser for CNN and CBS.

Most recently, Grange was CEO of the McCormick Foundation, a Chicago nonprofit that is one of the nation's largest charities. He has served on PPD's board since 2003.

PPD employs about 10,500 worldwide. The company's stock is down about 55 percent in the past year amid investor worries about a slowdown in the drug-research industry.

Wall Street analysts who follow PPD said they had expected Eshelman to hand off day-to-day operations within the next few years, but they were surprised that happened so soon. And Grange isn't as well known among PPD investors, customers and employees, which creates some uncertainty.

But Eshelman said he will continue to play an active role in running the company and mentoring Grange, which reassured analysts. Eshelman also remains PPD's largest investor, holding nearly 8 million shares.

"Grange appears to be a very strong addition to the senior management team, so hopefully it will prove to be a savvy move by the company and Dr. Eshelman," said John C. Kreger, an analyst with William Blair & Co.

Eshelman is a 1972 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill's pharmacy school who founded PPD in 1985. He donated more than $30 million to the pharmacy school, which was renamed for him last year.

PPD announced in 2008 that it would open a research office at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, bringing 300 jobs in the area.