The CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) share price is rising on Tuesday morning despite a negative development.
At the time of writing, the biotechnology giant's shares are up 1% to $201.56.
What's going on with the CSL share price today?
Investors have been buying the company's shares despite it announcing the exit of a key executive at a highly inconvenient time.
As a reminder, last month CSL shocked the market by announcing a major strategic initiative. This includes cutting its workforce by up to 15% and spinning off the CSL Seqirus vaccines business into a separate listing.
One-off restructuring costs of approximately US$700 million to US$770 million (pre-tax) are expected from the move. But this should be worth it over the long run, with management expecting the restructuring to drive annualised cost savings of US$500 million to US$550 million progressively over the next three years.
But one executive that won't be here to see this strategic initiative through to completion is chief financial officer (CFO), Joy Linton.
In fact, Ms Linton will be in the role for just one more week, with plans to step down on 7 October.
Though, the release reveals that Ms Linton will remain with the company for a period, working with CSL's CEO and managing director, Dr Paul McKenzie, and its new CFO to ensure an orderly transition and then she will retire.
New CFO appointed
According to the release, the company has been quick to appoint Ken Lim as its new CFO.
Mr Lim is currently CSL's chief strategy officer and has been with the company since 2013.
Commenting on the exit of its CFO, Joy Linton, the company's CEO, Dr McKenzie said:
Joy has been an impactful leader over the past five years and has built a strong finance team. Joy's extensive experience and leadership skills have been invaluable over this time, and we thank her for her contributions to CSL.
And speaking about her replacement, Dr McKenzie had good things to say. He believes that Mr Lim will be a good fit for the role and brings strategic thinking and a wealth of knowledge to it. The company's leader said:
Ken's appointment is a reflection of the depth of executive talent at the company. He has more than a decade of experience in senior executive roles at CSL and will bring strategic thinking and a wealth of knowledge to the CFO role. We look forward to Ken's continued efforts as we work together to continue to deliver enduring impact for our patients, our people and our shareholders.
