John McHutchison, chief scientific officer and head of research and development at Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]), is leaving next month, the Foster City, CA, company announced Wednesday. Gilead gave no reason for McHutchison’s decision to depart other than to say it was voluntary. McHutchison joined Gilead in 2010 and was appointed CSO in 2018, succeeding longtime executive Norbert Bischofberger. In a securities filing, Gilead said McHutchison’s last day will be Aug. 2 and he’ll receive a $1.1 million lump sum payment if he complies with a transition agreement. The company said it is searching for McHutchison’s successor.
In other moves, Gilead announced the departures of Gregg Alton, chief patent officer, and Katie Watson, executive vice president of human resources. Alton, who joined Gilead in 1999, will continue in his role until Oct. 4. He’ll advise the company until the end of the year. Watson, a Gilead employee since 2003, will leave on Sept. 1, and advise the company through the end of the year. Jyoti Mehra, vice president of human resources, was named Watson’s successor.
